,,the ,,night-,,side ,,of ,,nature ,or1 ,ghosts and ,ghost-,seers4 by ,,catherine ,,crowe ,authoress of 8,susan ,hopley10 8,lilly ,dawson10 8,aristodemus10 etc4 ,thou com'st in such a questionable shape1 ,that ,i will speak to thee40 ,new ,york3 ,j4 ,s4 ,redfield1 ,clinton ,hall4 ,boston3--,b4 ,b4 ,mussey ,co4 #ahej4 ,p ,r ,e ,f ,a ,c ,e 4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,in my late novel of 8,lilly ,dawson10 ,i announced my intention of publishing a work to be called 8,the ,night-,side of ,nature2 this is it4 ,the term 8,night-,side of ,nature0 ,i borrow from the ,germans1 who derive it from the astronomers1 the latter denominating that side of a planet which is turned from the sun1 its night-side4 ,we are in this condition for a certain number of hours out of every twenty-four2 and as1 during this interval1 external objects loom upon us but strangely and imperfectly1 the ,germans draw a parallel between these vague and misty perceptions1 and the similar obscure and uncertain glimpses we get of that veiled department of nature1 of which1 while comprising as it does1 the solution of questions concerning us more nearly than any other1 we are yet in a state of entire and wilful ignorance4 ,for science1 at least science in this country1 has put it aside as beneath her notice1 because new facts that do not fit into old theories are troublesome1 and not to be countenanced4 ,we are encompassed on all sides by wonders1 and we can scarcely set our foot upon the ground1 without trampling upon some marvellous production that our whole life and all our faculties would not suffice to comprehend4 ,familiarity1 however1 renders us insensible to the ordinary works of nature2 we are apt to forget the miracles they comprise1 and even1 sometimes1 mistaking words for conceptions1 commit the error of thinking we understand their mystery4 ,but there is one class of these wonders with which1 from their comparatively rare occurrence1 we do not become familiar2 and these1 according to the character of the mind to which they are presented1 are frequently either denied as ridiculous and impossible1 or received as evidences of supernatural interference--interruptions of those general laws by which ,god governs the universe2 which latter mistake arises from our only seeing these facts without the links that connect them with the rest of nature1 just as in the faint light of a starlit night we might distinguish the tall mountains that lift their crests high into the sky1 though we could not discern the low chain of hills that united them with each other4 ,there are two or three books by ,german authors1 entitled 8,the ,night-,side10 or 8,the ,night-,dominion of ,nature10 which are on subjects1 more or less analogous to mine4 ,heinrick ,schubert's is the most celebrated among them2 it is a sort of cosmogony of the world1 written in a spirit of philosophical mysticism--too much so for ,english readers in general4 ,in undertaking to write a book on these subjects myself1 ,i wholly disclaim the pretension of teaching or of enforcing opinions4 ,my object is to suggest inquiry and stimulate observation1 in order that we may endeavor1 if possible1 to discover something regarding our psychical nature1 as it exists here in the flesh2 and as it is to exist hereafter1 out of it4 ,if ,i could only induce a few capable persons1 instead of laughing at these things1 to look at them1 my object would be attained1 and ,i should consider my time well spent4 ,c ,o ,n ,t ,e ,n ,t ,s 4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 -- ,introduction #g ,,ii4 -- ,the ,dwellers in the ,temple #ai ,,iii4 -- ,waking and ,sleeping1 and how the ,dweller in the ,temple sometimes looks abroad #bi ,,iv4 -- ,allegorical ,dreams1 ,presentiments1 c4 #dh ,v4 -- ,warnings #ff ,,vi4 -- ,double ,dreaming and ,trance1 ,wraiths1 c4 #ih ,,vii4 -- ,wraiths #acj ,,viii4 -- ,doppelgngers1 or ,doubles #adi ,,ix4 -- ,apparitions #aga ,x4 -- ,the ,future that awaits us #bjd ,,xi4 -- ,the ,power of ,will #bch ,,xii4 -- ,troubled ,spirits #beb ,,xiii4 -- ,haunted ,houses #bgc ,,xiv4 -- ,spectral ,lights1 and ,apparitions attached to ,certain ,families #cai ,,xv4 -- ,apparitions seeking the ,prayers of the ,living #cde ,,xvi4 -- ,the ,poltergeist of the ,germans1 and ,possession #cgf ,,xvii4 -- ,miscellaneous ,phenomena #daa ,,xviii4 -- ,conclusion #dcd ,,the ,n ,i ,g ,h ,t - ,s ,i ,d ,e ,o ,f ,n ,a ,t ,u ,r ,e 4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introduction4 8,know ye not that ye are the ,temple of ,god1 and that the ,spirit of ,god dwelleth in you80 --#a ,,corinthians1 iii4 #af4 ,,most persons are aware that the ,greeks and ,romans entertained certain notions regarding the state of the soul1 or the immortal part of man1 after the death of the body1 which have been generally held to be purely mythological4 ,many of them doubtless are so1 and of these ,i am not about to treat2 but among their conceptions1 there are some which1 as they coincide with the opinions of many of the most enlightened persons of the present age1 it may be desirable to consider more closely4 ,i allude here particularly to their belief in the tripartite kingdom of the dead4 ,according to this system1 there were the ,elysian fields1 a region in which a certain sort of happiness was enjoyed2 and ,tartarus1 the place of punishment for the wicked2 each of which was1 comparatively1 but thinly inhabited4 ,but there was also a mid-region1 peopled with innumerable hosts of wandering and mournful spirits1 who1 although undergoing no torments1 are represented as incessantly bewailing their condition1 pining for the life they once enjoyed in the body1 longing after the things of the earth1 and occupying themselves with the same pursuits and objects as had formerly constituted their business or their pleasure4 ,old habits are still dear to them1 and they can not snap the link that binds them to the earth4 ,now1 although we can not believe in the existence of ,charon1 the three-headed dog1 or ,alecto1 the serpent-haired fury1 it may be worth while to consider whether the persuasion of the ancients with regard to that which concerns us all so nearly--namely1 the destiny that awaits us when we have shaken off this mortal coil--may not have some foundation in truth3 whether it might not be a remnant of a tradition transmitted from the earliest inhabitants of the earth1 wrested by observation from nature1 if not communicated from a higher source3 and also whether circumstances of constant recurrence in all ages and in all nations1 frequently observed and recorded by persons utterly ignorant of classical lore1 and unacquainted1 indeed1 with the dogmas of any creed but their own1 do not1 as well as various passages in the ,scriptures1 afford a striking confirmation of this theory of a future life2 while it1 on the other hand1 offers a natural and convenient explanation of their mystery4 ,to minds which can admit nothing but what can be explained and demonstrated1 an investigation of this sort must appear perfectly idle3 for while1 on the one hand1 the most acute intellect or the most powerful logic can throw little light on the subject1 it is1 at the same time--though ,i have a confident hope that this will not always be the case--equally irreducible within the present bounds of science2 meanwhile1 experience1 observation1 and intuition1 must be our principal if not our only guides4 ,because1 in the seventeenth century1 credulity outran reason and discretion2 the eighteenth century1 by a natural reaction1 threw itself into an opposite extreme4 ,whoever closely observes the signs of the times1 will be aware that another change is approaching4 ,the contemptuous skepticism of the last age is yielding to a more humble spirit of inquiry2 and there is a large class of persons among the most enlightened of the present1 who are beginning to believe that much which they had been taught to reject as fable1 has been1 in reality1 ill-understood truth4 ,somewhat of the mystery of our own being1 and of the mysteries that compass us about1 are beginning to loom upon us--as yet1 it is true1 but obscurely2 and1 in the endeavor to follow out the clew they offer1 we have but a feeble light to guide us4 ,we must grope our way through the dim path before us1 ever in danger of being led into error1 while we may confidently reckon on being pursued by the shafts of ridicule--that weapon so easy to wield1 so potent to the weak1 so weak to the wise--which has delayed the births of so many truths1 but never stifled one4 ,the pharisaical skepticism which denies without investigation1 is quite as perilous1 and much more contemptible1 than the blind credulity which accepts all that it is taught without inquiry2 it is1 indeed1 but another form of ignorance assuming to be knowledge4 ,and by investigation1 ,i do not mean the hasty1 captious1 angry notice of an unwelcome fact1 that too frequently claims the right of pronouncing on a question2 but the slow1 modest1 pains-taking examination1 that is content to wait upon ,nature1 and humbly follow out her disclosures1 however opposed to preconceived theories or mortifying to human pride4 ,if scientific men could but comprehend how they discredit the science they really profess1 by their despotic arrogance and exclusive skepticism1 they would surely1 for the sake of that very science they love1 affect more liberality and candor4 ,this reflection1 however1 naturally suggests another1 namely1 do they really love science1 or is it not too frequently with them but the means to an end8 ,were the love of science genuine1 ,i suspect it would produce very different fruits to that which we see borne by the tree of knowledge1 as it flourishes at present2 and this suspicion is exceedingly strengthened by the recollection that1 among the numerous students and professors of science ,i have at different times encountered1 the real worshippers and genuine lovers of it1 for its own sake1 have all been men of the most single1 candid1 unprejudiced1 and inquiring minds1 willing to listen to all new suggestions1 and investigate all new facts2 not bold and self-sufficient1 but humble and reverent suitors1 aware of their own ignorance and unworthiness1 and that they are yet but in the primer of ,nature's works1 they do not permit themselves to pronounce upon her disclosures1 or set limits to her decrees4 ,they are content to admit that things new and unsuspected may yet be true2 that their own knowledge of facts being extremely circumscribed1 the systems attempted to be established on such uncertain data1 must needs be very imperfect1 and frequently altogether erroneous2 and that it is therefore their duty1 as it ought to be their pleasure1 to welcome as a stranger every gleam of light that appears in the horizon1 let it loom from whatever quarter it may4 ,but1 alas6 poor ,science has few such lovers6 ,les beaux yeux de sa cassette1 ,i fear1 are much more frequently the objects of attraction than her own fair face4 ,the belief in a ,god1 and in the immortality of what we call the soul1 is common to all nations2 but our own intellect does not enable us to form any conception of either one or the other4 ,all the information we have on these subjects is comprised in such hints as the ,scripture here and there give us3 whatever other conclusions we draw1 must be the result of observation and experience4 ,unless founded upon these1 the opinion of the most learned theologian or the most profound student of science that ever lived1 is worth no more than that of any other person4 ,they know nothing whatever about these mysteries2 and all a priori reasoning on them is utterly valueless4 ,the only way1 therefore1 of attaining any glimpses of the truth in an inquiry of this nature1 where our intellect can serve us so little1 is to enter on it with the conviction that1 knowing nothing1 we are not entitled to reject any evidence that may be offered to us1 till it has been thoroughly sifted1 and proved to be fallacious4 ,that the facts presented to our notice appear to us absurd1 and altogether inconsistent with the notions our intellects would have enabled us to form1 should have no weight whatever in the investigation4 ,our intellects are no measure of ,god ,almighty's designs2 and1 ,i must say1 that ,i do think one of the most irreverent1 dangerous1 and sinful things man or woman can be guilty of1 is to reject with scorn and laughter any intimation which1 however strangely it may strike upon our minds1 and however adverse it may be to our opinions1 may possibly be showing us the way to one of ,god's truths4 ,not knowing all the conditions1 and wanting so many links of the chain1 it is impossible for us to pronounce on what is probable and consistent1 and what is not2 and1 this being the case1 ,i think the time is ripe for drawing attention to certain phenomena1 which1 under whatever aspect we may consider them1 are1 beyond doubt1 exceedingly interesting and curious2 while1 if the view many persons are disposed to take of them be the correct one1 they are much more than this4 ,i wish1 also1 to make the ,english public acquainted with the ideas entertained on these subjects by a large proportion of ,german minds of the highest order4 ,it is a distinctive characteristic of the thinkers of that country1 that1 in the first place1 they do think independently and courageously2 and1 in the second1 that they never shrink from promulgating the opinions they have been led to form1 however new1 strange1 heterodox1 or even absurd1 they may appear to others4 ,they do not succumb1 as people do in this country1 to the fear of ridicule2 nor are they in danger of the odium that here pursues those who deviate from established notions2 and the consequence is1 that1 though many fallacious theories and untenable propositions may be advanced1 a great deal of new truth is struck out from the collision2 and in the result1 as must always be the case1 what is true lives and is established1 and what is false dies and is forgotten4 ,but here1 in ,britain1 our critics and colleges are in such haste to strangle and put down every new discovery that does not emanate from themselves1 or which is not a fulfilling of the ideas of the day1 but which1 being somewhat opposed to them1 promises to be troublesome from requiring new thought to render it intelligible1 that one might be induced to suppose them divested of all confidence in this inviolable law2 while the more important and the higher the results involved may be1 the more angry they are with those who advocate them4 ,they do not quarrel with a new metal or a new plant1 and even a new comet or a new island stands a fair chance of being well received2 the introduction of a planet appears1 from late events1 to be more difficult2 while phrenology and mesmerism testify that any discovery tending to throw light on what most deeply concerns us1 namely1 our own being1 must be prepared to encounter a storm of angry persecution4 ,and one of the evils of this hasty and precipitate opposition is1 that the passions and interests of the opposers become involved in the dispute3 instead of investigators1 they become partisans2 having declared against it in the outset1 it is important to their petty interests that the thing shall not be true2 and they determine that it shall not1 if they can help it4 ,hence1 these hasty1 angry investigations of new facts1 and the triumph with which failures are recorded2 and hence the wilful overlooking of the axiom that a thousand negatives can not overthrow the evidence of one affirmative experiment4 ,i always distrust those who have declared themselves strongly in the beginning of a controversy4 ,opinions which1 however rashly avowed1 may have been honest at first1 may have been changed for many a long day before they are retracted4 ,in the meantime1 the march of truth is obstructed1 and its triumph is delayed2 timid minds are alarmed2 those who dare not or can not think for themselves1 are subdued2 there is much needless suffering incurred1 and much good lost2 but the truth goes quietly on its way1 and reaches the goal at last4 ,with respect to the subjects ,i am here going to treat of1 it is not simply the result of my own reflections and convictions that ,i am about to offer4 ,on the contrary1 ,i intend to fortify my position by the opinions of many other writers2 the chief of whom will1 for the reasons above given1 namely1 that it is they who have principally attended to the question1 be ,germans4 ,i am fully aware that in this country a very considerable number of persons lean to some of these opinions1 and ,i think ,i might venture to assert that ,i have the majority on my side1 as far as regards ghosts--for it is beyond a doubt that many more are disposed to believe than to confess--and those who do confess1 are not few4 ,the deep interest with which any narration of spiritual appearances bearing the stamp1 or apparent stamp1 of authenticity is listened to in every society1 is one proof that1 though the fear of ridicule may suppress1 it can not extinguish that intuitive persuasion1 of which almost every one is more or less conscious4 ,i avow1 that in writing this book1 ,i have a higher aim than merely to afford amusement4 ,i wish to engage the earnest attention of my readers2 because ,i am satisfied that the opinions ,i am about to advocate1 seriously entertained1 would produce very beneficial results4 ,we are all educated in the belief of a future state1 but how vague and ineffective this belief is with the majority of persons1 we too well know2 for although1 as ,i have said above1 the number of those who are what is called believers in ghosts and similar phenomena is very large1 it is a belief that they allow to sit extremely lightly on their minds4 ,although they feel that the evidence from within and from without is too strong to be altogether set aside1 they have never permitted themselves to weigh the significance of the facts4 ,they are afraid of that bugbear1 ,superstition--a title of opprobrium which it is very convenient to attach to whatever we do not believe ourselves4 ,they forget that nobody has a right to call any belief superstitious1 till he can prove that it is unfounded4 ,now1 no one that lives can assert that the reappearance of the dead is impossible2 all he has a right to say is1 that he does not believe it2 and the interrogation that should immediately follow this declaration is1 8,have you devoted your life to sifting all the evidence that has been adduced on the other side1 from the earliest periods of history and tradition80 and even though the answer were in the affirmative1 and that the investigation had been conscientiously pursued1 it would be still a bold inquirer that would think himself entitled to say1 the question was no longer open4 ,but the rashness and levity with which mankind make professions of believing and disbelieving1 are1 all things considered1 phenomena much more extraordinary than the most extraordinary ghost-story that ever was related4 ,the truth is1 that not one person in a thousand1 in the proper sense of the word1 believes anything2 they only fancy they believe1 because they have never seriously considered the meaning of the word and all that it involves4 ,that which the human mind can not conceive of1 is apt to slip from its grasp like water from the hand2 and life out of the flesh falls under this category4 ,the observation of any phenomena1 therefore1 which enabled us to master the idea1 must necessarily be extremely beneficial2 and it must be remembered1 that one single thoroughly well-established instance of the reappearance of a deceased person1 would not only have this effect1 but that it would afford a demonstrative proof of the deepest of all our intuitions1 namely1 that a future life awaits us4 ,not to mention the modern ,germans of eminence1 who have devoted themselves to this investigation1 there have been men remarkable for intellect in all countries1 who have considered the subject worthy of inquiry4 ,among the rest1 ,plato1 ,pliny1 and ,lucien2 and in our own country1 that good old divine1 ,dr4 ,henry ,moore1 ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,addison1 ,isaac ,taylor1 and many others4 ,it may be objected that the eternally-quoted case of ,nicolai1 the bookseller at ,berlin1 and ,dr4 ,ferriar's 8,theory of ,apparitions10 had not then settled the question2 but nobody doubts that ,nicolai's was a case of disease2 and he was well aware of it himself1 as it appears to me1 everybody so afflicted1 is4 ,i was acquainted with a poor woman1 in ,edinburgh1 who suffered from this malady1 brought on1 ,i believe1 by drinking2 but she was perfectly conscious of the nature of the illusions2 and that temperance and a doctor were the proper exorcists to lay the spirits4 ,with respect to ,dr4 ,ferriar's book1 a more shallow one was assuredly never allowed to settle any question2 and his own theory can not1 without the most violent straining1 and the assistance of what he calls coincidences1 meet even half the cases he himself adduces4 ,that such a disease1 as he describes1 exists1 nobody doubts2 but ,i maintain that there are hundreds of cases on record1 for which the explanation does not suffice2 and if they have been instances of spectral illusion1 all that remains to be said1 is1 that a fundamental reconstruction of the theory on that subject is demanded4 ,la ,place says1 in his 8,essay on ,probabilities10 that 8any case1 however apparently incredible1 if it be a recurrent case1 is as much entitled1 under the laws of induction1 to a fair valuation1 as if it had been more probable beforehand40 ,now1 no one will deny that the case in question possesses this claim to investigation4 ,determined skeptics may1 indeed1 deny that there exists any well-authenticated instance of an apparition2 but that1 at present1 can only be a mere matter of opinion2 since many persons1 as competent to judge as themselves1 maintain the contrary2 and in the meantime1 ,i arraign their right to make this objection till they have qualified themselves to do so1 by a long course of patient and honest inquiry2 always remembering that every instance of error or imposition discovered and adduced1 has no positive value whatever in the argument1 but as regards that single instance2 though it may enforce upon us the necessity of strong evidence and careful investigation4 ,with respect to the evidence1 past and present1 ,i must be allowed here to remark on the extreme difficulty of producing it4 ,not to mention the acknowledged carelessness of observers and the alleged incapacity of persons to distinguish between reality and illusion1 there is an exceeding shyness in most people1 who1 either have seen1 or fancied they have seen1 an apparition1 to speak of it at all1 except to some intimate friend2 so that one gets most of the stories second-hand2 while even those who are less chary of their communications1 are imperative against their name and authority being given to the public4 ,besides this1 there is a great tendency in most people1 after the impression is over1 to think they may have been deceived2 and where there is no communication or other circumstance rendering this conviction impossible1 it is not difficult to acquire it1 or at least so much of it as leaves the case valueless4 ,the seer is glad to find this refuge from the unpleasant feelings engendered2 while surrounding friends1 sometimes from genuine skepticism1 and sometimes from good-nature1 almost invariably lean to this explanation of the mystery4 ,in consequence of these difficulties and those attending the very nature of the phenomena1 ,i freely admit that the facts ,i shall adduce1 as they now stand1 can have no scientific value2 they can not in short1 enter into the region of science at all1 still less into that of philosophy4 ,whatever conclusions we may be led to form1 can not be founded on pure induction4 ,we must confine ourselves wholly within the region of opinion2 if we venture beyond which1 we shall assuredly founder4 ,in the beginning1 all sciences have been but a collection of facts1 afterward to be examined1 compared1 and weighed1 by intelligent minds4 ,to the vulgar1 who do not see the universal law which governs the universe1 everything out of the ordinary course of events1 is a prodigy2 but to the enlightened mind there are no prodigies2 for it perceives that in both the moral and the physical world1 there is a chain of uninterrupted connection2 and that the most strange and even apparently contradictory or supernatural fact or event will be found1 on due investigation1 to be strictly dependent on its antecedents4 ,it is possible1 that there may be a link wanting1 and that our investigations may1 consequently1 be fruitless2 but the link is assuredly there1 although our imperfect knowledge and limited vision can not find it4 ,and it is here the proper place to observe1 that1 in undertaking to treat of the phenomena in question1 ,i do not propose to consider them as supernatural2 on the contrary1 ,i am persuaded that the time will come1 when they will be reduced strictly within the bounds of science4 ,it was the tendency of the last age to reject and deny everything they did not understand2 ,i hope it is the growing tendency of the present one to examine what we do not understand4 ,equally disposed with our predecessors of the eighteenth century to reject the supernatural1 and to believe the order of nature inviolable1 we are disposed to extend the bounds of nature and science1 till they comprise within their limits all the phenomena1 ordinary and extraordinary1 by which we are surrounded4 ,scarcely a month passes that we do not hear of some new and important discovery in science4 ,it is a domain in which nothing is stable1 and every year overthrows some of the hasty and premature theories of the preceding ones2 and this will continue to be the case as long as scientific men occupy themselves each with his own subject1 without studying the great and primal truths--what the ,french call les vrits mres--which link the whole together4 ,meantime1 there is a continual unsettling4 ,truth1 if it do not emanate from an acknowledged authority1 is generally rejected2 and error1 if it do1 is as often accepted2 while1 whoever disputes the received theory1 whatever it be--we mean especially that adopted by the professors of colleges--does it at his peril4 ,but there is a day yet brooding in the bosom of time1 when the sciences will be no longer isolated2 when we shall no longer deny1 but be able to account for1 phenomena apparently prodigious1 or have the modesty1 if we can not explain them1 to admit that the difficulty arises solely from our own incapacity4 ,the system of centralization in statistics seems to be of doubtful advantage2 but a greater degree of centralization appears to be very much needed in the domain of science4 ,some improvement in this respect might do wonders1 particularly if reinforced with a slight infusion of patience and humility into the minds of scientific men2 together with the recollection that facts and phenomena1 which do not depend on our will1 must be waited for--that we must be at their command1 for they will not be at ours4 ,but to return once more to our own subject4 ,if we do believe that a future life awaits us1 there can be nothing more natural than the desire to obtain some information as to what manner of life that is to be for which any one of us may1 before this time to-morrow1 have exchanged his present mode of being4 ,that there does not exist a greater interest with regard to this question in the mind of man1 arises partly from the vague1 intangible kind of belief he entertains of the fact2 partly from his absorption in worldly affairs1 and the hard and indigestible food upon which his clerical shepherds pasture him--for1 under dogmatic theology1 religion seems to have withered away to the mere husk of spiritualism2 and partly1 also1 from the apparent impossibility of pursuing the inquiry to any purpose4 ,as ,i said before1 observation and experience can alone guide us in such an inquiry2 for1 though most people have a more or less intuitive sense of their own immortality1 intuition is silent as to the mode of it2 and the question ,i am anxious here to discuss with my readers is1 whether we have any facts to observe1 or any experience from which1 on this most interesting of all subjects1 a conclusion may be drawn4 ,great as the difficulty is of producing evidence1 it will1 ,i think1 be pretty generally admitted that1 although each individual case1 as it stands alone1 may be comparatively valueless1 the amount of recurrent cases forms a body of evidence that1 on any other subject1 would scarcely be rejected2 and since1 if the facts are accepted1 they imperatively demand an explanation--for1 assuredly1 the present theory of spectral illusions can not comprise them--our inquiry1 let it terminate in whatever conclusion it may1 can not be useless or uninteresting4 ,various views of the phenomena in question may be taken2 and although ,i shall offer my own opinions and the theories and opinions of others1 ,i insist upon none4 ,i do not write to dogmatise1 but to suggest reflection and inquiry4 ,the books of ,dr4 ,ferriar1 ,dr4 ,hibbert1 and ,dr4 ,thatcher1 the ,american1 are all written to support one exclusive theory2 and they only give such cases as serve to sustain it4 ,they maintain that the whole phenomena are referrible to nervous or sanguineous derangement1 and are mere subjective illusions2 and whatever instance can not be covered by this theory1 they reject as false1 or treat as a case of extraordinary coincidence4 ,in short1 they arrange the facts to their theory1 not their theory to the facts4 ,their books can not1 therefore1 claim to be considered as anything more than essays on a special disease2 they have no pretence whatever to the character of investigations4 ,the question1 consequently1 remains as much an open one as before they treated it2 while we have the advantage of their experience and information1 with regard to the peculiar malady that forms the subject of their works4 ,on that subject it is not my intention to enter2 it is a strictly medical one1 and every information may be obtained respecting it in the above-named treatises1 and others emanating from the faculty4 ,the subjects ,i do intend to treat of are the various kinds of prophetic dreams1 presentiments1 second-sight1 and apparitions2 and1 in short1 all that class of phenomena which appears to throw some light on our physical nature1 and on the probable state of the soul after death4 ,in this discussion1 ,i shall make free use of my ,german authorities1 ,doctors ,kerner1 ,stilling1 ,werner1 ,eschenmayer1 ,ennemoser1 ,passavent1 ,schubert1 ,von ,meyer1 c41 c42 and ,i here make a general acknowledgment to that effect1 because it would embarrass my book too much to be constantly giving names and references1 although1 when ,i quote their words literally1 ,i shall make a point of doing so2 and because1 also1 that1 as ,i have been both thinking and reading much on these subjects for a considerable time past1 ,i am1 in fact1 no longer in a condition to appropriate1 either to them or to myself1 each his own4 ,this1 however1 is a matter of very little consequence1 as ,i am not desirous of claiming any idea as mine that can be found elsewhere4 ,it is enough for me1 if ,i succeed in making a tolerably clear exposition of the subject1 and can induce other people to reflect upon it4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,dweller ,,in ,,the ,,temple4 ,,it is almost needless to observe1 that the ,scriptures repeatedly speak of man as a tripartite being1 consisting of spirit1 soul1 and body3 and that1 according to ,st4 ,paul1 we have two bodies--a natural body and a spiritual body2 the former being designed as our means of communication with the external world--an instrument to be used and controlled by our nobler parts4 ,it is this view of it1 carried to a fanaticism1 which has led to the various and extraordinary mortifications recorded of ascetics4 ,as is remarked by the ,rev4 ,hare ,townshend1 in a late edition of his book on mesmerism1 in this fleshly body consists our organic life2 in the body which we are to retain through eternity1 consists our fundamental life4 ,may not the first1 he says1 8be a temporary development of the last1 just as leaves1 flowers1 and fruits1 are the temporary developments of a tree8 ,and in the same manner that these pass and drop away1 yet leave the principle of reproduction behind1 so may our present organs be detached from us by death1 and yet the ground of our existence be spared to us continuously40 ,without entering into the subtle disputes of philosophers1 with regard to the spirit1 a subject on which there is a standing controversy between the disciples of ,hegel and those of other teachers1 ,i need only observe that the ,scriptures seem to indicate what some of the heathen sages taught1 that the spirit that dwells within us is the spirit of ,god1 incorporated in us for a period1 for certain ends of his own1 to be thereby wrought out4 ,what those ends are1 it does not belong to my present subject to consider4 ,in this spirit so imparted to us1 dwells1 says ,eschenmayer1 the conscience1 which keeps watch over the body and the soul1 saying1 8,thus shalt thou do60 ,and it is to this ,christ addresses himself when he bids his disciples become perfect1 like their ,father in heaven4 ,the soul is subject to the spirit2 and its functions are1 to will1 or choose1 to think1 and to feel1 and to become thereby cognizant of the true1 the beautiful1 and the good2 comprehending the highest principle1 the highest ideal1 and the most perfect happiness4 ,the ,ego1 or ,i1 is the resultant of the three forces1 ,pneuma1 ,psyche1 ,soma--spirit1 soul1 and body4 ,in the spirit or soul1 or rather in both conjoined1 dwells1 also1 the power of spiritual seeing1 or intuitive knowing2 for1 as there is a spiritual body1 there is a spiritual eye1 and a spiritual ear1 and so forth2 or1 to speak more correctly1 all these sensuous functions are comprised in one universal sense1 which does not need the aid of the bodily organs2 but1 on the contrary1 is most efficient when most freed from them4 ,it remains to be seen whether1 or in what degree1 such separation can take place during life2 complete it can not be till death2 but whoever believes sincerely that the divine spirit dwells within him1 can1 ,i should think1 find no difficulty in conceiving that1 although from the temporary conditions to which that spirit is subjected1 this universal faculty is limited and obscured1 it must still retain its indefeasible attribute4 ,we may naturally conclude that the most perfect state of man on earth consists in the most perfect unity of the spirit and the soul2 and to those who in this life have attained the nearest to that unity will the entire assimilation of the two1 after they are separated from the body1 be the easiest2 while to those who have lived only their intellectual and external life1 this union must be extremely difficult1 the soul having chosen its part with the body1 and divorced itself1 as much as in it lay1 from the spirit4 ,the voice of conscience is then scarcely heard2 and the soul1 degraded and debased1 can no longer perform its functions of discerning the true1 the beautiful1 and the good4 ,on these distinct functions of the soul and spirit1 however1 it is not my intention to insist1 since it appears to me a subject on which we are not yet in a condition to dogmatize4 ,we know rather more about our bodies1 by means of which the soul and spirit are united and brought into contact with the material world1 and which are constructed wholly with a view to the conditions of that world2 such as time1 space1 solidity1 extension1 c41 c4 ,but we must conceive of ,god as necessarily independent of these conditions4 ,to ,him1 all times and all places must be for ever present2 and it is thus that he is omniscient and omnipresent2 and since we are placed by the spirit in immediate relation with ,god and the spiritual world1 just as we are placed by the body in immediate relation with the material world1 we may1 in the first place1 form a notion of the possibility that some faint gleams of these inherent attributes may1 at times1 shoot up through the clay in which the spirit has taken up its temporary abode2 and we may also admit1 that through the connection which exists between us and the spiritual world1 it is not impossible but that we may1 at times1 and under certain conditions1 become cognizant of1 and enter into more immediate relation with it4 ,this is the only postulate ,i ask2 for1 as ,i said before1 ,i do not wish to enforce opinions1 but to suggest probabilities1 or at least possibilities1 and thus arouse reflection and inquiry4 ,with respect to the term invisible world1 ,i beg to remind my readers1 that what we call seeing is merely the function of an organ constructed for that purpose in relation to the external world2 and so limited are its powers1 that we are surrounded by many things in that world which we can not see without the aid of artificial appliances and many other things which we can not see even with them2 the atmosphere in which we live1 for example1 although its weight and mechanical forces are the subjects of accurate calculation1 is entirely imperceptible to our visual organs4 ,thus1 the fact that we do not commonly see them1 forms no legitimate objection to the hypothesis of our being surrounded by a world of spirits1 or of that world being inter-diffused among us4 ,supposing the question to be decided that we do sometimes become cognizant of them1 which1 however1 ,i admit it is not1 since1 whether the apparitions are subjective1 or objective1 that is1 whether they are the mere phenomena of disease1 or real out-standing appearances1 is the inquiry ,i desire to promote--but1 ,i say1 supposing that question were decided in the affirmative1 the next that arises is1 how1 or by what means do we see them2 or1 if they address us1 hear them8 ,if that universal sense which appears to me to be inseparable from the idea of spirit1 be once admitted1 ,i think there can be no difficulty in answering this question2 and if it be objected that we are conscious of no such sense1 ,i answer1 that both in dreams and in certain abnormal states of the body1 it is frequently manifested4 ,in order to render this more clear1 and1 at the same time1 to give an interesting instance of this sort of phenomenon1 ,i will transcribe a passage from a letter of ,st4 ,augustine to his friend ,evadius 7,epistola #aei4 ,antwerp edition74 8,i will relate to you a circumstance10 he writes1 8which will furnish you matter for reflection4 ,our brother ,sennadius1 well known to us all as an eminent physician1 and whom we especially love1 who is now at ,carthage1 after having distinguished himself at ,rome1 and with whose piety and active benevolence you are well acquainted1 could yet1 nevertheless1 as he has lately narrated to us1 by no means bring himself to believe in a life after death4 ,now1 ,god1 doubtless1 not willing that his soul should perish1 there appeared to him one night1 in a dream1 a radiant youth of noble aspect1 who bade him follow him2 and as ,sennadius obeyed1 they came to a city where1 on the right side1 he heard a chorus of the most heavenly voices4 ,as he desired to know whence this divine harmony proceeded1 the youth told him that what he heard were the songs of the blessed2 whereupon he awoke1 and thought no more of his dream than people usually do4 ,on another night1 however1 behold6 the youth appears to him again1 and asks him if he knows him2 and ,sennadius related to him all the particulars of his former dream1 which he well remembered4 #8,then1' said the youth1 #8was it while sleeping or waking that you saw these things8'--#8,i was sleeping1' answered ,sennadius4 #8,you are right1' returned the youth1 #8it was in your sleep that you saw these things2 and know1 ,o ,sennadius1 that what you see now is also in your sleep4 ,but if this be so1 tell me where then is your body8'--#8,in my bed-chamber1' answered ,sennadius4 #8,but know you not1' continued the stranger1 #8that your eyes1 which form a part of your body1 are closed and inactive8'--#8,i know it1' answered he4 #8,then1' said the youth1 #8with what eyes see you these things8' ,and ,sennadius could not answer him2 and as he hesitated1 the youth spoke again1 and explained to him the motive of his questions4 #8,as the eyes of your body1' said he1 #8which lies now on your bed and sleeps1 are inactive and useless1 and yet you have eyes wherewith you see me and these things ,i have shown unto you2 so after death1 when these bodily organs fail you1 you will have a vital power1 whereby you will live1 and a sensitive faculty1 whereby you will perceive4 ,doubt1 therefore1 no longer that there is a life after death4' ,and thus10 said this excellent man1 8was ,i convinced1 and all doubts removed40 ,i confess there appears to me a beauty and a logical truth in this dream that ,i think might convince more than the dreamer4 ,it is by the hypothesis of this universal sense1 latent within us--an hypothesis which1 whoever believes that we are immortal spirits1 incorporated for a season in a material body1 can scarcely reject--that ,i seek to explain those perceptions which are not comprised within the functions of our bodily organs4 ,it seems to me to be the key to all or nearly all of them1 as far as our own part in the phenomena extends4 ,but1 supposing this admitted1 there would then remain the difficulty of accounting for the partial and capricious glimpses we get of it2 while in that department of the mystery which regards apparitions1 except such as are the pure result of disease1 we must grope our way1 with very little light to guide us1 as to the conditions and motives which might possibly bring them into any immediate relation with us4 ,to any one who has been fortunate enough to witness one genuine case of clairvoyance1 ,i think the conception of this universal sense will not be difficult1 however the mode of its exercise may remain utterly incomprehensible4 ,as ,i have said above--to the great ,spirit and ,fountain of life1 all things1 in both space and time1 must be present4 ,however impossible it is to our finite minds to conceive this1 we must believe it4 ,it may1 in some slight degree1 facilitate the conception to remember that action1 once begun1 never ceases--an impulse given is transmitted on for ever2 a sound breathed reverberates in eternity2 and thus the past is always present1 although1 for the purpose of fitting us for this mortal life1 our ordinary senses are so constituted as to be unperceptive of these phenomena4 ,with respect to what we call the future1 it is more difficult still for us to conceive it as present2 nor1 as far as ,i know1 can we borrow from the sciences the same assistance as mechanical discoveries have just furnished me with in regard to the past4 ,how a spirit sees that which has not yet1 to our senses1 taken place1 seems certainly inexplicable4 ,foreseeing it is not inexplicable3 we foresee many things by arguing on given premises1 although1 from our own finite views1 we are always liable to be mistaken4 ,louis ,lambert says3 8,such events as are the product of humanity1 and the result of its intelligence1 have their own causes1 in which they lie latent1 just as our actions are accomplished in our thoughts previous to any outward demonstration of them2 presentiments and prophecies consist in the intuitive perception of these causes40 ,this explanation1 which is quite conformable with that of ,cicero1 may aid us in some degree as regards a certain small class of phenomena2 but there is something involved in the question much more subtle than this4 ,our dreams can give us the only idea of it2 for there we do actually see and hear1 not only that which never was1 but that which never will be4 ,actions and events1 words and sounds1 persons and places1 are as clearly and vividly present to us as if they were actually what they seem2 and ,i should think that most people must be somewhat puzzled to decide in regard to certain scenes and circumstances that live in their memory1 whether the images are the result of their waking or sleeping experience4 ,although by no means a dreamer1 and without the most remote approximation to any faculty of presentiment1 ,i know this is the case with myself4 ,i remember also a very curious effect being produced upon me1 when ,i was abroad1 some years ago1 from eating the unwholesome bread to which we were reduced1 in consequence of a scarcity4 ,some five or six times a day ,i was seized with a sort of vertigo1 during which ,i seemed to pass through certain scenes1 and was conscious of certain words1 which appeared to me to have a strange connection1 with either some former period of my life1 or else some previous state of existence4 ,the words and the scenes were on each occasion precisely the same3 ,i was always aware of that1 and ,i always made the strongest efforts to grasp and retain them in my memory1 but ,i could not4 ,i only knew that the thing had been2 the words and the scenes were gone4 ,i seemed to pass momentarily into another sphere and back again4 ,this was purely the result of disorder2 but1 like a dream1 it shows how we may be perceptive of that which is not1 and which never may be2 rendering it1 therefore1 possible to conceive that a spirit may be equally perceptive of that which shall be4 ,i am very far from meaning to imply that these examples remove the difficulty3 they do not explain the thing2 they only show somewhat the mode of it4 ,but it must be remembered that when physiologists pretend to settle the whole question of apparitions by the theory of spectral illusions1 they are exactly in the same predicament4 ,they can supply examples of similar phenomena2 but how a person1 perfectly in his senses1 should receive the spectral visits of1 not only friends1 but strangers1 when he is thinking of no such matter--or by what process1 mental or optical1 the figures are conjured up--remains as much a mystery as before a line was written on the subject4 ,all people and all ages have believed1 more or less1 in prophetic dreams1 presentiments1 and apparitions2 and all historians have furnished examples of them4 ,that the truths may be frequently distorted and mingled with fable1 is no argument against those traditions2 if it were1 all history must be rejected on the same plea4 ,both the ,old and ,new ,testaments furnish numerous examples of these phenomena2 and although ,christ and the apostles reproved all the superstitions of the age1 these persuasions are not included in their reprehensions4 ,neither is the comparative rarity of these phenomena any argument against their possibility4 ,there are many strange things which occur still more rarely1 but which we do not look upon as supernatural or miraculous4 ,of nature's ordinary laws1 we yet know but little2 of their aberrations and perturbations1 still less4 ,how should we1 when the world is a miracle and life a dream1 of which we know neither the beginning nor the end6 ,we do not even know that we see anything as it is1 or rather1 we know that we do not4 ,we see things but as our visual organs represent them to us2 and were those organs differently constructed1 the aspect of the world would to us be changed4 ,how1 then1 can we pretend to decide upon what is and what is not8 ,nothing could be more perplexing to any one who read them with attention1 than the trials for witchcraft of the seventeenth century4 ,many of the feats of the ancient thaumaturgists and wonder-workers of the temples might have been nearly as much so1 but these were got rid of by the easy expedient of pronouncing them fables and impostures2 but1 during the witch-mania1 so many persons proved their faith in their own miraculous powers by the sacrifice of their lives1 that it was scarcely possible to doubt their having some foundation for their own persuasion1 though what that foundation could be1 till the late discoveries in animal magnetism1 it was difficult to conceive2 but here we have a new page opened to us which concerns both the history of the world and the history of man1 as an individual2 and we begin to see that that which the ignorant thought supernatural1 and the wise impossible1 has been both natural and true4 ,while the scientific men of ,great ,britain1 and several of our journalists1 have been denying and ridiculing the reports of these phenomena1 the most eminent physicians of ,germany have been quietly studying and investigating them1 and giving to the world1 in their works1 the results of their experience4 ,among the rest1 ,dr4 ,joseph ,ennemoser1 of ,berlin1 has presented to us in his two books on 8,magic10 and on 8,the ,connection of ,magnetism with ,nature and ,religion10 the fruits of his thirty years' study of this subject--during the course of which he has had repeated opportunities of investigating all the phenomena1 and of making himself perfectly familiar with even the most rare and perplexing4 ,to any one who has studied these works1 the mysteries of the temples and of the witch-trials are mysteries no longer2 and he writes with the professed design1 not to make science mystical1 but to bring the mysterious within the bounds of science4 ,the phenomena1 as he justly says1 are as old as the human race4 ,animal magnetism is no new development1 no new discovery4 ,inseparable from life1 although1 like many other vital phenomena1 so subtle in its influences1 that only in abnormal cases it attracts attention1 it has exhibited itself more or less in all ages and in all countries4 ,but its value as a medical agent is only now beginning to dawn on the civilized world1 while its importance in a higher point of view is yet perceived by but few4 ,every human being who has ever withdrawn himself from the strife1 and the turmoil1 and the distraction1 of the world without1 in order to look within1 must have found himself perplexed by a thousand questions with regard to his own being1 which he would find no one able to solve4 ,in the study of animal magnetism1 he will first obtain some gleams of a light which will show him that he is indeed the child of ,god6 and that1 though a dweller on the earth1 and fallen1 some traces of his divine descent1 and of his unbroken connection with a higher order of being1 still remain to comfort and encourage him4 ,he will find that there exists in his species the germs of faculties that are never fully unfolded here on earth1 and which have no reference to this state of being4 ,they exist in all men1 but in most cases are so faintly elicited as not to be observable2 and when they do shoot up here and there1 they are denied1 disowned1 misinterpreted1 and maligned4 ,it is true that their development is often the symptom and effect of disease1 which seems to change the relations of our material and immaterial parts2 it is true that some of the phenomena resulting from these faculties are stimulated by disease1 as in the case of spectral illusions2 and it is true that imposture and folly intrude their unhallowed footsteps into this domain of science1 as into that of all others2 but there is a deep and holy well of truth to be discovered in this neglected by-path of nature1 by those who seek it1 from which they may draw the purest consolations for the present1 the most ennobling hopes for the future1 and the most valuable aid in penetrating through the letter into the spirit of the ,scriptures4 ,i confess it makes me sorrowful when ,i hear men laughing1 scorning1 and denying this their birthright2 and ,i can not but grieve to think how closely and heavily their clay must be wrapped about them1 and how the external and sensuous life must have prevailed over the internal1 when no gleam from within breaks through to show them that these things are true4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,waking ,,and ,,sleeping2 ,,and ,,how ,,the ,,dweller ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,sometimes ,,looks ,,abroad4 ,,to begin with the most simple--or rather1 ,i should say1 the most ordinary--class of phenomena1 for we can scarcely call that simple1 the mystery of which we have never been able to penetrate--,i mean dreaming--everybody's experience will suffice to satisfy them that their ordinary dreams take place in a state of imperfect sleep1 and that this imperfect sleep may be caused by any bodily or mental derangement whatever1 or even from an ill-made bed1 or too much or too little covering2 and it is not difficult to conceive that the strange1 confused1 and disjointed visions we are subject to on these occasions1 may proceed from some parts of the brain being less at rest than the others2 so that1 assuming phrenology to be fact1 one organ is not in a state to correct the impressions of another4 ,of such vain and insignificant visions1 ,i need scarcely say it is not my intention to treat2 but1 at the same time1 ,i must observe1 that when we have admitted the above explanation1 as far as it goes1 we have not1 even in regard to them1 made much progress toward removing the difficulty4 ,if dreaming resembled thinking1 the explanations might be quite satisfactory2 but the truth is1 that dreaming is not thinking1 as we think in our waking state1 but is more analogous to thinking in delirium or acute mania1 or in that chronic condition which gives rise to sensuous illusions4 ,in our ordinary normal state1 conceiving of places or persons does not enable us to see them or hold communion with them1 nor do we fancy that we do either4 ,it is true1 that ,i have heard some painters say that1 by closing their eyes and concentrating their thoughts on an object1 they can bring it more or less vividly before them1 and ,blake professed actually to see his sitters when they were not present2 but whatever interpretations we may put upon this curious faculty1 his case was clearly abnormal1 and connected with some personal peculiarity1 either physical or psychical2 and1 after making the most of it1 it must be admitted that it can enter into no sort of comparison with that we possess in sleep1 when1 in our most ordinary dreams1 untrammelled by time or space1 we visit the uttermost ends of the earth1 fly in the air1 swim in the sea1 listen to beautiful music and eloquent orations1 behold the most charming as well as the most loathsome objects2 and not only see1 but converse with our friends1 absent or present1 dead or alive4 ,every one1 ,i think1 will grant that there is the widest possible difference between conceiving of these things when awake1 and dreaming them4 ,when we dream1 we do1 we see1 we say1 we hear1 c41 c41 that is1 we believe at the time we do so2 and what more can be said of us when we are awake1 than that we believe we are doing1 seeing1 saying1 hearing1 c4 ,it is by external circumstances1 and the results of our actions1 that we are able to decide whether we have actually done a thing or seen a place1 or only dreamt that we have done so2 and as ,i have said above1 after some lapse of time we are not always able to distinguish between the two4 ,while dreaming1 we frequently ask ourselves whether we are awake or asleep2 and nothing is more common than to hear people say1 8,well1 ,i think ,i did1 or heard1 so and so2 but ,i am not sure whether it was so1 or whether ,i dreamt it40 ,thus1 therefore1 the very lowest order of dreaming1 the most disjointed and perplexed1 is far removed from the most vivid presentations of our waking thoughts2 and it is in this respect1 ,i think1 that the explanations of the phenomena hitherto offered by phrenologists1 and the metaphysicians of this country1 are inadequate and unsatisfactory2 while1 as regards the analogy between the visions of sleep and delirium1 whatever similarity there may be in the effects1 we can not suppose the cause to be identical3 since1 in delirium the images and delusions are the result of excessive action of the brain1 which we must conclude to be the very reverse of its condition in sleep4 ,pinel certainly has hazarded an opinion that sleep is occasioned by an efflux of blood to the head1 and consequent compression of the brain--a theory which would have greater weight were sleep more strictly periodical than it is2 but which1 at present1 it seems impossible to reconcile with many established facts4 ,some of the ,german physiologists and psychologists have taken a deeper view of this question of dreaming1 from considering it in connection with the phenomena of animal magnetism2 and although their theories differ in some respects1 they all unite in looking toward that department of nature for instruction4 ,while one section of these inquirers1 the ,exegetical ,society of ,stockholm included1 calls in the aid of supernatural agency1 another1 among whom ,dr4 ,joseph ,ennemoser1 of ,berlin1 appears to be one of the most eminent1 maintains that the explanation of the mystery is to be chiefly sought in the great and universal law of polarity1 which extends not only beyond the limits of this earth1 but beyond the limits of this system1 which must necessarily be in connection with all others2 so that there is thus an eternal and never-ceasing inter-action1 of which1 from the multiplicity and contrariety of the influences1 we are insensible1 just as we are insensible to the pressure of the atmosphere1 from its impinging on us equally on all sides4 ,waking and sleeping are the day and night sides of organic life1 during which alternations an animal is placed in different relations to the external world1 and to these alternations all organisms are subject4 ,the completeness and independence of each individual organism1 are in exact ratio to the number and completeness of the organs it develops2 and thus the locomotive animal has the advantage of the plant or the zoophyte1 while1 of the animal kingdom1 man is the most complete and independent2 and1 although still a member of the universal whole1 and therefore incapable of isolating himself1 yet better able than any other organism to ward off external influences1 and comprise his world within himself4 ,but1 according to ,dr4 ,ennemoser1 one of the consequences of this very completeness is a weak and insignificant development of instinct2 and thus the healthy1 waking1 conscious man1 is1 of all organisms1 the least sensible to the impressions of this universal inter-communication and polarity2 although1 at the same time1 partaking of the nature of the plant and the animal1 he is subject1 like the first1 to all manner of atmospheric1 telluric1 and periodic influences2 and frequently exhibits1 like the second1 peculiar instinctive appetites and desires1 and1 in some individual organizations1 very marked antipathies and susceptibilities with regard to certain objects and influences1 even when not placed in any evident relation with them4 ,according to this theory1 sleep is a retrograde step--a retreating into a lower sphere2 in which condition1 the sensuous functions being in abeyance1 the instincts somewhat resume their sway4 8,in sleep and in sickness10 he says1 8the higher animals and man fall in a physico-organical point of view1 from their individual independence1 or power of self-sustainment2 and their polar relation1 that is1 their relation to the healthy and waking man1 becomes changed from a positive to a negative one2 all men1 in regard to each other1 as well as all nature1 being the subjects of this polarity40 ,it is to be remembered1 that this theory of ,dr4 ,ennemoser's was promulgated before the discoveries of ,baron von ,reichenback in magnetism were made public1 and the susceptibility to magnetic influences in the animal organism1 which the experiments of the latter go to establish1 is certainly in its favor2 but while it pretends to explain the condition of the sleepers1 and may possibly be of some service in our investigations into the mystery of dreaming1 it leaves us as much in the dark as ever1 with respect to the cause of our falling into this negative state2 an inquiry in which little progress seems to have been hitherto made4 ,with respect to dreaming1 ,dr4 ,ennemoser rejects the physiological theory1 which maintains1 that in sleep1 magnetic or otherwise1 the activity of the brain is transferred to the ganglionic system1 and that the former falls into a subordinate relation4 8,dreaming10 he says1 8is the gradual awakening of activity in the organs of imagination1 whereby the presentation of sensuous objects to the spirit1 which had been discontinued in profound sleep1 is resumed4 ,dreaming10 he adds1 8also arises from the secret activity of the spirit in the innermost sensuous organs of the brain1 busying the fancy with subjective sensuous images1 the objective conscious day-life giving place to the creative dominion of the poetical genius1 to which night becomes day1 and universal nature its theatre of action2 and thus the super-sensuous or transcendent nature of the spirit becomes more manifest in dreaming than in the waking state4 ,but1 in considering these phenomena1 man must be viewed in both his psychical and physical relations1 and as equally subject to spiritual as to natural operations and influences2 since1 during the continuance of life1 neither soul nor body can act quite independently of the other2 for1 although it be the immortal spirit which perceives1 it is through the instrumentality of the sensuous organs that it does so2 for of absolute spirit without body1 we can form no conception40 ,what is here meant seems to be1 that the brain becomes the world to the spirit1 before the impressions from the external world do actually come streaming through by means of the external sensuous organs4 ,the inner spiritual light illumines1 till the outward physical light overpowers and extinguishes it4 ,but in this state the brain1 which is the storehouse of acquired knowledge1 is not in a condition to apply its acquisitions effectively2 while the intuitive knowledge of the spirit1 if the sleep be imperfect1 is clouded by its interference4 ,other physiologists1 however1 believe1 from the numerous and well-attested cases of the transference of the senses1 in disease1 to the pit of the stomach1 that the activity of the brain in sleep is transferred to the epigastric region4 ,the instances of this phenomenon1 as related by ,dr4 ,petetin and others1 having been frequently published1 ,i need not here quote4 ,but1 as ,dr4 ,passavant observes1 it is well known that the functions of the nerves differ in some animals2 and that one set can supply the place of another2 as in those cases where there is a great susceptibility to light1 though no eyes can be discovered4 ,these physiologists believe1 that1 even during the most profound sleep1 the spirit retains its activity1 a proposition which1 indeed1 we can not doubt2 8it wakes1 though the senses sleep1 retreating into its infinite depths1 like the sun at night2 living on its spiritual life undisturbed1 while the body sinks into a state of vegetative tranquillity4 ,nor does it follow that the soul is unconscious in sleep because in waking we have frequently lost all memory of its consciousness2 since1 by the repose of the sensuous organs1 the bridge between waking and sleeping is removed1 and the recollections of one state are not carried into the other40 ,it will occur here to every one1 how often in the instant of waking we are not only conscious that we have been dreaming1 but are also conscious of the subject of the dream1 which we try in vain to grasp1 but which eludes us1 and is gone for ever the moment we have passed into a state of complete wakefulness4 ,now1 with respect to this so-called dreaming in profound sleep1 it is a thing no one can well doubt who thoroughly believes that his body is a temple built for the dwelling of an immortal spirit2 for we can not conceive of spirit sleeping1 or needing that restoration which we know to be the condition of earthly organisms4 ,if1 therefore1 the spirit wakes1 may we not suppose that the more it is disentangled from the obstructions of the body the more clear will be its perceptions2 and that1 therefore1 in the profound natural sleep of the sensuous organs we may be in a state of clear-seeing4 ,all who have attended to the subject are aware that the clear seeing of magnetic patients depends on the depth of their sleep2 whatever circumstance1 internal or external1 tends to interrupt this profound repose of the sensuous organs1 inevitably obscures their perceptions4 ,again1 with respect to the not carrying with us the recollections of one state into the other1 should not this lead us to suspect that sleeping and waking are two different spheres of existence2 partaking of the nature of that double life1 of which the records of human physiology have presented us with various instances wherein a patient finds himself utterly divested of all recollection of past events and acquired knowledge1 and has to begin life and education anew1 till another transition takes place1 wherein he recovers what he had lost1 while he at the same time loses all he had lately gained1 which he only recovers1 once more1 by another transition1 restoring to him his lately-acquired knowledge1 but again obliterating his original stock1 thus alternately passing from one state to the other1 and disclosing a double life--an educated man in one condition1 a child learning his alphabet in the next6 ,where the transition from one state to another is complete1 memory is entirely lost2 but there are cases in which the change1 being either gradual or modified1 the recollections of one life are carried more or less into the other4 ,we know this to be the case with magnetic sleepers1 as it is with ordinary dreamers2 and most persons have met with instances of the dream of one night being continued in the next4 ,treviranus mentions the case of a student who regularly began to talk the moment he fell asleep1 the subject of his discourse being a dream1 which he always took up at the exact point at which he had left it the previous morning4 ,of this dream he had never the slightest recollection in his waking state4 ,a daughter of ,sir ,george ,mackenzie1 who died at an early age1 was endowed with a remarkable genius for music1 and was an accomplished organist4 ,this young lady dreamed1 during an illness1 that she was at a party1 where she had heard a new piece of music1 which made so great an impression on her by its novelty and beauty1 that1 on awaking1 she besought her attendants to bring her some paper1 that she might write it down before she had forgotten it--an indulgence which1 apprehensive of excitement1 her medical attendant unfortunately forbade2 for1 apart from the additional psychological interest that would have been attached to the fact1 the effects of compliance1 judging from what ensued1 would probably have been soothing rather than otherwise4 ,about ten days afterward1 she had a second dream1 wherein she again found herself at a party1 where she descried on the desk of a pianoforte1 in a corner of the room1 an open book1 in which1 with astonished delight1 she recognised the same piece of music1 which she immediately proceeded to play1 and then awoke4 ,the piece was not of a short or fugitive character1 but in the style of an overture4 ,the question1 of course1 remains1 as to whether she was composing the music in her sleep1 or1 by an act of clairvoyance1 was perceiving some that actually existed4 ,either is possible1 for1 although she might have been incapable of composing so elaborate a piece in her waking state1 there are many instances on record of persons performing intellectual feats in dreams1 to which they were unequal when awake4 ,a very eminent person assured me that he had once composed some lines in his sleep 7,i think it was a sonnet7 which far exceeded any of his waking performances of that description4 ,somewhat analogous to this sort of double life is the case of the young girl mentioned by ,dr4 ,abercrombie and others1 whose employment was keeping cattle1 and who slept for some time1 much to her own annoyance1 in the room adjoining one occupied by an itinerant musician4 ,the man1 who played exceedingly well1 being an enthusiast in his art1 frequently practised the greater part of the night1 performing on his violin very complicated and difficult compositions2 while the girl1 so far from discovering any pleasure in his performances1 complained bitterly of being kept awake by the noise4 ,some time after this1 she fell ill1 and was removed to the house of a charitable lady1 who undertook the charge of her2 and here1 by-and-by1 the family were amazed by frequently hearing the most exquisite music in the night1 which they at length discovered to proceed from the girl4 ,the sounds were those of a violin1 and the tuning and other preliminary processes were accurately imitated4 ,she went through long and elaborate pieces1 and afterward was heard imitating1 in the same way1 the sounds of a pianoforte that was in the house4 ,she also talked very cleverly on the subjects of religion and politics1 and discussed with great judgment the characters and conduct of persons1 public and private4 ,awake1 she knew nothing of these things2 but was1 on the contrary1 stupid1 heavy1 and had no taste whatever for music4 ,phrenology would probably interpret this phenomenon by saying that the lower elements of the cerebral spinal axis1 as organs of sensation1 c41 c41 being asleep1 the cluster of the higher organs requisite for the above combinations were not only awake1 but rendered more active from the repose of the others3 but to me it appears that we here see the inherent faculties of the spirit manifesting themselves1 while the body slept4 ,the same faculties must have existed when it was in a waking state1 but the impressions and manifestations were then dependent on the activity and perfection of the sensuous organs1 which seem to have been of an inferior order2 and consequently1 no rays of this in-dwelling genius could pierce the coarse integument in which it was lodged4 ,similar unexpected faculties have been not unfrequently manifested by the dying1 and we may conclude to a certain degree from the same cause1 namely1 that the incipient death of the body is leaving the spirit more unobstructed4 ,dr4 ,steinbech mentions the case of a clergyman1 who1 being summoned to administer the last sacraments to a dying peasant1 found him1 to his surprise1 praying aloud in ,greek and ,hebrew1 a mystery which could be no otherwise explained than by the circumstance of his having1 when a child1 frequently heard the then minister of the parish praying in those languages4 ,he had1 however1 never understood the prayers1 nor indeed paid any attention to them2 still less had he been aware that they lived in his memory4 ,it would give much additional interest to this story had ,dr4 ,steinbech mentioned how far the man now1 while uttering the words1 understood their meaning2 whether he was aware of what he was saying1 or was only repeating the words by rote4 ,with regard to the extraordinary faculty of memory manifested in these and similar cases1 ,i shall have some observations to make in a subsequent part of this book4 ,parallel instances are those of idiots1 who1 either in a somnambulic state1 or immediately previous to death1 have spoken as if inspired4 ,at ,st4 ,jean de ,maurinne1 in ,savoy1 there was a dumb cretin1 who1 having fallen into a natural state of somnambulism1 not only was found to speak with ease1 but also to the purpose2 a faculty which disappeared1 however1 whenever he awoke4 ,dumb persons have likewise been known to speak when at the point of death4 ,the possibility of suggesting dreams to some sleepers by whispering in the ear1 is a well-known fact2 but this can doubtless only be practicable where the sensuous organs are partly awake4 ,then1 as with magnetic patients in a state of incomplete sleep1 we have only revery and imagination in place of clear-seeing4 ,the next class of dreams are those which partake of the nature of second sight1 or prophecy1 and of these there are various kinds2 some being plain and literal in their premonitions1 others allegorical and obscure2 while some also regard the most unimportant1 and others the most grave events of our lives4 ,a gentleman engaged in business in the south of ,scotland1 for example1 dreams that on entering his office in the morning1 he sees seated on a certain stool a person formerly in his service as clerk1 of whom he had neither heard nor thought for some time4 ,he inquires the motive of the visit1 and is told that such and such circumstances having brought the stranger to that part of the country1 he could not forbear visiting his old quarters1 expressing at the same time a wish to spend a few days in his former occupation1 c41 c4 ,the gentleman1 being struck with the vividness of the illusion1 relates his dream at breakfast1 and1 to his surprise1 on going to his office1 there sits the man1 and the dialogue that ensues is precisely that of the dream6 ,i have heard of numerous instances of this kind of dream1 where no previous expectation nor excitement of mind could be found to account for them1 and where the fulfilment was too exact and literal1 in all particulars1 to admit of their being explained away by the ready resource of 8an extraordinary coincidence40 ,there are also on record1 in both this country and others1 many perfectly well-authenticated cases of people obtaining prizes in the lottery1 through having dreamed of the fortunate numbers4 ,as many numbers1 however1 may have been dreamed of that were not drawn prizes1 we can derive no conclusion from this circumstance4 ,a very remarkable instance of this kind of dreaming occurred a few years since to ,mr4 ,a---- ,f----1 an eminent ,scotch advocate1 while staying in the neighborhood of ,loch ,fyne1 who dreamed one night that he saw a number of people in the street following a man to the scaffold4 ,he discovered the features of the criminal in the cart distinctly2 and1 for some reason or other1 which he could not account for1 felt an extraordinary interest in his fate--insomuch that he joined the throng1 and accompanied him to the place that was to terminate his earthly career4 ,this interest was the more unaccountable1 that the man had an exceedingly unprepossessing countenance1 but it was nevertheless so vivid as to induce the dreamer to ascend the scaffold1 and address him1 with a view to enable him to escape the impending catastrophe4 ,suddenly1 however1 while he was talking to him1 the whole scene dissolved away1 and the sleeper awoke4 ,being a good deal struck with the lifelike reality of the vision1 and the impression made on his mind by the features of this man1 he related the circumstance to his friends at breakfast1 adding that he should know him anywhere1 if he saw him4 ,a few jests being made on the subject1 the thing was forgotten4 ,on the afternoon of the same day1 the advocate was informed that two men wanted to speak to him1 and1 on going into the hall1 he was struck with amazement at perceiving that one of them was the hero of his dream6 8,we are accused of a murder10 said they1 8and we wish to consult you4 ,three of us went out1 last night1 in a boat2 an accident has happened2 our comrade is drowned1 and they want to make us accountable for him40 ,the advocate then put some interrogations to them1 and the result produced in his mind by their answers was a conviction of their guilt4 ,probably the recollection of his dream rendered the effects of this conviction more palpable2 for one addressing the other1 said in ,gaelic1 8,we have come to the wrong man2 he is against us40 8,there is a higher power than ,i against you10 returned the gentleman2 8and the only advice ,i can give you is1 if you are guilty1 fly immediately40 ,upon this1 they went away2 and the next thing he heard was1 that they were taken into custody on suspicion of the murder4 ,the account of the affair was1 that1 as they said1 the three had gone out together on the preceding evening1 and that in the morning the body of one of them had been found on the shore1 with a cut across his forehead4 ,the father and friend of the victim had waited on the banks of the lake till the boat came in1 and then demanded their companion2 of whom1 however1 they professed themselves unable to give any account4 ,upon this1 the old man led them to his cottage for the purpose of showing them the body of his son4 ,one entered1 and1 at the sight of it1 burst into a passion of tears2 the other refused to do so1 saying his business called him immediately home1 and went sulkily away4 ,this last was the man seen in the dream4 ,after a fortnight's incarceration1 the former of these was liberated2 and he then declared to the advocate his intention of bringing an action of damages for false imprisonment4 ,he was advised not to do it4 8,leave well alone10 said the lawyer2 8and if you'll take my advice1 make off while you can40 ,the man1 however1 refused to fly3 he declared that he really did not know what had occasioned the death of his comrade4 ,the latter had been at one end of the boat1 and he at the other2 when he looked round1 he was gone2 but whether he had fallen overboard1 and cut his head as he fell1 or whether he had been struck and pushed into the water1 he did not know4 ,the advocate became finally satisfied of this man's innocence2 but the authorities1 thinking it absurd to try one and not the other1 again laid hands on him3 and it fell to ,mr4 ,a---- ,f---- to be the defender of both4 ,the difficulty was1 not to separate their cases in his pleading2 for1 however morally convinced of the different ground on which they stood1 his duty1 professionally1 was to obtain the acquittal of both1 in which he finally succeeded1 as regarded the charge of murder4 ,they were1 therefore1 sentenced to two years' imprisonment2 and1 so far as the dream is concerned1 here ends the story4 ,there remains1 however1 a curious sequel to it4 ,a few years afterward1 the same gentleman being in a boat on ,loch ,fyne1 in company with ,sir ,t---- ,d---- ,l----1 happened to be mentioning these curious circumstances1 when one of the boatmen said that he 8knew well about those two men2 and that a very strange thing had occurred in regard to one of them40 ,this one1 on inquiry1 proved to be the subject of the dream2 and the strange thing was this3 ,on being liberated1 he had quitted that part of the country1 and in process of time had gone to ,greenock1 and thence embarked in a vessel for ,cork4 ,but the vessel seemed fated never to reach its destination2 one misfortune happened after another1 till at length the sailors said3 8,this won't do2 there must be a murderer on board with us60 ,as is usual1 when such a persuasion exists1 they drew lots three times1 and each time it fell on that man6 ,he was consequently put on shore1 and the vessel went on its way without him4 ,what had become of him afterward was not known4 ,a friend of mine1 being in ,london1 dreamed that she saw her little boy playing on the terrace of her house in ,northumberland2 that he fell and hurt his arm1 and she saw him lying apparently dead4 ,the dream recurred two or three times on the same night1 and she awoke her husband1 saying she 8feared something must have happened to ,henry40 ,in due course of post1 a letter arrived from the governess1 saying that she was sorry to have to communicate that1 while playing on the terrace that morning1 ,master ,henry had fallen over a heap of stones1 and broken his arm2 adding that he had fainted after the accident1 and had lain for some time insensible4 ,the lady to whom this dream occurred is not aware having ever manifested this faculty before or since4 ,mrs4 ,w---- dreamed that she saw people ascending by a ladder to the chamber of her step-son ,john2 wakes1 and says she is afraid he is dead1 and that there was something odd in her dream about a watch and a candle4 ,in the morning a messenger is sent to inquire for the gentleman1 and they find people ascending to his chamber-window by a ladder1 the door of the room being locked4 ,they discover him dead on the floor1 with his watch in his hand1 and the candle between his feet4 ,the same lady dreamed that she saw a friend in great agony1 and that she heard him say they were tearing his flesh from his bones4 ,he was some time afterward seized with inflammation1 lay as she had seen him1 and made use of those exact words4 ,a friend of mine dreamed lately that somebody said her nephew must not be bled1 as it would be dangerous4 ,the young man was quite well1 and there had been no design of bleeding him2 but on the following morning he had a tooth drawn1 and an effusion of blood ensued1 which lasted some days1 and caused a good deal of uneasiness4 ,a farmer1 in ,worcestershire1 dreamed that his little boy1 of twelve years old1 had fallen from the wagon and was killed4 ,the dream recurred three times in one night2 but1 unwilling to yield to superstitious fears1 he allowed the child to accompany the wagoner to ,kidderminster fair4 ,the driver was very fond of the boy1 and he felt assured would take care of him2 but1 having occasion to go a little out of the road to leave a parcel1 the man bade the child walk on with the wagon1 and he would meet him at a certain spot4 ,on arriving there1 the horses were coming quietly forward1 but the boy was not with them2 and on retracing the road1 he was found dead1 having apparently fallen from the shafts1 and been crushed by the wheels4 ,a gentleman1 who resided near one of the ,scottish lakes1 dreamed that he saw a number of persons surrounding a body1 which had just been drawn out of the water4 ,on approaching the spot1 he perceives that it is himself1 and the assistants are his own friends and retainers4 ,alarmed at the lifelike reality of the vision1 he resolved to elude the threatened destiny by never venturing on the lake again4 ,on one occasion1 however1 it became quite indispensable that he should do so2 and1 as the day was quite calm1 he yielded to the necessity1 on condition that he should be put ashore at once on the opposite side1 while the rest of the party proceeded to their destinations1 where he would meet them4 ,this was accordingly done3 the boat skimmed gayly over the smooth waters1 and arrived safely at the rendezvous1 the gentlemen laughing at the superstition of their companion1 while he stood smiling on the bank to receive them4 ,but1 alas6 the fates were inexorable3 the little promontory that supported him had been undermined by the water2 it gave way beneath his feet1 and life was extinct before he could be rescued4 ,this circumstance was related to me by a friend of the family4 ,mr4 ,s---- was the son of an ,irish bishop1 who set somewhat more value on the things of this world than became his function4 ,he had always told his son that there was but one thing he could not forgive1 and that was1 a bad marriage--meaning1 by a bad marriage1 a poor one4 ,as cautions of this sort do not1 by any means1 prevent young people falling in love1 ,mr4 ,s---- fixed his affections on ,lady ,o----1 a fair young widow1 without any fortune2 and1 aware that it would be useless to apply for his father's consent1 he married her without asking it4 ,they were consequently exceedingly poor2 and1 indeed1 nearly all they had to live on was a small sinecure of forty pounds per annum1 which ,dean ,swift procured for him4 ,while in this situation1 ,mr4 ,s---- dreamed one night that he was in the cathedral in which he had formerly been accustomed to attend service2 that he saw a stranger1 habited as a bishop1 occupying his father's throne2 and that1 on applying to the verger for an explanation1 the man said that the bishop was dead1 and that he had expired just as he was adding a codicil to his will in his son's favor4 ,the impression made by the dream was so strong1 that ,mr4 ,s---- felt that he should have no repose till he had obtained news from home2 and as the most speedy way of doing so was to go there himself1 he started on horseback1 much against the advice of his wife1 who attached no importance whatever to the circumstance4 ,he had scarcely accomplished half his journey1 when he met a courier1 bearing the intelligence of his father's death2 and when he reached home1 he found that there was a codicil attached to the will1 of the greatest importance to his own future prospects2 but the old gentleman had expired1 with the pen in his hand1 just as he was about to sign it6 ,in this unhappy position1 reduced to hopeless indigence1 the friends of the young man proposed that he should present himself at the vice-regal palace1 on the next levee day1 in hopes that some interest might be excited in his favor2 to which1 with reluctance1 he consented4 ,as he was ascending the stairs1 he was met by a gentleman whose dress indicated that he belonged to the church4 8,good ,heavens60 said he1 to the friend who accompanied him1 8who is that80 8,that is ,mr4 ----1 of so and so40 8,then he will be bishop of ,l----60 returned ,mr4 ,s----2 8for that is the man ,i saw occupying my father's throne40 8,impossible60 replied the other2 8he has no interest whatever1 and has no more chance of being a bishop than ,i have40 8,you will see10 replied ,mr4 ,s----2 8,i am certain he will40 ,they had made their obeisance above1 and were returning1 when there was a great cry without1 and everybody rushed to the doors and windows to inquire what had happened4 ,the horses attached to the carriage of a young nobleman had become restiff1 and were endangering the life of their master1 when ,mr4 ---- rushed forward1 and1 at the peril of his own1 seized their heads1 and afforded ,lord ,c---- time to descend1 before they broke through all restraint1 and dashed away4 ,through the interest of this nobleman and his friends1 to whom ,mr4 ---- had been previously quite unknown1 he obtained the see of ,l----4 ,these circumstances were related to me by a member of the family4 ,it would be tedious to relate all the instances of this sort of dreaming which have come to my knowledge1 but were they even much more rare than they are1 and were there none of a graver and more mysterious kind1 it might certainly occasion some surprise that they should have excited so little attention4 ,when stories of this sort are narrated1 they are listened to with wonder for the moment1 and then forgotten1 and few people reflect on the deep significance of the facts1 or the important consequences to us involved in the question1 of how1 with our limited faculties1 which can not foretell the events of the next moment1 we should suddenly become prophets and seers4 ,the following dream1 as it regards the fate of a very interesting person1 and is1 ,i believe1 very little known1 ,i will relate1 though the story is of somewhat an old date3--,major ,andr1 the circumstances of whose lamented death are too well known to make it necessary for me to detail them here1 was a friend of ,miss ,seward's1 and1 previously to his embarkation for ,america1 he made a journey into ,derbyshire1 to pay her a visit1 and it was arranged that they should ride over to see the wonders of the ,peak1 and introduce ,andr to ,newton1 her minstrel1 as she called him1 and to ,mr4 ,cunningham1 the curate1 who was also a poet4 ,while these two gentlemen were awaiting the arrival of their guests1 of whose intentions they had been apprised1 ,mr4 ,cunningham mentioned to ,newton1 that on the preceding night1 he had had a very extraordinary dream1 which he could not get out of his head4 ,he had fancied himself in a forest2 the place was strange to him2 and1 while looking about1 he perceived a horseman approaching at great speed1 who had scarcely reached the spot where the dreamer stood1 when three men rushed out of the thicket1 and1 seizing his bridle1 hurried him away1 after closely searching his person4 ,the countenance of the stranger being very interesting1 the sympathy felt by the sleeper for his apparent misfortune awoke him2 but he presently fell asleep again1 and dreamed that he was standing near a great city1 among thousands of people1 and that he saw the same person he had seen seized in the wood brought out and suspended to a gallows4 ,when ,andr and ,miss ,seward arrived1 he was horror-struck to perceive that his new acquaintance was the antitype of the man in the dream4 ,mr4 ,c----1 a friend of mine1 told me the other day1 that he had dreamed he had gone to see a lady of his acquaintance1 and that she had presented him with a purse4 ,in the morning he mentioned the circumstance to his wife1 adding that he wondered what should have made him dream of a person he had not been in any way led to think of2 and1 above all1 that she should give him a purse4 ,on that same day1 a letter arrived from that lady to ,mrs4 ,c----1 containing a purse1 of which she begged her acceptance4 ,here was the imperfect foreshadowing of the fact1 probably from unsound sleep4 ,another friend lately dreamed1 one ,thursday night1 that he saw an acquaintance of his thrown from his horse2 and that he was lying on the ground with the blood streaming from his face1 which was much cut4 ,he mentioned his dream in the morning1 and being an entire disbeliever in such phenomena1 he could not account for the impression made on his mind4 ,this was so strong1 that on ,saturday1 he could not forbear calling at his friend's house2 who1 he was told1 was in bed1 having been thrown from his horse on the previous day1 and much injured about the face4 ,relations of this description having been more or less familiar to the world in all times and places1 and the recurrence of the phenomena too frequent to admit of their reality being disputed1 various theories were promulgated to account for them2 and indeed1 there scarcely seems to be a philosopher or historian among the ,greeks and ,romans who does not make some allusion to this ill-understood department of nature2 while1 among the eastern nations1 the faith in such mysterious revelations remains even yet undiminished4 ,spirits1 good and evil1 or the divinities of the heathen mythology1 were generally called in to remove the difficulty2 though some philosophers1 rejecting this supernatural interference1 sought the explanation in merely physical causes4 ,in the druidical rites of the northern nations1 women bore a considerable part3 there were priestesses1 who gave forth oracles and prophecies1 much after the manner of the ,pythonesses of the ,grecian temples1 and no doubt drawing their inspiration from the same sources2 namely1 from the influences of magnetism1 and from narcotics4 ,when the pure rites of ,christianity seperseded the heathen forms of worship1 tradition kept alive the memory of these vaticinations1 together with some of the arcana of the druidical groves2 and hence1 in the middle ages1 arose the race of so-called witches and sorcerers1 who were partly impostors1 and partly self-deluded4 ,nobody thought of seeking the explanation of the facts they witnessed in natural causes2 what had formerly been attributed to the influence of the gods1 was now attributed to the influence of the devil2 and a league with ,satan was the universal solvent of all difficulties4 ,persecution followed1 of course2 and men1 women1 and children1 were offered up to the demon of superstition1 till the candid and rational part of mankind1 taking fright at the holocaust1 began to put in their protest1 and lead out a reaction1 which1 like all reactions1 ran right into the opposite extreme4 ,from believing everything1 they ceased to believe anything2 and1 after swallowing unhesitatingly the most monstrous absurdities1 they relieved themselves of the whole difficulty1 by denying the plainest facts2 while what it was found impossible to deny1 was referred to imagination--that most abused word1 which explained nothing1 but left the matter as obscure as it was before4 ,man's spiritual nature was forgotten2 and what the senses could not apprehend1 nor the understanding account for1 was pronounced to be impossible4 ,thank ,god6 we have lived through that age1 and in spite of the struggles of the materialistic school1 we are fast advancing to a better4 ,the traditions of the saints who suffered the most appalling tortures1 and slept or smiled the while1 can scarcely be rejected now1 when we are daily hearing of people undergoing frightful operations1 either in a state of insensibility1 or while they believe themselves revelling in delight2 nor can the psychological intimations which these facts offer1 be much longer overlooked4 ,one revelation must lead to another2 and the wise men of the world will1 ere long1 be obliged to give in their adherence to ,shakspere's much quoted axiom1 and confess that 8there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in their philosophy40 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,allegorical ,,dreams1 ,,presentiment1 ,,etc4 ,,it has been the opinion of many philosophers1 both ancient and modern1 that in the original state of man1 as he came forth from the hands of his ,creator1 that knowledge which is now acquired by pains and labor was intuitive4 ,his material body was given him for the purpose of placing him in relation with the material world1 and his sensuous organs for the perception of material objects1 but his soul was a mirror of the universe1 in which everything was reflected1 and1 probably1 is so still1 but that the spirit is no longer in a condition to perceive it4 ,degraded in his nature1 and distracted by the multiplicity of the objects and interests that surround him1 man has lost his faculty of spiritual seeing2 but in sleep1 when the body is in a state of passivity1 and external objects are excluded from us by the shutting up of the senses through which we perceive them1 the spirit1 to a certain degree freed from its impediments1 may enjoy somewhat of its original privilege4 8,the soul1 which is designed as the mirror of a superior spiritual order0 7to which it belongs71 still receives in dreams1 some rays from above1 and enjoys a foretaste of its future condition2 and1 whatever interpretation may be put upon the history of the ,fall1 few will doubt that1 before it1 man must have stood in a much more intimate relation to his ,creator than he has done since4 ,if we admit this1 and that1 for the above-hinted reasons1 the soul in sleep may be able to exercise somewhat of its original endowment1 the possibility of what is called prophetic dreaming may be better understood4 8,seeing in dreams10 says ,ennemoser1 8is a self-illumining of things1 places1 and times20 for relations of time and space form no obstruction to the dreamer3 things1 near and far1 are alike seen in the mirror of the soul1 according to the connection in which they stand to each other2 and1 as the future is but an unfolding of the present1 as the present is of the past1 one being necessarily involved in the other1 it is not more difficult to the untrammelled spirit to see what is to happen1 than what has already happened4 ,under what peculiar circumstances it is that the body and soul fall into this particular relative condition1 we do not know1 but that certain families and constitutions are more prone to these conditions than others1 all experience goes to establish4 ,according to the theory of ,dr4 ,ennemoser1 we should conclude that they are more susceptible to magnetic influences1 and that the body falls into a more complete state of negative polarity4 ,in the histories of the ,old ,testament we constantly find instances of prophetic dreaming1 and the voice of ,god was chiefly heard by the prophets in sleep2 seeming to establish that man is in that state more susceptible of spiritual communion1 although the being thus made the special organ of the ,divine will1 is altogether a different thing from the mere disfranchisement of the embodied spirit in ordinary cases of clear seeing in sleep4 ,profane history1 also1 furnishes us with various instances of prophetic dreaming1 which it is unnecessary for me to refer to here4 ,but there is one thing very worthy of remark1 namely1 that the allegorical character of many of the dreams recorded in the ,old ,testament1 occasionally pervades those of the present day4 ,i have heard of several of this nature1 and ,oberlin1 the good pastor of ,ban de la ,roche1 was so subject to them1 that he fancied he had acquired the art of interpreting the symbols4 ,this characteristic of dreaming is in strict conformity with the language of the ,old ,testament1 and of the most ancient nations4 ,poets and prophets1 heathen and ,christian1 alike express themselves symbolically1 and1 if we believe that this language prevailed in the early ages of the world1 before the external and intellectual life had predominated over the instinctive and emotional1 we must conclude it to be the natural language of man1 who must1 therefore1 have been gifted with a conformable faculty of comprehending these hieroglyphics2 and hence it arose that the interpreting of dreams became a legitimate art4 ,long after these instinctive faculties were lost1 or rather obscured1 by the turmoil and distractions of sensuous life1 the memories and traditions of them remained1 and hence the superstructure of jugglery and imposture that ensued1 of which the gipsies form a signal example1 in whom1 however1 there can be no doubt that some occasional gleams of this original endowment may still be found1 as is the case1 though more rarely1 in individuals of all races and conditions4 ,the whole of nature is one large book of symbols1 which1 because we have lost the key to it1 we can not decipher4 8,to the first man10 says ,hamann1 8whatever his ear heard1 his eye saw1 or his hand touched1 was a living word2 with this word in his heart and in his mouth1 the formation of language was easy4 ,man saw things in their essence and properties1 and named them accordingly40 ,there can be no doubt that the heathen forms of worship and systems of religion were but the external symbols of some deep meanings1 and not the idle fables that they have been too frequently considered2 and it is absurd to suppose that the theology which satisfied so many great minds had no better foundation than a child's fairy tale4 ,a maid-servant1 who resided many years in a distinguished family in ,edinburgh1 was repeatedly warned of the approaching death of certain members of that family1 by dreaming that one of the walls of the house had fallen4 ,shortly before the head of the family sickened and died1 she said she had dreamed that the main wall had fallen4 ,a singular circumstance which occurred in this same family1 from a member of which ,i heard it1 is mentioned by ,dr4 ,abercrombie4 ,on this occasion the dream was not only prophetic1 but the symbol was actually translated into fact4 ,one of the sons being indisposed with a sore throat1 a sister dreamed that a watch1 of considerable value1 which she had borrowed from a friend1 had stopped2 that she had awakened another sister and mentioned the circumstance1 who answered that 8something much worse had happened1 for ,charles's breath had stopped40 ,she then awoke1 in extreme alarm1 and mentioned the dream to her sister1 who1 to tranquillize her mind1 arose and went to the brother's room1 where she found him asleep and the watch going4 ,the next night the same dream recurred1 and the brother was again found asleep and the watch going4 ,on the following morning1 however1 this lady was writing a note in the drawing-room1 with the watch beside her1 when1 on taking it up1 she perceived it had stopped2 and she was just on the point of calling her sister to mention the circumstance1 when she heard a scream from her brother's room1 and the sister rushed in with the tidings that he had just expired4 ,the malady had not been thought serious2 but a sudden fit of suffocation had unexpectedly proved fatal4 ,this case1 which is established beyond all controversy1 is extremely curious in many points of view2 the acting out of the symbol1 especially4 ,symbolical events of this description have been often related1 and as often laughed at4 ,it is easy to laugh at what we do not understand2 and it gives us the advantage of making the timid narrator ashamed of his fact1 so that if he do not wholly suppress it1 he at least insures himself by laughing1 too1 the next time he relates it4 ,it is said that ,goethe's clock stopped the moment he died2 and ,i have heard repeated instances of this strange kind of synchronism1 or magnetism1 if it be by magnetism that we are to account for the mystery4 ,one was told me very lately by a gentleman to whom the circumstances occurred4 ,on the #afth of ,august1 #agfi1 ,frederick ,,ii41 of ,prussia1 is said to have dreamed that a star fell from heaven and occasioned such an extraordinary glare that he could with great difficulty find his way through it4 ,he mentioned the dream to his attendants1 and it was afterward observed that it was on that day ,napoleon was born4 ,a lady1 not long since1 related to me the following circumstance3 ,her mother1 who was at the time residing in ,edinburgh1 in a house one side of which looked into a wynd1 while the door was in the ,high street1 dreamed that1 it being ,sunday morning1 she had heard a sound which attracted her to the window2 and1 while looking out1 had dropped a ring from her finger into the wynd below2 that she had1 thereupon1 gone down in her night-clothes to seek it1 but when she reached the spot it was not to be found4 ,returning1 extremely vexed at her loss1 as she re-entered her own door she met a respectable looking young man1 carrying some loaves of bread4 ,on expressing her astonishment at finding a stranger there at so unseasonable an hour1 he answered by expressing his at seeing her in such a situation4 ,she said she had dropped her ring1 and had been round the corner to seek it2 whereupon1 to her delighted surprise1 he presented her with her lost treasure4 ,some months afterward1 being at a party1 she recognized the young man seen in her dream1 and learned that he was a baker4 ,he took no particular notice of her on that occasion2 and1 ,i think1 two years elapsed before she met him again4 ,this second meeting1 however1 led to an acquaintance1 which terminated in marriage4 ,here the ring and the bread are curiously emblematic of the marriage1 and the occupation of the future husband4 ,miss ,l----1 residing at ,dalkeith1 dreamed that her brother1 who was ill1 called her to his bedside and gave her a letter1 which he desired her to carry to their aunt1 ,mrs4 ,h----1 with the request that she would 8deliver it to ,john40 7,john was another brother1 who had died previously1 and ,mrs4 ,h---- was at the time ill47 ,he added that 8he himself was going there also1 but that ,mrs4 ,h---- would be there before him40 ,accordingly1 ,miss ,l---- went1 in her dream1 with the letter to ,mrs4 ,h----1 whom she found dressed in white1 and looking quite radiant and happy4 ,she took the letter1 saying she was going there directly1 and would deliver it4 ,on the following morning ,miss ,l---- learned that her aunt had died in the night4 ,the brother died some little time afterward4 ,a gentleman who had been a short time visiting ,edinburgh1 was troubled with a cough1 which1 though it occasioned him no alarm1 he resolved to go home to nurse4 ,on the first night of his arrival he dreamed that one half of the house was blown away4 ,his bailiff1 who resided at a distance1 dreamed the same dream on the same night4 ,the gentleman died within a few weeks4 8,this symbolical language1 which the ,deity appears to have used0 7witness ,peter's dream1 ,acts ii41 and others7 8in all his revelations to man1 is in the highest degree1 what poetry is in a lower1 and the language of dreams1 in the lowest1 namely1 the original natural language of man2 and we may fairly ask whether this language1 which here plays an inferior part1 be not1 possibly1 the proper language of a higher sphere1 while we1 who vainly think ourselves awake1 are1 in reality1 buried in a deep1 deep sleep1 in which1 like dreamers who imperfectly hear the voices of those around them1 we occasionally apprehend1 though obscurely1 a few words of this divine tongue40 7,vide ,schubert47 ,this subject of sleeping and waking is a very curious one1 and might give rise to strange questionings4 ,in the case of those patients abovementioned1 who seem to have two different spheres of existence1 who shall say which is the waking one1 or whether either of them be so8 ,the speculations of ,mr4 ,dove on this subject merited more attention1 ,i think1 than they met with when he lectured in ,edinburgh4 ,he maintained that1 long before he had paid any attention to magnetism1 he had arrived at the conclusion that there are as many states or conditions of mind beyond sleep as there are on this side of it2 passing through the different stages of dreaming1 revery1 contemplation1 c41 up to perfect vigilance4 ,however this be1 in this world of appearance1 where we see nothing as it is1 and where1 both as regards our moral and physical relations1 we live in a state of continual delusion1 it is impossible for us to pronounce on this question4 ,it is a common remark1 that some people seem to live in a dream1 and never to be quite awake2 and the most cursory observer can not fail to have been struck with examples of persons in this condition1 especially in the aged4 ,with respect to this allegorical language1 ,ennemoser observes1 that1 8since no dreamer learns it of another1 and still less from those who are awake1 it must be natural to all men40 ,how different too1 is its comprehensiveness and rapidity1 to our ordinary language6 ,we are accustomed1 and with justice1 to wonder at the admirable mechanism by which1 without fatigue or exertion1 we communicate with our fellow-beings2 but how slow and ineffectual is human speech compared to this spiritual picture-language1 where a whole history is understood at a glance6 and scenes that seem to occupy days and weeks1 are acted out in ten minutes4 ,it is remarkable that this hieroglyphic language appears to be the same among all people2 and that the dream-interpreters of all countries construe the signs alike4 ,thus1 the dreaming of deep water denotes trouble1 and pearls are a sign of tears4 ,i have heard of a lady who1 whenever a misfortune was impending1 dreamed that she saw a large fish4 ,one night she dreamed that this fish had bitten two of her little boy's fingers4 ,immediately afterward a schoolfellow of the child's injured those two very fingers by striking him with a hatchet2 and ,i have met with several persons who have learned1 by experience1 to consider one particular dream as the certain prognostic of misfortune4 ,a lady who had left the ,west ,indies when six years old1 came one night1 fourteen years afterward1 to her sister's bedside1 and said1 8,i know uncle is dead4 ,i have dreamed that ,i saw a number of slaves in the large store-room at ,barbadoes1 with long brooms1 sweeping down immense cobwebs4 ,i complained to my aunt1 and she covered her face and said1 #8,yes1 he is no sooner gone than they disobey him4'0 ,it was afterward ascertained that ,mr4 ,p---- had died on that night1 and that he had never permitted the cobwebs in this room to be swept away1 of which1 however1 the lady assures me she knew nothing2 nor could she or her friends conceive what was meant by the symbol of the cobwebs1 till they received the explanation subsequently from a member of the family4 ,the following very curious allegorical dream ,i give1 not in the words of the dreamer1 but in those of her son1 who bears a name destined1 ,i trust1 to a long immortality3-- 8,,wooer',s ,,abbey-,,cottage1 ,,dunfermline-,,in-,,the-,,woods1 8,monday morning1 #cast ,may1 #ahdg4 8,,dear ,,mrs4 ,,crowe3 ,that dream of my mother's was as follows3 ,she stood in a long1 dark1 empty gallery3 on her one side was my father1 and on the other my eldest sister ,amelia2 then myself1 and the rest of the family1 according to their ages4 ,at the foot of the hall stood my youngest sister ,alexes1 and above her my sister ,catherine--a creature1 by-the-way1 in person and mind1 more like an angel of heaven than an inhabitant of earth4 ,we all stood silent and motionless4 ,at last ,,it entered--the unimagined something1 that1 casting its grim shadow before1 had enveloped all the trivialities of the preceding dream in the stifling atmosphere of terror4 ,it entered1 stealthily descending the three steps that led from the entrance down into the chamber of horror3 and my mother felt ,,it was ,death6 ,he was dwarfish1 bent1 and shrivelled4 ,he carried on his shoulder a heavy axe2 and had come1 she thought1 to destroy #8all her little ones at one fell swoop4' ,on the entrance of the shape1 my sister ,alexes leaped out of the rank1 interposing herself between him and my mother4 ,he raised his axe and aimed a blow at ,catherine--a blow which1 to her horror1 my mother could not intercept1 though she had snatched up a three-legged stool1 the sole furniture of the apartment1 for that purpose4 ,she could not1 she felt1 fling the stool at the figure without destroying ,alexes1 who kept shooting out and in between her and the ghastly thing4 ,she tried in vain to scream2 she besought my father1 in agony1 to avert the impending stroke2 but he did not hear1 or did not heed her1 and stood motionless1 as in a trance4 ,down came the axe1 and poor ,catherine fell in her blood1 cloven to #8the white halse bane4' ,again the axe was lifted1 by the inexorable shadow1 over the head of my brother1 who stood next in the line4 ,alexes had somewhere disappeared behind the ghastly visitant2 and1 with a scream1 my mother flung the footstool at his head4 ,he vanished1 and she awoke4 8,this dream left on my mother's mind a fearful apprehension of impending misfortune1 #8which would not pass away4' ,it was murder she feared2 and her suspicions were not allayed by the discovery that a man 7some time before discarded by my father for bad conduct1 and with whom she had1 somehow1 associated the ,death of her dream7 had been lurking about the place1 and sleeping in an adjoining outhouse on the night it occurred1 and for some nights previous and subsequent to it4 ,her terror increased4 ,sleep forsook her2 and every night1 when the house was still1 she arose and stole1 sometimes with a candle1 sometimes in the dark1 from room to room1 listening1 in a sort of waking nightmare1 for the breathing of the assassin1 who1 she imagined1 was lurking in some one of them4 ,this could not last4 ,she reasoned with herself2 but her terror became intolerable1 and she related her dream to my father1 who1 of course1 called her a fool for her pains1 whatever might be his real opinion of the matter4 8,three months had elapsed1 when we children were all of us seized with scarlet fever4 ,my sister ,catherine died almost immediately--sacrificed1 as my mother in her misery thought1 to her 7my mother's7 over-anxiety for ,alexes1 whose danger seemed more imminent4 ,the dream-prophecy was in part fulfilled4 ,i also was at death's door--given up by the doctors1 but not by my mother3 she was confident of my recovery2 but for my brother1 who was scarcely considered in danger at all1 but on whose head she had seen the visionary axe impending1 her fears were great2 for she could not recollect whether the blow had or had not descended when the spectre vanished4 ,my brother recovered1 but relapsed1 and barely escaped with life2 but ,alexes did not4 ,for a year and ten months the poor child lingered1 and almost every night ,i had to sing her asleep--often1 ,i remember1 through bitter tears1 for ,i knew she was dying1 and ,i loved her the more as she wasted away4 ,i held her little hand as she died2 ,i followed her to the grave--the last thing that ,i have loved on earth4 ,and the dream was fulfilled4 8,truly and sincerely yours1 ,j4 ,,noel ,,paton40 ,the dreaming of coffins and funerals1 when a death is impending1 must be considered as examples of this allegorical language4 ,instances of this kind are extremely numerous4 ,not unfrequently the dreamer1 as in cases of second-sight1 sees either the body in the coffin1 so as to be conscious of who is to die1 or else is made aware of it from seeing the funeral-procession at a certain house1 or from some other significant circumstance4 ,this faculty1 which has been supposed to belong peculiarly to the highlanders of ,scotland1 appears to be fully as well known in ,wales and on the continent1 especially in ,germany4 ,the language of dreams1 however1 is not always symbolical4 ,occasionally1 the scene1 that is transacting at a distance1 or that is to be transacted at some future period1 is literally presented to the sleeper1 as things appear to be presented in many cases of second-sight1 and also in clairvoyance2 and1 since we suppose him 7that is1 the sleeper7 to be in a temporarily magnetic state1 we must conclude that the degree of perspicuity1 or translucency of the vision1 depends on the degree of that state4 ,nevertheless1 there are considerable difficulties attending this theory4 ,a great proportion of the prophetic dreams we hear of are connected with the death of some friend or relative4 ,some1 it is true1 regard unimportant matters1 as visits1 and so forth2 but this is generally1 though not exclusively1 the case only with persons who have a constitutional tendency to this kind of dreaming1 and with whom it is frequent2 but it is not uncommon for those who have not discovered any such tendency1 to be made aware of a death3 and the number of dreams of this description ,i meet with is very considerable4 ,now1 it is difficult to conceive what the condition is that causes this perception of an approaching death2 or why1 supposing1 as we have suggested above1 that1 when the senses sleep1 the untrammelled spirit sees1 the memory of this revelation1 if ,i may so call it1 so much more frequently survives than any other1 unless1 indeed1 it be the force of the shock sustained--which shock1 it is to be remarked1 always wakes the sleeper2 and this may be the reason that1 if he fall asleep again1 the dream is almost invariably repeated4 ,i could fill pages with dreams of this description which have come to my knowledge1 or been recorded by others4 ,mr4 ,h----1 a gentleman with whom ,i am acquainted--a man engaged in active business1 and apparently as little likely as any one ,i ever knew to be troubled with a faculty of this sort--dreamed that he saw a certain friend of his dead4 ,the dream was so like reality1 that1 although he had no reason whatever to suppose his friend ill1 he could not forbear sending in the morning to inquire for him4 ,the answer returned was1 that ,mr4 ,a---- was out1 and was quite well4 ,the impression1 however1 was so vivid1 that1 although he had nearly three miles to send1 ,mr4 ,h---- felt that he could not start for ,glasgow1 whither business called him1 without making another inquiry4 ,this time his friend was at home1 and answered for himself1 that he was very well1 and that somebody must have been hoaxing ,h----1 and making him believe otherwise4 ,mr4 ,h---- set out on his journey1 wondering at his own anxiety1 but unable to conquer it4 ,he was absent but a few days 7,i think three72 and the first news he heard on his return was1 that his friend had been seized with an attack of inflammation1 and was dead4 ,a ,german professor lately related to a friend of mine1 that1 being some distance from home1 he dreamed that his father was dying1 and was calling for him4 ,the dream being repeated1 he was so far impressed as to alter his plans1 and return home1 where he arrived in time to receive his parent's last breath4 ,he was informed that the dying man had been calling upon his name repeatedly1 in deep anguish at his absence4 ,a parallel case to this is that of ,mr4 ,r---- ,e---- ,s----1 an accountant in ,edinburgh1 and a shrewd man of business1 who relates the following circumstance as occurring to himself4 ,he is a native of ,dalkeith1 and was residing there1 when1 being about fifteen years of age1 he left home on a ,saturday1 to spend a few days with a friend at ,prestonpans4 ,on the ,sunday night he dreamed that his mother was extremely ill1 and started out of his sleep with an impression that he must go to her immediately4 ,he even got out of bed with the intention of doing so1 but1 reflecting that he had left her quite well1 and that it was only a dream1 he returned to bed1 and again fell asleep4 ,but the dream returned1 and1 unable longer to control his anxiety1 he arose1 dressed himself in the dark1 quitted the house1 leaping the railings that surrounded it1 and made the best of his way to ,dalkeith4 ,on reaching home1 which he did before daylight1 he tapped at the kitchen-window1 and1 on gaining admittance1 was informed that on the ,saturday evening1 after he had departed1 his mother had been seized with an attack of ,british cholera1 and was lying above1 extremely ill4 ,she had been lamenting his absence extremely1 and had scarcely ceased crying1 8,oh1 ,ralph1 ,ralph6 what a grief that you are away60 ,at nine o'clock he was admitted to her room2 but she was no longer in a condition to recognise him1 and she died within a day or two4 ,instances of this sort are numerous1 but it would be tedious to narrate them1 especially as there is little room for variety in the details4 ,i shall therefore content myself with giving one or two specimens of each class1 confining my examples to such as have been communicated to myself1 except where any case of particular interest leads me to deviate from this plan4 ,the frequency of such phenomena may be imagined1 when ,i mention that the instances ,i shall give1 with few exceptions1 have been collected with little trouble1 and without seeking beyond my own small circle of acquaintance4 ,in the family of the above-named gentleman 7,mr4 ,r---- ,e---- ,s----71 there probably existed a faculty of presentiment2 for1 in the year #ahaj1 his elder brother being assistant-surgeon on board the 8,gorgon10 war-brig1 his father dreamed that he was promoted to the 8,sparrowhawk10 a ship he had then never heard of--neither had the family received any intelligence of the young man for several months4 ,he told his dream1 and was well laughed at for his pains2 but in a few weeks a letter arrived announcing the promotion4 ,when ,lord ,burghersh was giving theatrical parties at ,florence1 a lady 7,mrs4 ,m----1 whose presence was very important7 excused herself one evening1 being in great alarm from having dreamed in the night that her sister1 in ,england1 was dead1 which proved to be the fact4 ,mr4 ,w----1 a young man at ,glasgow college1 not long since dreamed that his aunt in ,russia was dead4 ,he noted the date of his dream on the window-shutter of his chamber4 ,in a short time the news of the lady's death arrived4 ,the dates1 however1 did not accord2 but1 on mentioning the circumstance to a friend1 he was reminded that the adherence of the ,russians to the old style reconciled the difference4 ,a man of business1 in ,glasgow1 lately dreamed that he saw a coffin1 on which was inscribed the name of a friend1 with the date of his death4 ,some time afterward he was summoned to attend the funeral of that person1 who1 at the time of the dream1 was in good health1 and he was struck with surprise on seeing the plate of the coffin bearing the very date he had seen in his dream4 ,a ,french gentleman1 ,monsieur de ,v----1 dreamed1 some years since1 that he saw a tomb1 on which he read very distinctly1 the following date--#bc;d ,june1 #ahd--2 there were1 also1 some initials1 but so much effaced that he could not make them out4 ,he mentioned the circumstance to his wife2 and for some time1 they could not help dreading the recurrence of the ominous month2 but1 as year after year passed1 and nothing happened1 they had ceased to think of it1 when at last the symbol was explained4 ,on the #bc;d of ,june1 #ahdf1 their only daughter died at the age of seventeen4 ,thus far the instances ,i have related seem to resolve themselves into cases of simple clairvoyance1 or second sight in sleep1 although1 in using these words1 ,i am very far from meaning to imply that ,i explain the thing1 or unveil its mystery4 ,the theory above alluded to1 seems as yet1 the only one applicable to the facts1 namely1 that the senses1 being placed in a negative and passive state1 the universal sense of the immortal spirit within1 which sees1 and hears1 and knows1 or rather1 in one word1 perceives1 without organs1 becomes more or less free to work unclogged4 ,that the soul is a mirror in which the spirit sees all things reflected1 is a modification of this theory2 but ,i confess ,i find myself unable to attach any idea to this latter form of expression4 ,another view1 which ,i have heard suggested by an eminent person1 is1 that if it be true1 as maintained by ,dr4 ,wigan1 and some other physiologists1 that our brains are double1 it is possible that a polarity may exist between the two sides1 by means of which the negative side may1 under certain circumstances1 become a mirror to the positive4 ,it seems difficult to reconcile this notion with the fact1 that these perceptions occur most frequently when the brain is asleep4 ,how far the sleep is perfect and general1 however1 we can never know2 and of course1 when the powers of speech and locomotion continue to be exercised1 we are aware that it is only partial1 in a more or less degree4 ,in the case of magnetic sleepers1 observation shows us1 that the auditory nerves are aroused by being addressed1 and fall asleep again as soon as they are left undisturbed4 ,in most cases of natural sleep1 the same process1 if the voice were heard at all1 would disperse sleep altogether2 and it must be remembered that1 as ,dr4 ,holland says1 sleep is a fluctuating condition1 varying from one moment to another1 and this allowance must be made when considering magnetic sleep also4 ,it is by this theory of the duality of the brain1 which seems to have many arguments in its favor1 and the alternate sleeping and waking of the two sides1 that ,dr4 ,wigan seeks to account for the state of double or alternate consciousness above alluded to2 and also1 for that strange sensation which most people have experienced1 of having witnessed a scene1 or heard a conversation1 at some indefinite period before1 or even in some earlier state of existence4 ,he thinks that one half of the brain being in a more active condition than the other1 it takes cognizance of the scene first2 and that thus the perceptions of the second1 when they take place1 appear to be a repetition of some former experiences4 ,i confess this theory1 as regards this latter phenomenon1 is to me eminently unsatisfactory1 and it is especially defective in not accounting for one of the most curious particulars connected with it1 namely1 that on these occasions people not only seem to recognise the circumstances as having been experienced before2 but they have1 very frequently1 an actual foreknowledge of what will be next said or done4 ,now1 the explanation of this mystery1 ,i incline to think1 may possibly lie in the hypothesis ,i have suggested2 namely1 that in profound1 and what appears to us generally to have been dreamless sleep1 we are clear-seers4 ,the map of coming events lies open before us1 the spirit surveys it2 but with the awaking of the sensuous organs1 this dream-life1 with its aerial excursions1 passes away1 and we are translated into our other sphere of existence4 ,but1 occasionally1 some flash of recollection1 some ray of light from this visionary world1 in which we have been living1 breaks in upon our external objective existence1 and we recognise the locality1 the voice1 the very words1 as being but a reacting of some foregone scenes of a drama4 ,the faculty of presentiment1 of which everybody must have heard instances1 seems to have some affinity to the phenomenon last referred to4 ,i am acquainted with a lady1 in whom this faculty is in some degree developed1 who has evinced it by a consciousness of the moment when a death was taking place in her family1 or among her connections1 although she does not know who it is that has departed4 ,i have heard of several cases of people hurrying home from a presentiment of fire2 and ,mr4 ,m---- of ,calderwood was once1 when absent from home1 seized with such an anxiety about his family1 that without being able in any way to account for it1 he felt himself impelled to fly to them and remove them from the house they were inhabiting2 one wing of which fell down immediately afterward4 ,no notion of such a misfortune had ever before occurred to him1 nor was there any reason whatever to expect it2 the accident originating from some defect in the foundations4 ,a circumstance1 exactly similar to this1 is related by ,stilling1 of ,professor ,bhm1 teacher of mathematics at ,marburg2 who being one evening in company1 was suddenly seized with a conviction that he ought to go home4 ,as however1 he was very comfortably taking his tea1 and had nothing to do at home1 he resisted the admonition2 but it returned with such force that at length he was obliged to yield4 ,on reaching his house1 he found everything as he had left it2 but he now felt himself urged to remove his bed from the corner in which it stood to another2 but as it had always stood there1 he resisted this impulsion also4 ,however1 the resistance was vain1 absurd as it seemed1 he felt he must do it2 so he summoned the maid1 and with her aid1 drew the bed to the other side of the room2 after which he felt quite at ease and returned to spend the rest of the evening with his friends4 ,at ten o'clock the party broke up1 and he retired home and went to bed and to sleep4 ,in the middle of the night1 he was awakened by a loud crash1 and on looking out1 he saw that a large beam had fallen1 bringing part of the ceiling with it1 and was lying exactly on the spot his bed had occupied4 ,a young servant-girl in this neighborhood1 who had been several years in an excellent situation1 where she was much esteemed1 was suddenly seized with a presentiment that she was wanted at home2 and1 in spite of all representations1 she resigned her place1 and set out on her journey thither2 where1 when she arrived1 she found her parents extremely ill1 one of them mortally1 and in the greatest need of her services4 ,no intelligence of their illness had reached her1 nor could she herself in any way account for the impulse4 ,i have heard of numerous well-authenticated cases of people escaping drowning from being seized with an unaccountable presentiment of evil when there were no external signs whatever to justify the apprehension4 ,the story of ,cazotte1 as related by ,la ,harpe1 is a very remarkable instance of this sort of faculty2 and seems to indicate a power like that possessed by ,zschokke1 who relates1 in his autobiography1 that frequently while conversing with a stranger1 the whole circumstances of that person's previous life were revealed to him1 even comprising details of places and persons4 ,in the case of ,cazotte1 it was the future that was laid open to him1 and he foretold1 to a company of eminent persons1 in the year #aghh1 the fate which awaited each individual1 himself included1 in consequence of the revolution then commencing4 ,as this story is already in print1 ,i forbear to relate it4 ,one of the most remarkable cases of presentiment ,i know1 is1 that which occurred1 not very long since1 on board one of her majesty's ships1 when lying off ,portsmouth4 ,the officers being one day at the mess-table1 young ,lieutenant ,p---- suddenly laid down his knife and fork1 pushed away his plate1 and turned extremely pale4 ,he then rose from the table1 covering his face with his hands1 and retired from the room4 ,the president of the mess1 supposing him to be ill1 sent one of the young men to inquire what was the matter4 ,at first ,mr4 ,p---- was unwilling to speak1 but on being pressed1 he confessed that he had been seized by a sudden and irresistible impression that a brother he had then in ,india was dead4 8,he died10 said he1 8on the #abth of ,august1 at six o'clock2 ,i am perfectly certain of it60 ,no arguments could overthrow this conviction1 which1 in due course of post1 was verified to the letter4 ,the young man had died at ,cawnpore1 at the precise period mentioned4 ,when any exhibition of this sort of faculty occurs in animals1 which is by no means unfrequent1 it is termed instinct2 and we look upon it1 as what it probably is1 only another and more rare development of that intuitive knowledge which enables them to seek their food1 and perform the other functions necessary for the maintenance of their existence and the continuance of their race4 ,now1 it is remarkable1 that the life of an animal is a sort of dream-life2 their ganglionic system is more developed than that of man1 and the cerebral less2 and since it is1 doubtless1 from the greater development of the ganglionic system in women that they exhibit more frequent instances of such abnormal phenomena as ,i am treating of1 than men1 we may be1 perhaps1 justified in considering the faculty of presentiment in a human being as a suddenly-awakened instinct2 just as in an animal it is an intensified instinct4 ,everybody has either witnessed or heard of instances of this sort of presentiment1 in dogs especially4 ,for the authenticity of the following anecdote ,i can vouch1 the traditions being very carefully preserved in the family concerned1 from whom ,i have it4 ,in the last century1 ,mr4 ,p----1 a member of this family1 who had involved himself in some of the stormy affairs of this northern part of the island1 was one day surprised by seeing a favorite dog1 that was lying at his feet1 start suddenly up and seize him by the knee1 which he pulled--not with violence1 but in a manner that indicated a wish that his master should follow him to the door4 ,the gentleman resisted the invitation for some time1 till at length1 the perseverance of the animal rousing his curiosity1 he yielded1 and was thus conducted by the dog into the most sequestered part of a neighboring thicket1 where1 however1 he could see nothing to account for his dumb friend's proceeding1 who now lay himself down1 quite satisfied1 and seemed to wish his master to follow his example1 which1 determined to pursue the adventure and find out1 if possible1 what was meant1 he did4 ,a considerable time now elapsed before the dog would consent to his master's going home2 but at length he arose and led the way thither1 when the first news ,mr4 ,p---- heard was1 that a party of soldiers had been there in quest of him2 and he was shown the marks of their spikes1 which had been thrust through the bed-clothes in their search4 ,he fled1 and ultimately escaped1 his life being thus preserved by his dog4 ,some years ago1 at ,plymouth1 ,i had a brown spaniel that regularly1 with great delight1 accompanied my son and his nurse in their morning's walk4 ,one day she came to complain to me that ,tiger would not go out with them4 ,nobody could conceive the reason of so unusual a caprice2 and1 unfortunately1 we did not yield to it1 but forced him to go4 ,in less than a quarter of an hour he was brought back1 so torn to pieces1 by a savage dog that had just come ashore from a foreign vessel1 that it was found necessary to shoot him immediately4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,warnings4 ,,this comparison between the power of presentiment in a human being and the instincts of an animal1 may be offensive to some people2 but it must be admitted1 that1 as far as we can see1 the manifestation is the same1 whatever be the cause4 ,now1 the body of an animal must be informed by an immaterial principle--let us call it soul or spirit1 or anything else2 for it is evident that their actions are not the mere result of organization2 and all ,i mean to imply is1 that this faculty of foreseeing must be inherent in intelligent spirit1 let it be lodged in what form of flesh it may2 while1 with regard to what instinct is1 we are1 in the meanwhile1 in extreme ignorance1 ,instinct being a word which1 like ,imagination1 everybody uses1 and nobody understands4 ,ennemoser and ,schubert believe1 that the instinct by which animals seek their food1 consists in polarity1 but ,i have met with only two modern theories which pretend to explain the phenomena of presentiment2 the one is1 that the person is in a temporarily magnetic state1 and that the presentiment is a kind of clairvoyance4 ,that the faculty1 like that of prophetic dreaming1 is constitutional1 and chiefly manifested in certain families1 is well established2 and the very unimportant events1 such as visits1 and so forth1 on which it frequently exercises itself1 forbid us to seek an explanation in a higher source4 ,it seems1 also1 to be quite independent of the will of the subject1 as it was in the case of ,zschokke1 who found himself thus let into the secrets of persons in whom he felt no manner of interest1 while1 where the knowledge might have been of use to him1 he could not command it4 ,the theory of one half of the brain in a negative state1 serving as a mirror to the other half1 if admitted at all1 may answer as well1 or better1 for these waking presentiments1 than for clear-seeing in dreams4 ,but1 for my own part1 ,i incline very much to the views of that school of philosophers who adopt the first and more spiritual theory1 which seems to me to offer fewer difficulties1 while1 as regards our present nature1 and future hopes1 it is certainly more satisfactory4 ,once admitted that the body is but the temporary dwelling of an immaterial spirit1 the machine through which1 and by which1 in its normal states1 the spirit alone can manifest itself1 ,i can not see any great difficulty in conceiving that1 in certain conditions of that body1 their relations may be modified1 and that the spirit may perceive1 by its own inherent quality1 without the aid of its material vehicle2 and1 as this condition of the body may arise from causes purely physical1 we see at once why the revelations frequently regard such unimportant events4 ,plutarch1 in his dialogue between ,lamprius and ,ammonius1 observes1 that if the demons1 or protecting spirits1 that watch over mankind1 are disembodied souls1 we ought not to doubt that those spirits1 even when in the flesh1 possessed the faculties they now enjoy1 since we have no reason to suppose that any new ones are conferred at the period of dissolution2 for these faculties must be inherent1 although temporarily obscured1 and weak and ineffective in their manifestations4 ,as it is not when the sun breaks from behind the clouds that he first begins to shine1 so it is not when the soul issues from the body1 as from a cloud that envelops it1 that it first attains the power of looking into the future4 ,but the events foreseen are not always unimportant1 nor is the mode of the communication always of the same nature4 ,i have mentioned above some instances wherein danger was avoided1 and there are many of the same kind recorded in various works2 and it is the number of instances of this description1 corroborated by the universal agreement of all somnambulists of a higher order1 which has induced a considerable section of the ,german psychologists to adopt the doctrine of guardian spirits--a doctrine which has prevailed1 more or less1 in all ages1 and has been considered by many theologians to be supported by the ,bible4 ,there is in this country1 and ,i believe in ,france1 also1 though with more exceptions1 such an extreme aversion to admit the possibility of anything like what is called supernatural agency1 that the mere avowal of such a persuasion is enough to discredit one's understanding with a considerable part of the world1 not excepting those who profess to believe in the ,scriptures4 ,yet1 even apart from this latter authority1 ,i can not see anything repugnant to reason in such a belief4 ,as far as we see of nature1 there is a continued series from the lowest to the highest2 and what right have we to conclude that we are the last link of the chain8 ,why may there not be a gamut of beings8 ,that such should be the case1 is certainly in accordance with all that we see2 and that we do not see them1 affords1 as ,i have said above1 not a shadow of argument against their existence2 man1 immersed in business and pleasure1 living only his sensuous life1 is too apt to forget how limited those senses are1 how merely designed for a temporary purpose1 and how much may exist of which they can take no cognizance4 ,the possibility admitted1 the chief arguments against the probability of such a guardianship1 are the interference it implies with the free-will of man1 on the one hand1 and the rarity of this interference1 on the other4 ,with respect to the first matter of free-will1 it is a subject of acknowledged difficulty1 and beyond the scope of my work4 ,nobody can honestly look back upon his past life without feeling perplexed by the question1 of how far he was1 or was not1 able at the moment to resist certain impulsions1 which caused him to commit wrong or imprudent actions2 and it must1 ,i fear1 ever remain a qustio vexata1 how far our virtues and vices depend upon our organization--an organization whose constitution is beyond our own power1 in the first instance1 although we may certainly improve or deteriorate it2 but which we must admit1 at the same time1 to be1 in its present deteriorated form1 the ill result of the world's corruption1 and the inherited penalty of the vices of our predecessors1 whereby the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation4 ,there is1 as the ,scriptures say1 but one way to salvation1 though there are many to perdition--that is1 though there are many wrongs1 there is only one right2 for truth is one1 and our true liberty consists in being free to follow it2 for we can not imagine that anybody seeks his own perdition1 and nobody1 ,i conceive1 loves vice for its own sake1 as others love virtue1 that is1 because it is vice3 so that1 when they follow its dictates1 we must conclude that they are not free1 but in bondage1 whose ever bond-slave they be1 whether of an evil spirit1 or of their own organization2 and ,i think every human being1 who looks into himself1 will feel that he is in effect then only free when he is obeying the dictates of virtue2 and that the language of ,scripture1 which speaks of sin as a bondage1 is not only metaphorically but literally true4 ,the warning a person of an impending danger or error implies no constraint2 the subject of the warning is free to take the hint or not1 as he pleases2 we receive many cautions1 both from other people and from our own consciences1 which we refuse to benefit by4 ,with regard to the second objection1 it seems to have greater weight2 for although the instances of presentiment are very numerous1 taken apart1 they are certainly1 as far as we know1 still but exceptional cases4 ,but here we must remember that an influence of this sort might be very continuously1 though somewhat remotely1 exercised in favor of an individual1 without the occurrence of any instance of so striking a nature as to render the interference manifest2 and certain it is that some people--,i have met with several1 and very sensible persons too--have all their lives an intuitive persuasion of such a guardianship existing in relation to themselves4 ,that in our normal states it was not intended we should hold sensible communion with the invisible world1 seems evident2 but nature abounds in exceptions2 and there may be conditions regarding both parties1 the incorporated and the unincorporated spirit1 which may at times bring them into a more intimate relation4 ,no one who believes that consciousness is to survive the death of the body1 can doubt that the released spirit will then hold communion with its congeners2 it being the fleshly tabernacles we inhabit which alone disables us from doing so at present4 ,but since the constitutions of bodies vary exceedingly1 not only in different individuals1 but in the same individuals at different times1 may we not conceive the possibility of there existing conditions which1 by diminishing the obstructions1 render this communion practicable within certain limits8 ,for there certainly are recorded and authentic instances of presentiments and warnings1 that with difficulty admit of any other explanation2 and that these admonitions are more frequently received in the state of sleep than of vigilance1 rather furnishes an additional argument in favor of the last hypothesis2 for if there be any foundation for the theories above suggested1 it is then that1 the sensuous functions being in abeyance and the external life thereby shut out from us1 the spirit would be most susceptible to the operations of spirit1 whether of our deceased friends or of appointed ministers1 if such there be4 ,jung ,stelling is of opinion that we must decide from the aim and object of the revelation1 whether it be a mere development of the faculty of presentiment1 or a case of spiritual intervention2 but this would surely be a very erroneous mode of judging1 since the presentiment that foresees a visit may foresee a danger1 and show us how to avoid it1 as in the following instance3-- ,a few years ago1 ,dr4 ,w----1 now residing at ,glasgow1 dreamed that he received a summons to attend a patient at a place some miles from where he was living2 that he started on horseback2 and that1 as he was crossing a moor1 he saw a bull making furiously at him1 whose horns he only escaped by taking refuge on a spot inaccessible to the animal1 where he waited a long time1 till some people1 observing his situation1 came to his assistance and released him4 ,while at breakfast on the following morning1 the summons came2 and1 smiling at the odd coincidence1 he started on horseback4 ,he was quite ignorant of the road he had to go2 but by-and-by he arrived at the moor1 which he recognised1 and presently the bull appeared1 coming full tilt toward him4 ,but his dream had shown him the place of refuge1 for which he instantly made2 and there he spent three or four hours1 besieged by the animal1 till the country people set him free4 ,dr4 ,w---- declares that1 but for the dream1 he should not have known in what direction to run for safety4 ,a butcher named ,bone1 residing at ,holytown1 dreamed a few years since that he was stopped at a particular spot on his way to market1 whither he was going on the following day to purchase cattle1 by two men in blue clothes1 who cut his throat4 ,he told the dream to his wife1 who laughed at him2 but1 as it was repeated two or three times and she saw he was really alarmed1 she advised him to join somebody who was going the same road4 ,he accordingly listened till he heard a cart passing his door1 and then went out and joined the man1 telling him the reason for so doing4 ,when they came to the spot1 there actually stood the two men in blue clothes1 who1 seeing he was not alone1 took to their heels and ran4 ,now1 although the dream was here probably the means of saving ,bone's life1 there is no reason to suppose that this is a case of what is called supernatural intervention4 ,the phenomenon would be sufficiently accounted for by the admission of the hypothesis ,i have suggested1 namely1 that he was aware of the impending danger in his sleep1 and had been able1 from some cause unknown to us1 to convey the recollection into his waking state4 ,i know instances in which1 for several mornings previous to the occurrence of a calamity1 persons have awakened with a painful sense of misfortune1 for which they could not account1 and which was dispersed as soon as they had time to reflect that they had no cause for uneasiness4 ,this is the only kind of presentiment ,i ever experienced myself2 but it has occurred to me twice1 in a very marked and unmistakable manner4 ,as soon as the intellectual life1 the life of the brain1 and the external world1 broke in1 the instinctive life receded1 and the intuitive knowledge was obscured4 ,or1 according to ,dr4 ,ennemoser's theory1 the polar relations changed1 and the nerves were busied with conveying sensuous impressions to the brain1 their sensibility or positive state now being transferred from the internal to the external periphery4 ,it is by the contrary change that ,dr4 ,ennemoser seeks to explain the insensibility to pain of mesmerized patients4 ,a circumstance of a similar kind to the above occurred in a well-known family in ,scotland1 the ,rutherfords of ,e----4 ,a lady dreamed that her aunt1 who resided at some distance1 was murdered by a black servant4 ,impressed with the liveliness of the vision1 she could not resist going to the house of her relation1 where the man she had dreamed of 7whom ,i think she had never before seen7 opened the door to her4 ,upon this1 she induced a gentleman to watch in the adjoining room during the night2 and toward morning1 hearing a foot upon the stairs1 he opened the door and discovered the black servant carrying up a coal-scuttle full of coals1 for the purpose1 as he said1 of lighting his mistress's fire4 ,as this motive did not seem very probable1 the coals were examined1 and a knife found hidden among them1 with which1 he afterward confessed1 he intended to have murdered his mistress1 provided she made any resistance to a design he had formed of robbing her of a large sum of money which he was aware she had that day received4 ,the following case has been quoted in several medical works1 at least in works written by learned doctors1 and on that account ,i should not mention it here1 but for the purpose of remarking on the extraordinary facility with which1 while they do not question the fact1 they dispose of the mystery3-- ,mr4 ,d----1 of ,cumberland1 when a youth1 came to ,edinburgh1 for the purpose of attending college1 and was placed under the care of his uncle and aunt1 ,major and ,mrs4 ,griffiths1 who then resided in the castle4 ,when the fine weather came1 the young man was in the habit of making frequent excursions with others of his own age and pursuits2 and one afternoon he mentioned that they had formed a fishing-party1 and had bespoken a boat for the ensuing day4 ,no objections were made to this plan2 but in the middle of the night1 ,mrs4 ,griffiths screamed out1 8,the boat is sinking6--oh1 save them60 ,her husband said he supposed she had been thinking of the fishing-party1 but she declared she had never thought about it at all1 and soon fell asleep again4 ,but1 ere long1 she awoke a second time1 crying out that she 8saw the boat sinking60--8,it must have been the remains of the impression made by the other dream10 she suggested to her husband1 8for ,i have no uneasiness whatever about the fishing-party40 ,but on going to sleep once more1 her husband was again disturbed by her cries3 8,they are gone60 she said1 8the boat has sunk60 ,she now really became alarmed1 and1 without waiting for morning1 she threw on her dressing-gown1 and went to ,mr4 ,d----1 who was still in bed1 and whom with much difficulty she persuaded to relinquish his proposed excursion4 ,he consequently sent his servant to ,leith with an excuse1 and the party embarked without him4 ,the day was extremely fine when they put to sea1 but some hours afterward a storm arose1 in which the boat foundered--nor did any one of the number survive to tell the tale6 8,this dream is easily accounted for10 say the learned gentlemen above alluded to1 8from the dread all women have of the water1 and the danger that attends boating on the firth of ,forth60 ,now1 ,i deny that all women have a dread of the water1 and there is not the slightest reason for concluding that ,mrs4 ,griffiths had4 ,at all events1 she affirms that she felt no uneasiness at all about the party1 and one might take leave to think that her testimony upon that subject is of more value than that of persons who never had any acquaintance with her1 and who were not so much as born at the time the circumstance occurred1 which was in the year #agca4 ,besides1 if ,mrs4 ,griffiths's dread arose simply from 8the dread all women have of the water10 and that its subsequent verification was a mere coincidence1 since women constantly risk their persons for voyages and boating excursions1 such dreams should be extremely frequent--the fact of there being any accident impending or not1 having1 according to this theory1 no relation whatever to the phenomenon4 ,and as for the danger that attends boating on the firth of ,forth1 we must naturally suppose that1 had it been considered so imminent1 ,major ,griffiths would have at least endeavored to dissuade a youth that was placed under his protection from risking his life so imprudently4 ,it would be equally reasonable to explain away ,dr4 ,w----'s dream1 by saying that all gentlemen who have to ride across commons are in great dread of encountering a bull--commons in general being infested by that animal6 ,miss ,d----1 a friend of mine1 was some time since invited to join a pic-nic excursion into the country4 ,two nights before the day fixed for the expedition1 she dreamed that the carriage she was to go in was overturned down a precipice4 ,impressed with her dream1 she declined the excursion1 confessing her reason1 and advising the rest of the party to relinquish their project4 ,they laughed at her1 and persisted in their scheme4 ,when1 subsequently1 she went to inquire how they had spent the day1 she found the ladies confined to their beds from injuries received1 the carriage having been overturned down a precipice4 ,still1 this was only a coincidence6 ,another specimen of the haste with which people are willing to dispose of what they do not understand1 is afforded by a case that occurred not many years since in the north of ,scotland1 where a murder having been committed1 a man came forward1 saying that he had dreamed that the pack of the murdered pedlar was hidden in a certain spot2 where1 on a search being made1 it was actually found4 ,they at first concluded he was himself the assassin1 but the real criminal was afterward discovered2 and it being asserted 7though ,i have been told erroneously7 that the two men had passed some time together1 since the murder1 in a state of intoxication1 it was decided that the crime and the place of concealment had been communicated to the pretended dreamer--and all who thought otherwise were laughed at2 8for why10 say the rationalists1 8should not ,providence have so ordered the dream as to have prevented the murder altogether80 ,who can answer that question1 and whither would such a discussion lead us8 ,moreover1 if this faculty of presentiment be a natural one1 though only imperfectly and capriciously developed1 there may have been no design in the matter3 it is an accident1 just in the same sense as an illness is an accident2 that is1 not without cause1 but without a cause that we can penetrate4 ,if1 on the other hand1 we have recourse to the intervention of spiritual beings1 it may be answered that we are entirely ignorant of the conditions under which any such communication is possible2 and that we can not therefore come to any conclusions as to why so much is done1 and no more4 ,but there is another circumstance to be observed in considering the case1 which is1 that the dreamer is said to have passed some days in a state of intoxication4 ,now1 even supposing this had been true1 it is well known that the excitement of the brain caused by intoxication has occasionally produced a very remarkable exaltation of certain faculties4 ,it is by means of either intoxicating draughts or vapors that the soothsayers of ,lapland and ,siberia place themselves in a condition to vaticinate2 and we have every reason to believe that drugs1 producing similar effects1 were resorted to by the thaumaturgists of old1 and by the witches of later days1 of which ,i shall have more to say hereafter4 ,but1 as a case in point1 ,i may here allude to the phenomena exhibited in a late instance of the application of ether1 by ,professor ,simpson1 of ,edinburgh1 to a lady who was at the moment under circumstances not usually found very agreeable4 ,she said that she was amusing herself delightfully by playing over a set of quadrilles which she had known in her youth1 but had long forgotten them2 but she now perfectly remembered them1 and had played them over several times4 ,here was an instance of the exaltation of a faculty from intoxication1 similar to that of the woman who1 in her delirium1 spoke a language which she had only heard in her childhood1 and of which1 in her normal state1 she had no recollection4 ,that the inefficiency of the communication1 or presentiment1 or whatever it may be1 is no argument against the fact of such dreams occurring1 ,i can safely assert1 from cases which have come under my own knowledge4 ,a professional gentleman1 whose name would be a warrant for the truth of whatever he relates1 told me the following circumstance regarding himself4 ,he was1 not very long since1 at the seaside with his family1 and1 among the rest1 he had with him one of his sons1 a boy about twelve years of age1 who was in the habit of bathing daily1 his father accompanying him to the water-side4 ,this had continued during the whole of their visit1 and no idea of danger or accident had ever occurred to anybody4 ,on the day preceding the one appointed for their departure1 ,mr4 ,h----1 the gentleman in question1 felt himself after breakfast surprised by an unusual drowsiness1 which1 having vainly struggled to overcome1 he at length fell asleep in his chair1 and dreamed that he was attending his son to the bath as usual1 when he suddenly saw the boy drowning1 and that he himself had rushed into the water1 dressed as he was1 and brought him ashore4 ,though he was quite conscious of the dream when he awoke1 he attached no importance to it2 he considered it merely a dream--no more2 and when1 some hours afterward1 the boy came into the room1 and said1 8,now1 papa1 it's time to go--this will be my last bath0--his morning's vision did not even recur to him4 ,they walked down to the sea1 as usual1 and the boy went into the water1 while the father stood composedly watching him from the beach1 when suddenly the child lost his footing1 a wave had caught him1 and the danger of his being carried away was so imminent1 that1 without even waiting to take off his greatcoat1 boots1 or hat1 ,mr4 ,h---- rushed into the water1 and was only just in time to save him4 ,here is a case of undoubted authenticity1 which ,i take to be an instance of clear-seeing1 or second-sight1 in sleep4 ,the spirit1 with its intuitive faculty1 saw what was impending2 the sleeper remembered his dream1 but the intellect did not accept the warning2 and1 whether that warning was merely a subjective process--the clear-seeing of the spirit--or whether it was effected by any external agency1 the free-will of the person concerned was not interfered with4 ,i quote the ensuing similar case from the 8,frankfort ,journal10 ,june #be1 #ahcg3 8,a singular circumstance is said to be connected with the late attempt on the life of the archbishop of ,autun4 ,the two nights preceding the attack1 the prelate dreamed that he saw a man who was making repeated efforts to take away his life1 and he awoke in extreme terror and agitation from the exertions he had made to escape the danger4 ,the features and appearance of the man were so clearly imprinted on his memory1 that he recognised him the moment his eye fell upon him1 which happened as he was coming out of church4 ,the bishop hid his face1 and called his attendants1 but the man had fired before he could make known his apprehensions4 ,facts of this description are far from uncommon4 ,it appears that the assassin had entertained designs against the lives of the bishops of ,dijon1 ,burgos1 and ,nevers40 ,the following case1 which occurred a few years since in the north of ,england1 and which ,i have from the best authority1 is remarkable from the inexorable fatality which brought about the fulfilment of the dream3 ,mrs4 ,k----1 a lady of family and fortune in ,yorkshire1 said to her son1 one morning on descending to breakfast3 8,henry1 what are you going to do to-day80 8,i am going to hunt10 replied the young man4 8,i am very glad of it10 she answered4 8,i should not like you to go shooting1 for ,i dreamed last night that you did so1 and were shot40 ,the son answered1 gayly1 that he would take care not to be shot1 and the hunting party rode away2 but1 in the middle of the day1 they returned1 not having found any sport4 ,mr4 ,b----1 a visiter in the house1 then proposed that they should go out with their guns and try to find some woodcocks4 8,i will go with you10 returned the young man1 8but ,i must not shoot1 to-day1 myself2 for my mother dreamed last night ,i was shot2 and1 although it is but a dream1 she would be uneasy40 ,they went1 ,mr4 ,b---- with his gun1 and ,mr4 ,k---- without4 ,but shortly afterward the beloved son was brought home dead3 a charge from the gun of his companion had struck him in the eye1 entered his brain1 and killed him on the spot4 ,mr4 ,b----1 the unfortunate cause of this accident and also the narrator of it1 died but a few weeks since4 ,it is well known that the murder of ,mr4 ,percival1 by ,bellingham1 was seen in sleep by a gentleman at ,york1 who actually went to ,london in consequence of his dream1 which was several times repeated4 ,he arrived too late to prevent the calamity2 neither would he have been believed1 had he arrived earlier4 ,in the year #adfa1 a merchant was travelling toward ,rome by ,sienna1 when he dreamed that his throat was cut4 ,he communicated his dream to the innkeeper1 who did not like it1 and advised him to pray and confess4 ,he did so1 and then rode forth1 and was presently attacked by the priest he had confessed to1 who had thus learned his apprehensions4 ,he killed the merchant1 but was betrayed1 and disappointed of his gains1 by the horse taking fright and running back to the inn with the money-bags4 ,i have related this story1 though not a new one1 on account of its singular resemblance to the following1 which ,i take from a newspaper paragraph1 but which ,i find mentioned as a fact in a continental publication3-- 8,,singular ,,verification ,,of ,a ,,dream4--,a letter from ,hamburgh contains the following curious story relative to the verification of a dream4 ,it appears that a locksmith's apprentice1 one morning lately1 informed his master 7,claude ,soller7 that on the previous night he dreamed that he had been assassinated on the road to ,bergsdorff1 a little town at about two hours' distance from ,hamburgh4 ,the master laughed at the young man's credulity1 and1 to prove that he himself had little faith in dreams1 insisted upon sending him to ,bergsdorff with one hundred and forty rix dollars1 which he owed to his brother-in-law1 who resided in the town4 ,the apprentice1 after in vain imploring his master to change his intention1 was compelled to set out at about #aa o'clock4 ,on arriving at the village of ,billwaerder1 about half-way between ,hamburgh and ,bergsdorff1 he recollected his dream with terror2 but perceiving the baillie of the village at a little distance1 talking to some of his workmen1 he accosted him1 and acquainted him with his singular dream1 at the same time requesting that1 as he had money about his person1 one of his workmen might be allowed to accompany him for protection across a small wood which lay in his way4 ,the baillie smiled1 and1 in obedience to his orders1 one of his men set out with the young apprentice4 ,the next day1 the corpse of the latter was conveyed by some peasants to the baillie1 along with a reaping-hook which had been found by his side1 and with which the throat of the murdered youth had been cut4 ,the baillie immediately recognised the instrument as one which he had on the previous day given to the workman who had served as the apprentice's guide1 for the purpose of pruning some willows4 ,the workman was apprehended1 and1 on being confronted with the body of his victim1 made a full confession of his crime1 adding that the recital of the dream had alone prompted him to commit the horrible act4 ,the assassin1 who is thirty-five years of age1 is a native of ,billwaerder1 and1 previously to the perpetration of the murder1 had always borne an irreproachable character40 ,the life of the great ,harvey was saved by the governor of ,dover refusing to allow him to embark for the continent with his friends4 ,the vessel was lost1 with all on board2 and the governor confessed to him1 that he had detained him in consequence of an injunction he had received in a dream to do so4 ,there is a very curious circumstance related by ,mr4 ,ward1 in his 8,illustrations of ,human ,life10 regarding the late ,sir ,evan ,nepean1 which ,i believe is perfectly authentic4 ,i have at least been assured1 by persons well acquainted with him1 that he himself testified to its truth4 ,being1 at the time1 secretary to the admiralty1 he found himself one night unable to sleep1 and urged by an undefinable feeling that he must rise1 though it was then only two o'clock4 ,he accordingly did so1 and went into the park1 and from that to the home office1 which he entered by a private door1 of which he had the key4 ,he had no object in doing this2 and1 to pass the time1 he took up a newspaper that was lying on the table1 and there read a paragraph to the effect that a reprieve had been despatched to ,york1 for the men condemned for coining4 ,the question occurred to him1 was it indeed despatched8 ,he examined the books and found it was not2 and it was only by the most energetic proceedings that the thing was carried through1 and reached ,york in time to save the men4 ,is not this like the agency of a protecting spirit1 urging ,sir ,evan to this discovery1 in order that these men might be spared1 or that those concerned might escape the remorse they would have suffered for their criminal neglect8 ,it is a remarkable fact1 that somnambules of the highest order believe themselves attended by a protecting spirit4 ,to those who do not believe1 because they have never witnessed1 the phenomena of somnambulism1 or who look upon the disclosures of persons in that state as the mere raving of hallucination1 this authority will necessarily have no weight2 but even to such persons the universal coincidence must be considered worthy of observation1 though it be regarded only as a symptom of disease4 ,i believe ,i have remarked elsewhere1 that many persons1 who have not the least tendency to somnambulism or any proximate malady1 have all their lives an intuitive feeling of such a guardianship2 and1 not to mention ,socrates and the ancients1 there are1 besides1 numerous recorded cases in modern times1 in which persons1 not somnambulic1 have declared themselves to have seen and held communication with their spiritual protector4 ,the case of the girl called ,ludwiger1 who1 in her infancy1 had lost her speech and the use of her limbs1 and who was earnestly committed by her mother1 when dying1 to the care of her elder sisters1 is known to many4 ,these young women piously fulfilled their engagement till the wedding-day of one of them caused them to forget their charge4 ,on recollecting it1 at length1 they hastened home1 and found the girl1 to their amazement1 sitting up in her bed1 and she told them that her mother had been there and given her food4 ,she never spoke again1 and soon after died4 ,this circumstance occurred at ,dessau1 not many years since1 and is1 according to ,schubert1 a perfectly-established fact in that neighborhood4 ,the girl at no other period of her life exhibited any similar phenomena1 nor had she ever displayed any tendency to spectral illusions4 ,the wife of a respectable citizen1 named ,arnold1 at ,heilbronn1 held constant communications with her protecting spirit1 who warned her of impending dangers1 approaching visiters1 and so forth4 ,he was only once visible to her1 and it was in the form of an old man2 but his presence was felt by others as well as herself1 and they were sensible that the air was stirred1 as by a breath4 ,jung ,stilling publishes a similar account1 which was bequeathed to him by a very worthy and pious minister of the church4 ,the subject of the guardianship was his own wife1 and the spirit first appeared to her after her marriage1 in the year #agii1 as a child1 attired in a white robe1 while she was busy in her bed-chamber4 ,she stretched out her hand to take hold of the figure1 but it disappeared4 ,it frequently visited her afterward1 and in answer to her inquiries it said1 8,i died in my childhood60 ,it came to her at all hours1 whether alone or in company1 and not only at home1 but elsewhere1 and even when travelling1 assisting her when in danger2 it sometimes floated in the air1 spake to her in its own language1 which somehow1 she says1 she understood1 and could speak1 too2 and it was once seen by another person4 ,he bade her call him ,immanuel4 ,she earnestly begged him to show himself to her husband1 but he alleged that it would make him ill1 and cause his death4 ,on asking him wherefore1 he answered1 8,few persons are able to see such things40 ,her two children1 one six years old1 and the other younger1 saw this figure as well as herself4 ,schubert1 in his 8,geschichte der ,seele10 relates that the ecclesiastical councillor ,schwartz1 of ,heidelberg1 when about twelve years of age1 and at a time that he was learning the ,greek language1 but knew very little about it1 dreamed that his grandmother1 a very pious woman1 to whom he had been much attached1 appeared to him1 and unfolded a parchment inscribed with ,greek characters which foretold the fortunes of his future life4 ,he read it off with as much facility as if it had been in ,german1 but being dissatisfied with some particulars of the prediction1 he begged they might be changed4 ,his grandmother answered him in ,greek1 whereupon he awoke1 remembering the dream1 but1 in spite of all the efforts to arrest them1 he was unable to recall the particulars the parchment had contained4 ,the answer of his grandmother1 however1 he was able to grasp before it had fled his memory1 and he wrote down the words2 but the meaning of them he could not discover without the assistance of his grammar and lexicon4 ,being interpreted1 they proved to be these3 8,as it is prophesied to me1 so ,i prophesy to thee60 ,he had written the words in a volume of ,gessner's works1 being the first thing he laid his hand on2 and he often philosophized on them in later days1 when they chanced to meet his eye4 ,how1 he says1 should he have been able to read and produce that in his sleep1 which1 in his waking state1 he would have been quite incapable of8 8,even long after1 when ,i left school10 he adds1 8,i could scarcely have put together such a sentence2 and it is extremely remarkable that the feminine form was observed in conformity with the sex of the speaker40 ,the words were these3 4 ,grotius relates1 that when ,mr4 de ,saumaise was councillor of the parliament at ,dijon1 a person1 who knew not a word of ,greek1 brought him a paper on which was written some words in that language1 but not in the character4 ,he said that a voice had uttered them to him in the night1 and that he had written them down1 imitating the sound as well as he could4 ,mons de ,saumaise made out that the signification of the words was1 8,begone6 do you not see that death impends80 ,without comprehending what danger was predicted1 the person obeyed the mandate and departed4 ,on that night the house that he had been lodging in fell to the ground4 ,the difficulty in these two cases is equally great1 apply to it whatever explanation we may2 for even if the admonitions proceeded from some friendly guardian1 as we might be inclined to conclude1 it is not easy to conceive why they should have been communicated in a language the persons did not understand4 ,after the death of ,dante1 it was discovered that the thirteenth canto of the 8,paradiso0 was missing2 great search was made for it1 but in vain2 and to the regret of everybody concerned1 it was at length concluded that it had either never been written1 or had been destroyed4 ,the quest was therefore given up1 and some months had elapsed1 when ,pietro ,allighieri1 his son1 dreamed that his father had appeared to him and told him that if he removed a certain panel near the window of the room in which he had been accustomed to write1 the thirteenth canto would be found4 ,pietro told his dream1 and was laughed at1 of course2 however1 as the canto did not turn up1 it was thought as well to examine the spot indicated in the dream4 ,the panel was removed1 and there lay the missing canto behind it2 much mildewed1 but1 fortunately1 still legible4 ,if it be true that the dead do return sometimes to solve our perplexities1 here was not an unworthy occasion for the exercise of such a power4 ,we can imagine the spirit of the great poet still clinging to the memory of his august work1 immortal as himself--the record of those high thoughts which can never die4 ,there are numerous curious accounts extant of persons being awakened by the calling of a voice which announced some impending danger to them4 ,three boys are sleeping in the wing of a castle1 and the eldest is awakened by what appears to him to be the voice of his father calling him by name4 ,he rises and hastens to his parent's chamber1 situated in another part of the building1 where he finds his father asleep1 who1 on being awakened1 assures him that he had not called him1 and the boy returns to bed4 ,but he is scarcely asleep1 before the circumstance recurs1 and he goes again to his father with the same result4 ,a third time he falls asleep1 and a third time he is aroused by the voice1 too distinctly heard for him to doubt his senses2 and now1 alarmed at he knows not what1 he rises and takes his brothers with him to his father's chamber2 and while they are discussing the singularity of the circumstance1 a crash is heard1 and that wing of the castle in which the boys slept falls to the ground4 ,this incident excited so much attention in ,germany that it was recorded in a ballad4 ,it is related by ,amyraldus1 that ,monsieur ,calignan1 chancellor of ,navarre1 dreamed three successive times in one night1 at ,berne1 that a voice called to him and bade him quit the place1 as the plague would soon break out in that town2 that1 in consequence1 he removed his family1 and the result justified his flight4 ,a ,german physician relates1 that a patient of his told him1 that he dreamed repeatedly1 one night1 that a voice bade him go to his hop-garden1 as there were thieves there4 ,he resisted the injunction some time1 till at length he was told that if he delayed any longer he would lose all his produce4 ,thus urged1 he went at last1 and arrived just in time to see the thieves1 loaded with sacks1 making away from the opposite side of the hop-ground4 ,a ,madame ,von ,militz found herself under the necessity of parting with a property which had long been in her family4 ,when the bargain was concluded1 and she was preparing to remove1 she solicited permission of the new proprietor to carry away with her some little relic as a memento of former days--a request which he uncivilly denied4 ,on one of the nights that preceded her departure from the home of her ancestors1 she dreamed that a voice spoke to her1 and bade her go to the cellar and open a certain part of the wall1 where she would find something that nobody would dispute with her4 ,impressed with her dream1 she sent for a bricklayer1 who1 after long seeking1 discovered a place which appeared less solid than the rest4 ,a hole was made1 and in a niche was found a goblet1 which contained something that looked like a pot pourri4 ,on shaking out the contents1 there lay at the bottom a small ring1 on which was engraven the name ,anna ,von ,militz4 ,a friend of mine1 ,mr4 ,charles ,kirkpatrick ,sharpe1 has some coins that were found exactly in the same manner4 ,the child of a ,mr4 ,christison1 in whose house his father was lodging1 in the year #agha1 dreamed that there was a treasure hid in the cellar4 ,her father had no faith in the dream2 but ,mr4 ,sharpe had the curiosity to have the place dug up1 and a copper pot was found1 full of coins4 ,a very singular circumstance was related to me by ,mr4 ,j----1 as having occurred not long since to himself4 ,a tonic had been prescribed to him by his physician1 for some slight derangement of the system1 and as there was no good chemist in the village he inhabited1 he was in the habit of walking to a town about five miles off1 to get the bottle filled as occasion required4 ,one night1 that he had been to ,m---- for this purpose1 and had obtained his last supply1 for he was now recovered1 and about to discontinue the medicine1 a voice seemed to warn him that some great danger was impending1 his life was in jeopardy2 then he heard1 but not with his outward ear1 a beautiful prayer4 8,it was not myself that prayed10 he said1 8the prayer was far beyond anything ,i am capable of composing--it spoke of me in the third person1 always as he2 and supplicated that for the sake of my widowed mother this calamity might be averted4 ,my father had been dead some months4 ,i was sensible of all this1 yet ,i can not say whether ,i was asleep or awake4 ,when ,i rose in the morning1 the whole was present to my mind1 although ,i had slept soundly in the interval2 ,i felt1 however1 as if there was some mitigation of the calamity1 though what the danger was with which ,i was threatened1 ,i had no notion4 ,when ,i was dressed1 ,i prepared to take my medicine1 but on lifting the bottle1 ,i fancied that the color was not the same as usual4 ,i looked again1 and hesitated1 and finally1 instead of taking two tablespoonfuls1 which was my accustomed dose1 ,i took but one4 ,fortunate it was that ,i did so2 the apothecary had made a mistake2 the drug was poison2 ,i was seized with a violent vomiting1 and other alarming symptoms1 from which ,i was with difficulty recovered4 ,had ,i taken the two spoonfuls1 ,i should1 probably1 not have survived to tell the tale40 ,the manner in which ,i happened to obtain these particulars is not uninteresting4 ,i was spending the evening with ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 at ,ridal1 when he mentioned to me that a stranger1 who had called on him that morning1 had quoted two lines from his poem of 8,laodamia10 which1 he said1 to him had a peculiar interest4 ,they were these3-- 8,the invisible world with thee hath sympathized2 ,be thy affections raised and solemnized40 8,i do not know what he alludes to10 said ,mr4 ,wordsworth2 8but he gave me to understand that these lines had a deep meaning for him1 and that he had himself been the subject of such a sympathy40 ,upon this1 ,i sought the stranger1 whose address the poet gave me1 and thus learned the above particulars from himself4 ,his very natural persuasion was1 that the interceding spirit was his father4 ,he described the prayer as one of earnest anguish4 ,one of the most remarkable instances of warning that has come to my knowledge1 is that of ,mr4 ,m----1 of ,kingsborough4 ,this gentleman1 being on a voyage to ,america1 dreamed1 one night1 that a little old man came into his cabin and said1 8,get up6 ,your life is in danger60 ,upon which1 ,mr4 ,m---- awoke2 but considering it to be only a dream1 he soon composed himself to sleep again4 ,the dream1 however1 if such it were1 recurred1 and the old man urged him still more strongly to get up directly2 but he still persuaded himself it was only a dream2 and after listening a few minutes1 and hearing nothing to alarm him1 he turned round and addressed himself once more to sleep4 ,but now the old man appeared again1 and angrily bade him rise instantly1 and take his gun and ammunition with him1 for he had not a moment to lose4 ,the injunction was now so distinct that ,mr4 ,m---- felt he could no longer resist it2 so he hastily dressed himself1 took his gun1 and ascended to the deck1 where he had scarcely arrived1 when the ship struck on a rock1 which he and several others contrived to reach4 ,the place1 however1 was uninhabited1 and but for his gun1 they would never have been able to provide themselves with food till a vessel arrived to their relief4 ,now these can scarcely be looked upon as instances of clear-seeing1 or of second-sight in sleep1 which1 in ,denmark1 is called first-seeing1 ,i believe2 for in neither case did the sleeper perceive the danger1 much less the nature of it4 ,if1 therefore1 we refuse to attribute them to some external protecting influence1 they resolve themselves into cases of vague presentiment2 but it must then be admitted that the mode of the manifestation is very extraordinary2 so extraordinary1 indeed1 that we fall into fully as great a difficulty as that offered by the supposition of a guardian spirit4 ,an ,american clergyman told me that an old woman1 with whom he was acquainted1 who had two sons1 heard a voice say to her in the night1 8,john's dead60 ,this was her eldest son4 ,shortly afterward1 the news of his death arriving1 she said to the person who communicated the intelligence to her1 8,if ,john's dead1 then ,i know that ,david is dead1 too1 for the same voice has since told me so20 and the event proved that the information1 whence ever it came1 was correct4 ,not many years since1 ,captain ,s---- was passing a night at the ,manse of ,strachur1 in ,argyleshire1 then occupied by a relation of his own2 shortly after he retired1 the bed-curtains were opened1 and somebody looked in upon him4 ,supposing it to be some inmate of the house1 who was not aware that the bed was occupied1 he took no notice of the circumstance1 till it being two or three times repeated1 he at length said1 8,what do you want8 ,why do you disturb me in this manner80 8,i come10 replied a voice1 8to tell you1 that this day twelvemonth you will be with your father60 ,after this1 ,captain ,s---- was no more disturbed4 ,in the morning1 he related the circumstance to his host1 though1 being an entire disbeliever in all such phenomena1 without attaching any importance to the warning4 ,in the natural course of events1 and quite irrespective of this visitation1 on that day twelvemonth he was again at the ,manse of ,strachur1 on his way to the north1 for which purpose it was necessary that he should cross the ferry to ,craigie4 ,the day was1 however1 so exceedingly stormy1 that his friend begged him not to go2 but he pleaded his business1 adding that he was determined not to be withheld from his intention by the ghost1 and1 although the minister delayed his departure1 by engaging him in a game of backgammon1 he at length started up1 declaring he could stay no longer4 ,they1 therefore1 proceeded to the water1 but they found the boat moored to the side of the lake1 and the boatman assured them that it would be impossible to cross4 ,captain ,s----1 however1 insisted1 and1 as the old man was firm in his refusal1 he became somewhat irritated1 and laid his cane lightly across his shoulders4 8,it ill becomes you1 sir10 said the ferryman1 8to strike an old man like me2 but1 since you will have your way1 you must2 ,i can not go with you1 but my son will2 but you will never reach the other side2 he will be drowned1 and you too40 ,the boat was then set afloat1 and ,captain ,s----1 together with his horse and servant1 and the ferryman's son1 embarked in it4 ,the distance was not great1 but the storm was tremendous2 and1 after having with great difficulty got half way across the lake1 it was found impossible to proceed4 ,the danger of tacking was1 of course1 considerable2 but1 since they could not advance1 there was no alternative but to turn back1 and it was resolved to attempt it4 ,the manuvre1 however1 failed2 the boat capsized1 and they were all precipitated into the water4 8,you keep hold of the horse--,i can swim10 said ,captain ,s---- to his servant1 when he saw what was about to happen4 ,being an excellent swimmer1 and the distance from the shore inconsiderable1 he hoped to save himself1 but he had on a heavy top-coat1 with boots and spurs4 ,the coat he contrived to take off in the water1 and then struck out with confidence2 but1 alas6 the coat had got entangled with one of the spurs1 and1 as he swam1 it clung to him1 getting heavier and heavier as it became saturated with water1 ever dragging him beneath the stream4 ,he1 however1 reached the shore1 where his anxious friend still stood watching the event2 and1 as the latter bent over him1 he was just able to make a gesture with his hand1 which seemed to say1 8,you see1 it was to be60 and then expired4 ,the boatman was also drowned2 but1 by the aid of the horse1 the servant escaped4 ,as ,i do not wish to startle my readers1 nor draw too suddenly on their faith1 ,i have commenced with this class of phenomena1 which it must be admitted are sufficiently strange1 and1 if true1 must also be admitted to be well worthy of attention4 ,no doubt these cases1 and still more those to which ,i shall next proceed1 give a painful shock to the received notions of polished and educated society in general--especially in this country1 where the analytical or scientifical psychology of the eighteenth century has almost superseded the study of synthetic or philosophical psychology4 ,it has become a custom to look at all the phenomena regarding man in a purely physiological point of view2 for although it is admitted that he has a mind1 and although there is such a science as metaphysics1 the existence of what we call mind is never considered but as connected with the body4 ,we know that body can exist without mind2 for1 not to speak of certain living conditions1 the body subsists without mind when the spirit has fled2 albeit1 without the living principle it can subsist but for a short period1 except under particular circumstances2 but we seem to have forgotten that mind1 though dependent upon body as long as the connection between them continues1 can yet subsist without it4 ,there have indeed been philosophers1 purely materialistic1 who have denied this1 but they are not many2 and not only the whole ,christian world1 but all who believe in a future state1 must perforce admit it2 for even those who hold that most unsatisfactory doctrine that there will be neither memory nor consciousness till a second incorporation takes place1 will not deny that the mind1 however in a state of abeyance and unable to manifest itself1 must still subsist as an inherent property of man's immortal part4 ,even if1 as some philosophers believe1 the spirit1 when freed from the body by death1 returns to the ,deity and is reabsorbed in the being of ,god1 not to become again a separate entity until reincorporated1 still what we call mind can not be disunited from it4 ,and when once we have begun to conceive of mind1 and consequently of perception1 as separated from and independent of bodily organs1 it will not be very difficult to apprehend that those bodily organs must circumscribe and limit the view of the spiritual in-dweller1 which must otherwise be necessarily perceptive of spirit like itself1 though perhaps unperceptive of material objects and obstructions4 8,it is perfectly evident to me10 said ,socrates1 in his last moments1 8that1 to see clearly1 we must detach ourselves from the body1 and perceive by the soul alone4 ,not while we live1 but when we die1 will that wisdom which we desire and love be first revealed to us2 it must be then1 or never1 that we shall attain to true understanding and knowledge1 since by means of the body we never can4 ,but if1 during life1 we would make the nearest approaches possible to its possession1 it must be by divorcing ourselves as much as in us lies from the flesh and its nature40 ,in their spiritual views and apprehension of the nature of man1 how these old heathens shame us6 ,the ,scriptures teach us that ,god chose to reveal himself to his people chiefly in dreams1 and we are entitled to conclude that the reason of this was1 that the spirit was then more free to the reception of spiritual influences and impressions2 and the class of dreams to which ,i next proceed seem to be best explained by this hypothesis4 ,it is also to be remarked that the awe or fear which pervades a mortal at the mere conception of being brought into relation with a spirit1 has no place in sleep1 whether natural or magnetic4 ,there is no fear then1 no surprise2 we seem to meet on an equality--is it not that we meet spirit to spirit8 ,is it not that our spirit being then released from the trammels--the dark chamber of the flesh--it does enjoy a temporary equality8 ,is not that true1 that some ,german psychologist has said--8,the magnetic man is a spirit60 ,there are numerous instances to be met with of persons receiving information in their sleep1 which either is1 or seems to be1 communicated by their departed friends4 ,the approach of danger1 the period of the sleeper's death1 or of that of some persons beloved1 has been frequently made known in this form of dream4 ,dr4 ,binns quotes1 from ,cardanus1 the case of ,johannes ,maria ,maurosenus1 a ,venetian senator1 who1 while governor of ,dalmatia1 saw in a dream one of his brothers1 to whom he was much attached3 the brother embraced him and bade him farewell1 because he was going into the other world4 ,maurosenus having followed him a long way weeping1 awoke in tears1 and expressed much anxiety respecting this brother4 ,shortly afterward he received tidings from ,venice that this ,domatus1 of whom he had dreamed1 had died on the night and at the hour of the dream1 of a pestilential fever1 which had carried him off in three days4 ,on the night of the #bast of ,june1 in the year #ahac1 a lady1 residing in the north of ,england1 dreamed that her brother1 who was then with his regiment in ,spain1 appeared to her1 saying1 8,mary1 ,i die this day at ,vittoria60 ,vittoria was a town which1 previous to the famous battle1 was not generally known even by name in this country1 and this dreamer1 among others1 had never heard of it2 but1 on rising1 she eagerly resorted to a gazetteer for the purpose of ascertaining if such a place existed4 ,on finding that it was so1 she immediately ordered her horses1 and drove to the house of a sister1 some eight or nine miles off1 and her first words on entering the room were1 8,have you heard anything of ,john80--8,no10 replied the second sister1 8but ,i know he is dead6 ,he appeared to me last night1 in a dream1 and told me that he was killed at ,vittoria4 ,i have been looking into the gazetteer and the atlas1 and ,i find there is such a place1 and ,i am sure that he is dead60 ,and so it proved3 the young man died that day at ,vittoria1 and1 ,i believe1 on the field of battle4 ,if so1 it is worthy of observation that the communication was not made till the sisters slept4 ,a similar case to this is that of ,miss ,d----1 of ,g----1 who one night dreamed that she was walking about the washing-greens1 when a figure approached1 which she recognised as that of a beloved brother who was at that time with the ,british army in ,america4 ,it gradually faded away into a kind of anatomy1 holding up its hands1 through which the light could be perceived1 and asking for clothes to dress a body for the grave4 ,the dream recurred more than once in the same night1 and1 apprehending some misfortune1 ,miss ,d---- noted down the date of the occurrence4 ,in due course of post1 the news arrived that this brother had been killed at the battle of ,bunker's hill4 ,miss ,d----1 who died only within the last few years1 though unwilling to speak of the circumstance1 never refused to testify to it as a fact4 ,here1 supposing this to be a real apparition1 we see an instance of that desire for decent obsequies so constantly attributed by the ancients to the souls of the dead4 ,when the ,german poet ,collin died at ,vienna1 a person named ,hartmann1 who was his friend1 found himself very much distressed by the loss of a hundred and twenty florins1 which he had paid for the poet1 under a promise of reimbursement4 ,as this sum formed a large portion of his whole possessions1 the circumstance was occasioning him considerable anxiety1 when he dreamed one night that his deceased friend appeared to him1 and bade him immediately set two florins on ,no4 #aa1 on the first calling of the little lottery1 or loto1 then about to be drawn4 ,he was bade to confine his venture to two florins1 neither less nor more2 and to communicate this information to nobody4 ,hartmann availed himself of the hint1 and obtained a prize of a hundred and thirty florins4 ,since we look upon lotteries1 in this country1 as an immoral species of gambling1 it may be raised as an objection to this dream1 that such intelligence was an unworthy mission for a spirit1 supposing the communication to have been actually made by ,collin4 ,but1 in the first place1 we have only to do with facts1 and not with their propriety or impropriety1 according to our notions2 and1 by-and-by1 ,i shall endeavor to show that such discrepancies possibly arise from the very erroneous notions commonly entertained of the state of those who have disappeared from the terrestrial life4 ,simonides the poet1 arriving at the seashore with the intention of embarking on board a vessel on the ensuing day1 found an unburied body1 which he immediately desired should be decently interred4 ,on the same night1 this deceased person appeared to him1 and bade him by no means go to sea1 as he had proposed4 ,simonides obeyed the injunction1 and beheld the vessel founder1 as he stood on the shore4 ,he raised a monument on the spot to the memory of his preserver1 which is said still to exist1 on which are engraven some lines1 to the effect that it was dedicated by ,simonides1 the poet of ,cheos1 in gratitude to the dead who had preserved him from death4 ,a much-esteemed secretary died a few years since1 in the house of ,mr4 ,r---- von ,n----4 ,about eight weeks afterward1 ,mr4 ,r---- himself being ill1 his daughter dreamed that the house-bell rang1 and that1 on looking out1 she perceived the secretary at the door4 ,having admitted him1 and inquired what he was come for1 he answered1 8,to fetch somebody40 ,upon which1 alarmed for her father1 she exclaimed1 8,i hope not my father60 ,he shook his head solemnly1 in a manner that implied it was not the old man he had come for1 and turned away toward a guest-chamber1 at that time vacant1 and there disappeared at the door4 ,the father recovered1 and the lady left home for a few days1 on a visit4 ,on her return1 she found her brother had arrived in the interval to pay a visit to his parents1 and was lying sick in that room1 where he died4 ,i will here mention a curious circumstance regarding ,mr4 ,h----1 the gentleman alluded to in a former page1 who1 being at the seaside1 saw1 in a dream1 the danger that awaited his son when he went to bathe4 ,this gentleman has frequently1 on waking1 felt a consciousness that he had been conversing with certain persons of his acquaintance--and1 indeed1 with some of whom he knew little--and has afterward1 not without a feeling of awe1 learned that these persons had died during the hours of his sleep4 ,do not such circumstances entitle us to entertain the idea that ,i have suggested above1 namely1 that in sleep the spirit is free to see1 and to know1 and to communicate with spirit1 although the memory of this knowledge is rarely carried into the waking state8 ,the story of the two ,arcadians1 who travelled together to ,megara1 though reprinted in other works1 ,i can not omit here4 ,one of these established himself1 on the night of their arrival1 at the house of a friend1 while the other sought shelter in a public lodging-house for strangers4 ,during the night1 the latter appeared to the former1 in a dream1 and besought him to come to his assistance1 as his villanous host was about to take his life1 and only the most speedy aid could save him4 ,the dreamer started from his sleep1 and his first movement was to obey the summons1 but1 reflecting that it was only a dream1 he presently lay down1 and composed himself again to rest4 ,but now his friend appeared before him a second time1 disfigured by blood and wounds1 conjuring him1 since he had not listened to his first entreaties1 that he would1 at least1 avenge his death4 ,his host1 he said1 had murdered him1 and was1 at that moment1 depositing his body in a dung-cart1 for the purpose of conveying it out of the town4 ,the dreamer was thoroughly alarmed1 arose1 and hastened to the gates of the city1 where he found1 waiting to pass out1 exactly such a vehicle as his friend had described4 ,a search being instituted1 the body was found underneath the manure2 and the host was consequently seized1 and delivered over to the chastisement of the law4 8,who shall venture to assert10 says ,dr4 ,ennemoser1 8that this communing with the dead in sleep is merely a subjective phenomenon1 and that the presence of these apparitions is a pure illusion80 ,a circumstance fully as remarkable as any recorded1 occurred at ,odessa1 in the year #ahdb4 ,an old blind man1 named ,michel1 had for many years been accustomed to get his living by seating himself every morning on a beam in one of the timber-yards1 with a wooden bowl at his feet1 into which the passengers cast their alms4 ,this long-continued practice had made him well known to the inhabitants1 and1 as he was believed to have been formerly a soldier1 his blindness was attributed to the numerous wounds he had received in battle4 ,for his own part1 he spoke little1 and never contradicted this opinion4 ,one night1 ,michel1 by some accident1 fell in with a little girl of ten years old1 named ,powleska1 who was friendless1 and on the verge of perishing with cold and hunger4 ,the old man took her home1 and adopted her2 and1 from that time1 instead of sitting in the timber-yards1 he went about the streets in her company1 asking alms at the doors of the houses4 ,the child called him father1 and they were extremely happy together4 ,but when they had pursued this mode of life for about five years1 a misfortune befell them4 ,a theft having been committed in a house which they had visited in the morning1 ,powleska was suspected and arrested1 and the blind man was left once more alone4 ,but1 instead of resuming his former habits1 he now disappeared altogether2 and this circumstance causing the suspicion to extend to him1 the girl was brought before the magistrate to be interrogated with regard to his probable place of concealment4 8,do you know where ,michel is80 said the magistrate4 8,he is dead60 replied she1 shedding a torrent of tears4 ,as the girl had been shut up for three days1 without any means of obtaining information from without1 this answer1 together with her unfeigned distress1 naturally excited considerable surprise4 8,who told you he was dead80 they inquired4 8,nobody60 8,then how can you know it80 8,i saw him killed60 8,but you have not been out of the prison80 8,but ,i saw it1 nevertheless60 8,but how was that possible8 ,explain what you mean60 8,i can not4 ,all ,i can say is1 that ,i saw him killed40 8,when was he killed1 and how80 8,it was the night ,i was arrested40 8,that can not be3 he was alive when you were seized60 8,yes1 he was2 he was killed an hour after that4 ,they stabbed him with a knife40 8,where were you then80 8,i can't tell2 but ,i saw it40 ,the confidence with which the girl asserted what seemed to her hearers impossible and absurd1 disposed them to imagine that she was either really insane1 or pretending to be so4 ,so1 leaving ,michel aside1 they proceeded to interrogate her about the robbery1 asking her if she was guilty4 8,oh1 no60 she answered4 8,then how came the property to be found about you80 8,i don't know3 ,i saw nothing but the murder40 8,but there are no grounds for supposing ,michel is dead3 his body has not been found40 8,it is in the aqueduct40 8,and do you know who slew him80 8,yes--it is a woman4 ,michel was walking very slowly1 after ,i was taken from him4 ,a woman came behind him with a large kitchen-knife2 but he heard her1 and turned round3 and then the woman flung a piece of gray stuff over his head1 and struck him repeatedly with the knife2 the gray stuff was much stained with the blood4 ,michel fell at the eighth blow1 and the woman dragged the body to the aqueduct and let it fall in without ever lifting the stuff which stuck to his face40 ,as it was easy to verify these latter assertions1 they despatched people to the spot2 and there the body was found1 with the piece of stuff over his head1 exactly as she described4 ,but when they asked her how she knew all this1 she could only answer1 8,i don't know40 8,but you know who killed him80 8,not exactly3 it is the same woman that put out his eyes2 but1 perhaps1 he will tell me her name to-night2 and if he does1 ,i will tell it to you40 8,whom do you mean by he80 8,why1 ,michel1 to be sure60 ,during the whole of the following night1 without allowing her to suspect their intention1 they watched her2 and it was observed that she never lay down1 but sat upon the bed in a sort of lethargic slumber4 ,her body was quite motionless1 except at intervals1 when this repose was interrupted by violent nervous shocks1 which pervaded her whole frame4 ,on the ensuing day1 the moment she was brought before the judge1 she declared that she was now able to tell them the name of the assassin4 8,but stay10 said the magistrate3 8did ,michel never tell you1 when he was alive1 how he lost his sight80 8,no--but the morning before ,i was arrested1 he promised me to do so2 and that was the cause of his death40 8,how could that be80 8,last night1 ,michel came to me1 and he pointed to the man hidden behind the scaffolding on which he and ,i had been sitting4 ,he showed me the man listening to us1 when he said1 #8,i'll tell you all about that to-night2' and then the man----0 8,do you know the name of this man80 8,it is ,luck4 ,he went afterward to a broad street that leads down to the harbor1 and he entered the third house on the right----0 8,what is the name of the street80 8,i don't know3 but the house is one story lower than the adjoining ones4 ,luck told ,catherine what he had heard1 and she proposed to him to assassinate ,michel2 but he refused1 saying1 #8,it was bad enough to have burnt out his eyes fifteen years before1 while he was asleep at your door1 and to have kidnapped him into the country4' ,then ,i went in to ask charity1 and ,catherine put a piece of plate into my pocket1 that ,i might be arrested2 then she hid herself behind the aqueduct to wait for ,michel1 and she killed him40 8,but1 since you say all this1 why did you keep the plate--why didn't you give information80 8,but ,i didn't see it then4 ,michel showed it me last night40 8,but what should induce ,catherine to do this80 8,michel was her husband1 and she had forsaken him to come to ,odessa and marry again4 ,one night1 fifteen years ago1 she saw ,michel1 who had come to seek her4 ,she slipped hastily into her house1 and ,michel1 who thought she had not seen him1 lay down at her door to watch2 but he fell asleep1 and then ,luck burnt out his eyes1 and carried him to a distance40 8,and is it ,michel who has told you this80 8,yes3 he came1 very pale1 and covered with blood2 and he took me by the hand and showed me all this with his fingers40 ,upon this1 ,luck and ,catherine were arrested2 and it was ascertained that she had actually been married to ,michel in the year #ahai1 at ,kherson4 ,they at first denied the accusation1 but ,powleska insisted1 and they subsequently confessed the crime4 ,when they communicated the circumstances of the confession to ,powleska1 she said1 8,i was told it last night40 ,this affair naturally excited great interest1 and people all round the neighborhood hastened into the city to learn the sentence4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,double-,,dreaming ,,and ,,trance4 ,,among the phenomena of the dream-life which we have to consider1 that of double-dreaming forms a very curious department4 ,a somewhat natural introduction to this subject may be found in the cases above-recorded1 of ,professor ,herder and ,mr4 ,s----1 of ,edinburgh1 who appear1 in their sleep1 to have received so lively an impression of those earnest wishes of their dying friends to see them1 that they found themselves irresistibly impelled to obey the spiritual summons4 ,these two cases occurred to men engaged in active daily life1 and in normal physical conditions1 on which account ,i particularly refer to them here1 although many similar ones might be adduced4 ,with respect to this subject of double-dreaming1 ,dr4 ,ennemoser thinks that it is not so difficult to explain as might appear on a first view1 since he considers that there exists an indisputable sympathy between certain organisms1 especially where connected by relationship or by affection1 which may be sufficient to account for the supervention of simultaneous thoughts1 dreams1 or presentiments2 and ,i have met with some cases where the magnetiser and his patient have been the subjects of this phenomenon4 ,with respect to the power asserted to have been frequently exercised by causing or suggesting dreams by an operator at a distance from the sleeper1 ,dr4 ,e4 considers the two parties to stand in a positive and negative relation to each other2 the antagonistic power of the sleeper being #j1 he becomes a perfectly passive recipient of the influence exerted by his positive half1 if ,i may use the expression2 for1 where such a polarity is established1 the two beings seem to be almost blended into one2 while ,dr4 ,passavent observes1 that we can not pronounce what may be the limits of the nervous force1 which certainly is not bounded by the termination of its material conductors4 ,i have yet1 myself1 met with no instance of dream compelling by a person at a distance2 but ,dr4 ,ennemoser says that ,agrippa von ,nettesheim asserts that this can assuredly be done1 and also that the abbot ,trithemius and others possessed the power4 ,in modern times1 ,wesermann1 in ,dusseldorf1 pretended to the same faculty1 and affirms that he had frequently exercised it4 ,all such phenomena1 ,dr4 ,passavent attributes to the interaction of imponderables--or of one universal imponderable under different manifestations--which acts not only within the organism1 but beyond it1 independently of all material obstacles2 just as a sympathy appears between one organ and another1 unobstructed by the intervening ones2 and he instances the sympathy which exists between the mother and the ftus1 as an example of this sort of double life1 and standing as midway between the sympathy between two organs in the same body and that between two separate bodies1 each having its own life1 and its life also in and for another1 as parts of one whole4 ,the sympathy between a bird and the eggs it sits upon1 is of the same kind2 many instances having been observed1 wherein eggs1 taken from one bird and placed under another1 have produced a brood feathered like the foster instead of the real parent4 ,thus1 this vital force may extend dynamically the circle of its influence1 till1 under favorable circumstances1 it may act on other organisms1 making their organs its own4 ,i need scarcely remind my readers of the extraordinary sympathies manifested by the ,siamese twins1 ,chang and ,eng4 ,i never saw them myself2 and1 for the benefit of others in the same situation1 ,i quote the following particulars from ,dr4 ,passavent3 8,they were united by a membrane which extended from the breast-bone to the navel2 but1 in other respects1 were not different from their countrymen in general4 ,they were exceedingly alike1 only that ,eng was rather the more robust of the two4 ,their pulsations were not always coincident4 ,they were active and agile1 and fond of bodily exercises2 their intellects were well developed1 and their tones of voice and accent were precisely the same4 ,as they never conversed together1 they had nearly forgotten their native tongue4 ,if one was addressed1 they both answered4 ,they played some games of skill1 but never with each other2 as that1 they said1 would have been like the right hand playing with the left4 ,they read the same book at the same time1 and sang together in unison4 ,in ,america they had a fever1 which ran precisely a similar course with each4 ,their hunger1 thirst1 sleeping1 and waking1 were alway coincident1 and their tastes and inclinations were identical4 ,their movements were so simultaneous1 that it was impossible to distinguish with which the impulse had originated2 they appeared to have but one will4 ,the idea of being separated by an operation was abhorrent to them2 and they consider themselves much happier in their duality than are the individuals who look upon them with pity40 ,this admirable sympathy1 although necessarily in an inferior degree1 is generally manifested1 more or less1 between all persons twin-born4 ,dr4 ,passavent and other authorities mention several instances of this kind1 in which1 although at some distance from each other1 the same malady appeared simultaneously in both1 and ran precisely a similar course4 ,a very affecting instance of this sort of sympathy was exhibited1 not very long ago1 by a young lady1 twin-born1 who was suddenly seized with an unaccountable horror1 followed by a strange convulsion1 which the doctor1 who was hastily called in1 said exactly resembled the struggles and sufferings of a person drowning4 ,in process of time1 the news arrived that her twin-brother1 then abroad1 had been drowned precisely at that period4 ,it is probably a link of the same kind that is established between the magnetiser and his patient1 of which1 besides those recorded in various works on the subject1 some curious instances have come to my knowledge1 such as uncontrollable impulses to go to sleep1 or to perform certain actions1 in subservience to the will of the distant operator4 ,mr4 ,w---- ,w----1 a gentleman well known in the north of ,england1 related to me that he had been cured1 by magnetism1 of a very distressing malady4 ,during part of the process of cur1 after the rapport had been well established1 the operations were carried on while he was at ,malvern1 and his magnetiser at ,cheltenham1 under which circumstances the existence of this extraordinary dependence was frequently exhibited in a manner that left no possibility of doubt4 ,on one occasion1 ,i remember that ,mr4 ,w---- ,w---- being in the magnetic sleep1 he suddenly started from his seat1 clasping his hands as if startled1 and presently afterward burst into a violent fit of laughter4 ,as1 on waking1 he could give no account of these impulses1 his family wrote to the magnetiser to inquire if he had sought to excite any particular manifestations in his patient1 as the sleep had been somewhat disturbed4 ,the answer was1 that no such intention had been entertained1 but that the disturbance might possibly have arisen from one to which he had himself been subjected4 8,while my mind was concentrated on you10 said he1 8,i was suddenly so much startled by a violent knock at the door1 that ,i actually jumped off my seat1 clasping my hands with affright4 ,i had a hearty laugh at my own folly1 but am sorry if you were made uncomfortable by it40 ,i have met with some accounts of a sympathy of this kind existing between young children and their parents1 so that the former have exhibited great distress and terror at the moment that death or danger have supervened to the latter2 but it would require a great number of instances to establish this particular fact1 and separate it from cases of accidental coincidence4 ,dr4 ,passavent1 however1 admits the phenomena4 ,i shall return to these mysterious influences by-and-by2 but to revert1 in the meanwhile1 to the subject of double dreams1 ,i will relate one that occurred to two ladies1 a mother and daughter1 the latter of whom related it to me4 ,they were sleeping in the same bed at ,cheltenham1 when the mother1 ,mrs4 ,c----1 dreamed that her brother-in-law1 then in ,ireland1 had sent for her2 that she entered his room1 and saw him in bed1 apparently dying4 ,he requested her to kiss him1 but1 owing to his livid appearance1 she shrank from doing so1 and awoke with the horror of the scene upon her4 ,the daughter awoke at the same moment1 saying1 8,oh1 ,i have had such a frightful dream60 8,oh1 so have ,i60 returned the mother2 8,i have been dreaming of my brother-in-law60--8,my dream was about him1 too10 added ,miss ,c----4 8,i thought ,i was sitting in the drawing-room1 and that he came in wearing a shroud1 trimmed with black ribands1 and1 approaching me1 he said3 #8,my dear niece1 your mother has refused to kiss me1 but ,i am sure you will not be so unkind6'0 ,as these ladies were not in habits of regular correspondence with their relative1 they knew that the earliest intelligence likely to reach them1 if he were actually dead1 would be by means of the ,irish papers2 and they waited anxiously for the following ,wednesday1 which was the day these journals were received in ,cheltenham4 ,when that morning arrived1 ,miss ,c---- hastened at an early hour to the reading-room1 and there she learned what the dreams had led them to expect3 their friend was dead2 and they afterward ascertained that his decease had taken place on that night4 ,they moreover observed1 that neither one nor the other of them had been speaking or thinking of this gentleman for some time previous to the occurrence of the dreams2 nor had they any reason whatever for uneasiness with regard to him4 ,it is a remarkable peculiarity in this case1 that the dream of the daughter appears to be a continuation of that of the mother4 ,in the one1 he is seen alive2 in the other1 the shroud and black ribands seem to indicate that he is dead1 and he complains of the refusal to give him a farewell kiss4 ,one is almost inevitably led here to the conclusion that the thoughts and wishes of the dying man were influencing the sleepers1 or that the released spirit was hovering near them4 ,pomponius ,mela relates1 that a certain people in the interior of ,africa lay themselves down to sleep on the graves of their forefathers1 and believe the dreams that ensue to be the unerring counsel of the dead4 ,the following dream1 from ,st4 ,austin1 is quoted by ,dr4 ,binns3 ,prstantius desired from a certain philosopher the solution of a doubt1 which the latter refused to give him2 but1 on the following night1 the philosopher appeared at his bedside and told him what he desired to know4 ,on being asked1 the next day1 why he had chosen that hour for his visit1 he answered3 #8,i came not to you truly1 but in my dream ,i appeared to you to do so4' ,in this case1 however1 only one of the parties seems to have been asleep1 for ,prstantius says that he was awake2 and it is perhaps rather an example of another kind of phenomena1 similar to the instance recorded of himself by the late ,joseph ,wilkins1 a dissenting minister1 who says that1 being one night asleep1 he dreamed that he was travelling to ,london1 and that1 as it would not be much out of his way1 he would go by ,gloucestershire and call upon his friends4 ,accordingly he arrived at his father's house1 but1 finding the front door closed1 he went round to the back and there entered4 ,the family1 however1 being already in bed1 he ascended the stairs and entered his father's bed-chamber4 ,him he found asleep2 but to his mother1 who was awake1 he said1 as he walked round to her side of the bed1 #8,mother1 ,i am going a long journey1 and am come to bid you good-by2' to which she answered1 #8,oh1 dear son1 thee art dead6' ,though struck with the distinctness of the dream1 ,mr4 ,wilkins attached no importance to it1 till1 to his surprise1 a letter arrived from his father1 addressed to himself1 if alive--or1 if not1 to his surviving friends--begging earnestly for immediate intelligence1 since they were under great apprehensions that their son was either dead1 or in danger of death2 for that1 on such a night 7naming that on which the above dream had occurred71 he1 the father1 being asleep1 and ,mrs4 ,wilkins awake1 she had distinctly heard somebody try to open the fore door1 which being fast1 the person had gone round to the back and there entered4 ,she had perfectly recognised the footstep to be that of her son1 who had ascended the stairs1 and entering the bed-chamber1 had said to her1 #8,mother1 ,i am going a long journey1 and am come to bid you good-by2' whereupon she had answered1 #8,oh1 dear son1 thee art dead6' ,much alarmed1 she had awakened her husband and related what had occurred1 assuring him that it was not a dream1 for that she had not been asleep at all4 ,mr4 ,wilkins mentions that this curious circumstance took place in the year #aged1 when he was living at ,ottery2 and that he had frequently discussed the subject with his mother1 on whom the impression made was even stronger than on himself4 ,neither death nor anything else remarkable ensued4 ,a somewhat similar instance to this1 which ,i also quote from ,dr4 ,binns1 is that of a gentleman who dreamed that he was pushing violently against the door of a certain room1 in a house with which he was well acquainted2 while the people in that room were1 at the same time1 actually alarmed by a violent pushing against the door1 which it required their utmost force effectually to resist4 ,as soon as the attempt to burst open the door had ceased1 the house was searched1 but nothing discovered to account for the disturbance4 ,these examples are extremely curious1 and they conduct us by a natural transition to another department of this mysterious subject4 ,there must be few persons who have not heard1 among their friends and acquaintance1 instances of what is called a wraith2 that is1 that in the moment of death1 a person is seen in a place where bodily he is not4 ,i believe the ,scotch use this term also in the same sense as the ,irish word fetch2 which is a person's double seen at some indefinite period previous to his death1 of which such an appearance is generally supposed to be a prognostic4 ,the ,germans express the same thing by the word doppelgnger4 ,with respect to the appearance of wraiths1 at the moment of death1 the instances to be met with are so numerous and well-authenticated1 that ,i generally find the most skeptical people unable to deny that some such phenomenon exists1 although they evade1 without ,i think1 diminishing the difficulty1 by pronouncing it to be of a subjective1 and not of an objective1 nature2 that is1 that the image of the dying person is1 by some unknown operation1 presented to the imagination of the seer1 without the existence of any real outstanding figure1 from which it is reflected2 which reduces such instances so nearly to the class of mere sensuous illusion1 that it seems difficult to draw the distinction4 ,the distinction these theorists wish to imply1 however1 is that the latter are purely subjective and self-originating1 while the others have an external cause1 although not an external visible object--the image seen being protruded by the imagination of the seer1 in consequence of an unconscious intuition of the death of the person whose wraith is perceived4 ,instances of this kind of phenomenon have been common in all ages of the world1 insomuch that ,lucretius1 who did not believe in the immortality of the soul1 and was yet unable to deny the facts1 suggested the strange theory that the superficial surfaces of all bodies were continually flying off1 like the coats of an onion1 which accounted for the appearance of wraiths1 ghosts1 doubles1 c42 and a more modern author1 ,gaffarillus1 suggests that corrupting bodies send forth vapors1 which being compressed by the cold night air1 appear visible to the eye in the forms of men4 ,it will not be out of place1 here1 to mention the circumstance recorded in ,professor ,gregory's 8,abstract of ,baron von ,reichenbach's ,researches in ,magnetism10 regarding a person called ,billing1 who acted in the capacity of amanuensis to the blind poet ,pfeffel1 at ,colmar4 ,having treated of various experiments1 by which it was ascertained that certain sensitive persons were not only able to detect electric influences of which others were unconscious1 but could also perceive1 emanating from the wires and magnets1 flames which were invisible to people in general2 8the baron10 according to ,dr4 ,gregory1 8proceeded to a useful application of the results1 which is1 he says1 so much the more welcome1 as it utterly eradicates one of the chief foundations of superstition1 that worst enemy to the development of human enlightenment and liberty4 ,a singular occurrence1 which took place at ,colmar1 in the garden of the poet ,pfeffel1 has been made generally known by various writings4 ,the following are the essential facts4 ,the poet1 being blind1 had employed a young clergyman1 of the evangelical church1 as amanuensis4 ,pfeffel1 when he walked out1 was supported and led by this young man1 whose name was ,billing4 ,as they walked in the garden1 at some distance from the town1 ,pfeffel observed1 that as often as they passed over a particular spot1 the arm of ,billing trembled1 and he betrayed uneasiness4 ,on being questioned1 the young man reluctantly confessed1 that as often as he passed over that spot1 certain feelings attacked him1 which he could not control1 and which he knew well1 as he always experienced the same1 in passing over any place where human bodies lay buried4 ,he added1 that at night1 when he came near such places1 he saw supernatural appearances4 ,pfeffel1 with the view of curing the youth of what he looked on as fancy1 went that night with him to the garden4 ,as they approached the spot in the dark1 ,billing perceived a feeble light1 and when still nearer1 he saw a luminous ghostlike figure floating over the spot4 ,this he described as a female form1 with one arm laid across the body1 the other hanging down1 floating in the upright posture1 but tranquil1 the feet only a hand-breadth or two above the soil4 ,pfeffel went alone1 as the young man declined to follow him1 up to the place where the figure was said to be1 and struck about in all directions with his stick1 besides running actually through the shadow2 but the figure was not more affected than a flame would have been2 the luminous form1 according to ,billing always returned to its original position after these experiments4 ,many things were tried during several months1 and numerous companies of people were brought to the spot1 but the matter remained the same1 and the ghost-seer adhered to his serious assertion1 and to the opinion founded on it1 that some individual lay buried there4 ,at last1 ,pfeffel had the place dug up4 ,at a considerable depth was found a firm layer of white lime1 of the length and breadth of a grave1 and of considerable thickness1 and when this had been broken into1 there were found the bones of a human being4 ,it was evident that some one had been buried in the place1 and covered with a thick layer of lime 7quicklime71 as is generally done in times of pestilence1 of earthquakes1 and other similar events4 ,the bones were removed1 the pit filled up1 the lime scattered abroad1 and the surface again made smooth4 ,when ,billing was now brought back to the place1 the phenomena did not return1 and the nocturnal spirit had for ever disappeared4 8,it is hardly necessary to point out to the reader what view the author takes of this story1 which excited much attention in ,germany1 because it came from the most truthful man alive1 and theologians and psychologists gave to it sundry terrific meanings4 ,it obviously falls into the province of chemical action1 and thus meets with a simple and clear explanation from natural and physical causes4 ,a corpse is a field for abundant chemical changes1 decompositions1 fermentation1 putrefaction1 gasification1 and general play of affinities4 ,a stratum of quicklime1 in a narrow pit1 unites its powerful affinities to those of the organic matters1 and gives rise to a long-continued working of the whole4 ,rain-water filters through and contributes to the action3 the lime on the outside of the mass first falls to a fine powder1 and afterward1 with more water1 forms lumps which are very slowly penetrated by the air4 ,slaked lime prepared for building1 but not used1 on account of some cause connected with a warlike state of society some centuries since1 has been found in subterraneous holes or pits1 in the ruins of old castles2 and the mass1 except on the outside1 was so unaltered that it has been used for modern buildings4 ,it is evident1 therefore1 that in such circumstances there must be a very slow and long-continued chemical action1 partly owing to the slow penetration of the mass of lime by the external carbonic acid1 partly to the change going on in the remains of animal matter1 at all events as long as any is left4 ,in the above case1 this must have gone on in ,pfeffel's garden1 and1 as we know that chemical action is invariably associated with light1 visible to the sensitive1 this must have been the origin of the luminous appearance1 which again must have continued until the mutual affinities of the organic remains1 the lime1 the air1 and water1 had finally come to a state of chemical rest or equilibrium4 ,as soon1 therefore1 as a sensitive person1 although otherwise quite healthy1 came that way1 and entered into the sphere of the force in action1 he must feel1 by day1 like ,mdlle4 ,maix1 the sensations so often described1 and see by night1 like ,mdlle4 ,reichel1 the luminous appearance4 ,ignorance1 fear1 and superstition1 would dress up the feebly shining1 vaporous light into a human form1 and furnish it with human limbs and members2 just as we can at pleasure fancy every cloud in the sky to represent a man or a demon4 8,the wish to strike a fatal blow at the monster superstition1 which1 at no distant period1 poured out upon ,european society from a similar source1 such inexpressible misery1 when1 in trials for witchcraft1 not hundreds1 not thousands1 but hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings perished miserably1 either on the scaffold1 at the stake1 or by the effects of torture--this desire induced the author to try the experiment of bringing1 if possible1 a highly-sensitive patient by night to a churchyard4 ,it appeared possible that such a person might see1 over graves in which mouldering bodies lie1 something similar to that which ,billing had seen4 ,mdlle4 ,reichel had the courage1 rare in her sex1 to gratify this wish of the author4 ,on two very dark nights she allowed herself to be taken from the castle of ,reisenberg1 where she was living with the author's family1 to the neighboring churchyard of ,grunzing4 ,the result justified his anticipation in the most beautiful manner4 ,she very soon saw a light1 and observed on one of the graves1 along its length1 a delicate1 breathing flame3 she also saw the same thing1 only weaker on the second grave4 ,but she saw neither witches nor ghosts2 she described the fiery appearances as a shining vapor1 one to two spans high1 extending as far as the grave1 and floating near its surface4 ,some time afterward she was taken to two large cemeteries near ,vienna1 where several burials occur daily1 and graves lie about by thousands4 ,here she saw numerous graves provided with similar lights4 ,wherever she looked1 she saw luminous masses scattered about4 ,but this appearance was most vivid over the newest graves1 while in the oldest it could not be perceived4 ,she described the appearance less as a clear flame than as a dense1 vaporous mass of fire1 intermediate between fog and flame4 ,on many graves the flames were four feet high1 so that when she stood on them1 it surrounded her up to the neck4 ,if she thrust her hand into it1 it was like putting it into a dense1 fiery cloud4 ,she betrayed no uneasiness1 because she had all her life been accustomed to such emanations1 and had seen the same1 in the author's experiments1 often produced by natural causes4 8,many ghost-stories will now find their natural explanation4 ,we can also see that it was not altogether erroneous1 when old women declared that all had not the gift to see the departed wandering about their graves2 for it must have always been the sensitive alone who were able to perceive the light given out by the chemical action going on in the corpse4 ,the author has thus1 he hopes1 succeeded in tearing down one of the most impenetrable barriers erected by dark ignorance and superstitious folly against the progress of natural truth40 87,the reader will at once apply the above most remarkable experiments to the explanation of corpse-lights in churchyards1 which were often visible to the gifted alone--to those who had the second-sight1 for example4 ,many nervous or hysterical females must often have been alarmed by white1 faintly-luminous objects in dark churchyards1 to which objects fear has given a defined form4 ,in this1 as well as in numerous other points1 which will force themselves on the attention of the careful reader of both works1 ,baron ,reichenbach's experiments illustrate the experiences of the ,seeress of ,prevorst4--,w4 ,g470#a ,that the flames here described may have originated in chemical action1 is an opinion ,i have no intention of disputing2 the fact may possibly be so2 such a phenomenon has frequently been observed hovering over coffins and decomposing flesh3 but ,i confess ,i can not perceive the slightest grounds for the assertion that it was the ignorance1 fear1 and superstition1 of ,billing1 who was an evangelical clergyman1 that caused him to dress up this vaporous light in a human form and supply it with members1 c4 ,in the first place1 ,i see no proof adduced that ,billing was either ignorant or superstitious1 or even afraid--the feelings he complained of appearing to be rather physical than moral2 and it must be a weak person indeed1 who1 in company with another1 could be excited to such a freak of the imagination4 ,it is easily comprehensible that that which appeared only a luminous vapor by day1 might1 when reflected on a darker atmosphere1 present a defined form2 and the suggestion of this possibility might lead to some curious speculations with regard to a mystery called the ,,palinganesia1 said to have been practised by some of the chemists and alchemists of the sixteenth century4 ,gaffarillus1 in his book1 entitled 8,curiosits ,inouies10 published in #afej1 when speaking on the subject of talismans1 signatures1 c41 observes that1 since in many instances the plants used for these purposes were reduced to ashes1 and no longer retained their form1 their efficacy1 which depended on their figure1 should inevitably be destroyed2 but this1 he says1 is not the case1 since1 by an admirable potency existing in nature1 the form1 though invisible1 is still retained in the ashes4 ,this1 he observes1 may appear strange to those who have never attended to the subject2 but he asserts that an account of the experiment will be found in the works of ,mr4 ,du ,chesne1 one of the best chemists of the period1 who had been shown1 by a ,polish physician at ,cracow1 certain vials containing ashes1 which1 when duly heated1 exhibited the forms of various plants4 ,a small obscure cloud was first observed1 which gradually took on a defined form1 and presented to the eye a rose1 or whatever plant or flower the ashes consisted of4 ,mr4 ,du ,chesne1 however1 had never been able to repeat the experiment1 though he had made several unsuccessful attempts to do so2 but at length he succeeded1 by accident1 in the following manner3 ,having for some purpose extracted the salts from some burnt nettles1 and having left the ley outside the house all night1 to cool1 in the morning he found it frozen2 and1 to his surprise1 the form and figure of the nettles were so exactly represented on the ice1 that the living plant could not be more perfect4 ,delighted at this discovery1 he summoned ,mr4 ,de ,luynes1 parliamentary councillor1 to behold this curiosity2 whence1 he says1 they both concluded that1 when a body dies1 its form or figure still resides in its ashes4 ,kircher1 ,vallemont1 ,digby1 and others1 are said to have practised this art of resuscitating the forms of plants from their ashes and at the meeting of naturalists at ,stuttgard1 in #ahcd1 a ,swiss savant seems to have revived the subject1 and given a receipt for the experiment1 extracted from a work by ,oetinger1 called 8,thoughts on the ,birth and ,generation of ,things40--8,the earthly husk10 says ,oetinger1 8remains in the retort1 while the volatile essence ascends1 like a spirit1 perfect in form1 but void of substance40 ,but ,oetinger also records another discovery of this description1 which1 he says1 he fell upon unawares4 ,a woman having brought him a large bunch of balm1 he laid it under the tiles1 which were yet warm with the summer's heat1 where it dried in the shade4 ,but1 it being in the month of ,september1 the cold soon came1 and contracted the leaves1 without expelling the volatile salts4 ,they lay there till the following ,june1 when he chopped up the balm1 put it into a glass retort1 poured rain-water upon it1 and placed a receiver above4 ,he afterward heated it till the water boiled1 and then increased the heat--whereupon there appeared on the water a coat of yellow oil1 about the thickness of the back of a knife1 and this oil shaped itself into the forms of innumerable balm-leaves1 which did not run one into another1 but remained perfectly distinct and defined1 and exhibited all the marks that are seen in the leaves of the plant4 ,oetinger says he kept the fluid some time1 and showed it to a number of people4 ,at length1 wishing to throw it away1 he shook it1 and the leaves ran into one another with the disturbance of the oil1 but resumed their distinct shape again as soon as it was at rest1 the fluid form retaining the perfect signature4 ,now1 how far these experiments are really practicable1 ,i can not say2 their not being repeated1 or not being repeated successfully1 is no very decided argument against their possibility1 as all persons acquainted with the annals of chemistry well know2 but there is certainly a curious coincidence between these details and the experience of ,billing1 where it is to be observed that1 according to his account--and what right have we to dispute it8--the figure1 after being disturbed by ,pfeffel1 always resumed its original form4 ,the same peculiarity has been observed with respect to some apparitions1 where the spectator has been bold enough to try the experiment4 ,in a letter to ,dr4 ,bentley1 from the ,rev4 ,thomas ,wilkins1 curate of ,warblington1 in ,hampshire1 written in the year #afie1 wherein he gives an account of an apparition which haunted the parsonage-house1 and which he himself and several other persons had seen1 he particularly mentions that1 thinking it might be some fellow hid in the room1 he put his arm out to feel it1 and his hand seemingly went through the body of it1 and felt no manner of substance1 until it reached the wall4 8,then ,i drew back my hand1 but still the apparition was in the same place40 ,yet this spectre did not appear above or near a grave1 but moved from place to place1 and gave considerable annoyance to the inhabitants of the rectory4 ,with respect to the lights over the graves1 sufficing to account for the persuasion regarding what are called corpse-candles1 they certainly1 up to a certain point1 afford a very satisfactory explanation1 but that explanation does not comprehend the whole of the mystery2 for most of those persons who have professed to see corpse-candles1 have also asserted that they were not always stationary over the graves1 but sometimes moved from place to place1 as in the following instance1 related to me by a gentleman who assured me that he received the account from the person who witnessed the phenomenon4 ,now1 this last fact--,i mean the locomotion of the lights--will1 of course1 be disputed2 but so was their existence3 yet they exist1 for all that1 and may travel from place to place1 for anything we know to the contrary4 ,the story related to me1 or a similar instance1 is1 ,i think1 mentioned by ,mrs4 ,grant2 but it was to the effect that a minister1 newly inducted in his cur1 was standing one evening leaning over the wall of the churchyard which adjoined the manse1 when he observed a light hovering over a particular spot4 ,supposing it to be somebody with a lantern1 he opened the wicket and went forward to ascertain who it might be2 but before he reached the spot1 the light moved onward2 and he followed1 but could see nobody4 ,it did not rise far from the ground1 but advanced rapidly across the road1 entered a wood1 and ascended a hill1 till it at length disappeared at the door of a farmhouse4 ,unable to comprehend of what nature this light could be1 the minister was deliberating whether to make inquiries at the house or return1 when it appeared again1 seeming to come out of the house1 accompanied by another1 passed him1 and1 going over the same ground1 they both disappeared on the spot where he had first observed the phenomenon4 ,he left a mark on the grave by which he might recognise it1 and the next day inquired of the sexton whose it was4 ,the man said it belonged to a family that lived up the hill 7indicating the house the light had stopped at71 named ,m',d----1 but that it was a considerable time since any one had been buried there4 ,the minister was extremely surprised to learn1 in the course of the day1 that a child of that family had died of scarlet fever on the preceding evening4 ,with respect to the class of phenomena accompanied by this phosphorescent light1 ,i shall have more to say by-and-by4 ,the above will appear a very incredible story to many people1 and there was a time that it would have appeared equally so to myself2 but ,i have met with so much strange corroborative evidence1 that ,i no longer feel myself entitled to reject it4 ,i asked the gentleman who told me the story1 whether he believed it2 he said that he could not believe in anything of the sort4 ,i then inquired if he would accept the testimony of that minister on any other question1 and he answered1 8,most assuredly40 ,as1 however1 ,i shall have occasion to recur to this subject in a subsequent chapter1 ,i will leave it aside for the present1 and relate some of the facts which led me to the consideration of the above theories and experiments4 ,dr4 ,s---- relates that a ,madame ,t----1 in ,prussia1 dreamed1 on the #afth of ,march1 #ahcb1 that the door opened1 and her god-father1 ,mr4 ,d----1 who was much attached to her1 entered the room1 dressed as he usually was when prepared for church on ,sundays2 and that1 knowing him to be in bad health1 she asked him what he was doing abroad at such an early hour1 and whether he was quite well again4 ,whereupon1 he answered that he was2 and1 being about to undertake a very long journey1 he had come to bid her farewell1 and to intrust her with a commission1 which was1 that she would deliver a letter he had written to his wife2 but accompanying it with an injunction that she 7the wife7 was not to open it till that day four years1 when he would return himself1 precisely at five o'clock in the morning1 to fetch the answer1 till which period he charged her not to break the seal4 ,he then handed her a letter1 sealed with black1 the writing on which shone through the paper1 so that she 7the dreamer7 was able to perceive that it contained an announcement to ,mrs4 ,d----1 the wife1 with whom1 on account of the levity of her character1 he had long lived unhappily1 that she would die at that time four years4 ,at this moment1 the sleeper was awakened by what appeared to her a pressure of the hand2 and1 feeling an entire conviction that this was something more than an ordinary dream1 she was not surprised to learn that her god-father was dead4 ,she related the dream to ,madame ,d----1 omitting1 however1 to mention the announcement contained in the letter1 which she thought the dream plainly indicated was not to be communicated4 ,the widow laughed at the story1 soon resumed her gay life1 and married again4 ,in the winter of #ahce-'f1 however1 she was attacked by an intermittent fever1 on which occasion ,dr4 ,s---- was summoned to attend her4 ,after various vicissitudes1 she finally sunk2 and1 on the #afth of ,march1 #ahcf1 exactly at five o'clock in the morning1 she suddenly started up in her bed1 and1 fixing her eyes apparently on some one she saw standing at the foot1 she exclaimed3 8,what are you come for8 ,god be gracious to me6 ,i never believed it60 ,she then sank back1 closed her eyes1 which she never opened again1 and1 in a quarter of an hour afterward1 expired very calmly4 ,a friend of mine1 ,mrs4 ,m----1 a native of the ,west ,indies1 was at ,blair ,logie at the period of the death of ,dr4 ,abercrombie1 in ,edinburgh1 with whom she was extremely intimate4 ,dr4 ,a4 died quite suddenly1 without any previous indisposition1 just as he was about to go out in his carriage1 at #aa o'clock on a ,thursday morning4 ,on the night between the ,thursday and ,friday1 ,mrs4 ,m---- dreamed that she saw the family of ,dr4 ,a4 all dressed in white1 dancing a solemn funereal dance2 upon which she awoke1 wondering that she should have dreamed a thing so incongruous1 since it was contrary to their custom to dance on any occasion4 ,immediately afterward1 while speaking to her maid who had come to call her1 she saw ,dr4 ,abercrombie against the wall1 with his jaw fallen1 and a livid countenance1 mournfully shaking his head as he looked at her4 ,she passed the day in great uneasiness1 and wrote to inquire for the doctor1 relating what had happened1 and expressing her certainty that he was dead2 the letter was seen by several persons in ,edinburgh on the day of its arrival4 ,the two following cases seem rather to belong to what is called1 in the east1 second hearing1--although sympathy was probably the exciting cause of the phenomena4 ,a lady and gentleman in ,berwickshire were awakened one night by a loud cry1 which they both immediately recognised to proceed from the voice of their son1 who was then absent and at a considerable distance4 ,tidings subsequently reached them1 that exactly at that period their son had fallen overboard and was drowned4 ,on another occasion1 in ,perthshire1 a person aroused her husband one night1 saying that their son was drowned1 for she had been awakened by the splash4 ,her presentiment also proved too well founded1 the young man having fallen from the mast-head of the ship4 ,in both cases1 we may naturally conclude that the thoughts of the young men1 at the moment of the accident1 would rush homeward2 and1 admitting ,dr4 ,ennemoser's theory of polarity1 the passive sleepers became the recipients of the force4 ,i confess1 however1 that the opinions of another section of philosophers appear to me to be more germain to the matter2 although1 to many persons1 they will doubtless be difficult of acceptance1 from their appertaining to those views commonly called mystical4 ,these psychologists then believe1 as did ,socrates and ,plato1 and others of the ancients1 that in certain conditions of the body1 which conditions may arise naturally1 or be produced artificially1 the links which unite it with the spirit may be more or less loosened2 and that the latter may thus be temporarily disjoined from the former1 and so enjoy a foretaste of its future destiny4 ,in the lowest or first degree of this disunion1 we are awake1 though scarcely conscious1 while the imagination is vivified to an extraordinary amount1 and our fancy supplies images almost as lively as the realities4 ,this probably is the temporary condition of inspired poets and eminent discoverers4 ,sleep is considered another stage of this disjunction2 and the question has ever been raised whether1 when the body is in profound sleep1 the spirit is not altogether free and living in another world1 while the organic life proceeds as usual1 and sustains the temple till the return of its inhabitant4 ,without at present attempting to support or refute this doctrine1 ,i will only observe1 that once admitting the possibility of the disunion1 all consideration of time must be set aside as irrelevant to the question2 for spirit1 freed from matter1 must move with the rapidity of thought2--in short1 a spirit must be where its thoughts and affections are4 ,it is the opinion of these psychologists1 however1 that in the normal and healthy condition of man1 the union of body1 soul1 and spirit1 is most complete1 and that all the degrees of disunion in the waking state are degrees of morbid derangement4 ,hence it is that somnambulists and clairvoyants are chiefly to be found among sickly women4 ,there have been persons who have appeared to possess a power which they could exert at will1 whereby they withdrew from their bodies1 these remaining during the absence of the spirit in a state of catalepsy1 scarcely if at all to be distinguished from death4 ,i say withdrew from their bodies1 assuming that to be the explanation of the mystery2 for1 of course1 it is but an assumption4 ,epimenides is recorded to have possessed this faculty2 and ,hermotinus1 of ,clazomenes1 is said to have wandered1 in spirit1 over the world1 while his body lay apparently dead4 ,at length his wife1 taking advantage of this absence of his soul1 burned his body and thus intercepted its return3 so say ,lucien and ,pliny the elder2--and ,varro relates1 that the eldest of two brothers1 named ,corfidius1 being supposed to die1 his will was opened and preparations were made for his funeral by the other brother1 who was declared his heir4 ,in the meantime1 however1 ,corfidius revived1 and told the astonished attendants1 whom he summoned by clapping his hands1 that he had just come from his younger brother1 who had committed his daughter to his care1 and informed him where he had buried some gold1 requesting that the funeral preparations he had made might be converted to his own use4 ,immediately afterward1 the news arrived that the younger brother was unexpectedly deceased1 and the gold was found at the place indicated4 ,the last appears to have been a case of natural trance2 but the two most remarkable instances of voluntary trance ,i have met with in modern times is that of ,colonel ,townshend1 and the dervish who allowed himself to be buried4 ,with regard to the former1 he could1 to all appearance1 die whenever he pleased2 his heart ceased to beat2 there was no perceptible respiration2 and his whole frame became cold and rigid as death itself2 the features being shrunk and colorless1 and the eyes glazed and ghastly4 ,he would continue in this state for several hours and then gradually revive2 but the revival does not appear to have been an effort of will--or rather1 we are not informed whether it was so or not4 ,neither are we told whether he brought any recollections back with him1 nor how this strange faculty was first developed or discovered--all very important points1 and well worthy of investigation4#b ,with respect to the dervish1 or fakeer1 an account of his singular faculty was1 ,i believe1 first presented to the public in the ,calcutta papers about nine or ten years ago4 ,he had then frequently exhibited it for the satisfaction of the natives2 but subsequently he was put to the proof by some of the ,european officers and residents4 ,captain ,wade1 political agent at ,loodhiana1 was present when he was disinterred1 ten months after he had been buried by ,general ,ventura1 in presence of the maharajah and many of his principal sirdars4 ,it appears that the man previously prepared himself by some processes1 which1 he says1 temporarily annihilate the powers of digestion1 so that milk received into the stomach undergoes no change4 ,he next forces all the breath in his body into his brain1 which becomes very hot1 upon which the lungs collapse1 and the heart ceases to beat4 ,he then stops up1 with wax1 every aperture of the body through which air could enter1 except the mouth1 but the tongue is so turned back as to close the gullet1 upon which a state of insensibility ensues4 ,he is then stripped and put into a linen bag2 and1 on the occasion in question1 this bag was sealed with ,runjeet ,sing's own seal4 ,it was then placed in a deal box1 which was also locked and sealed1 and the box being buried in a vault1 the earth was thrown over it and trod down1 after which a crop of barley was sown on the spot1 and sentries placed to watch it4 ,the maharajah1 however1 was so skeptical1 that1 in spite of all these precautions1 he had him1 twice in the course of the ten months1 dug up and examined1 and each time he was found to be exactly in the same state as when they had shut him up4 ,when he is disinterred1 the first step toward his recovery is to turn back his tongue1 which is found quite stiff1 and requires for some time to be retained in its proper position by the finger2 warm water is poured upon him1 and his eyes and lips moistened with ghee1 or oil4 ,his recovery is much more rapid than might be expected1 and he is soon able to recognise the bystanders1 and converse4 ,he says1 that1 during this state of trance1 his dreams are ravishing1 and that it is very painful to be awakened2 but ,i do not know that he has ever disclosed any of his experiences4 ,his only apprehension seems to be1 lest he should be attacked by insects1 to avoid which accident the box is slung to the ceiling4 ,the interval seems to be passed in a complete state of hibernation2 and when he is taken up1 no pulse is perceptible1 and his eyes are glazed like those of a corpse4 ,he subsequently refused to submit to the conditions proposed by some ,english officers1 and thus incurred their suspicions1 that the whole thing was an imposition2 but the experiment has been too often repeated by people very well capable of judging1 and under too stringent precautions1 to allow of this mode of escaping the difficulty4 ,the man assumes to be holy1 and is very probably a worthless fellow1 but that does not affect the question one way or the other4 ,indian princes do not permit themselves to be imposed on with impunity2 and1 as ,runjeet ,sing would not value the man's life at a pin's point1 he would neglect no means of debarring him all access to food or air4 ,in the above-quoted cases1 except in those of ,corfidius and ,hermotinus1 the absence of the spirit is alone suggested to the spectator by the condition of the body2 since the memory of one state does not appear to have been carried into the other--if the spirit wandered into other regions it brings no tidings back2 but we have many cases recorded where this deficient evidence seems to be supplied4 ,the magicians and soothsayers of the northern countries1 by narcotics1 and other means1 produce a cataleptic state of the body1 resembling death1 when their prophetic faculty is to be exercised2 and although we know that an alloy of imposition is generally mixed up with these exhibitions1 still it is past a doubt1 that a state of what we call clear-seeing is thus induced2 and that on awaking1 they bring tidings from various parts of the world of actions then performing and events occurring1 which subsequent investigations have verified4 ,one of the most remarkable cases of this kind1 is that recorded by ,jung ,stilling1 of a man1 who about the year #agdj1 resided in the neighborhood of ,philadelphia1 in the ,united ,states4 ,his habits were retired1 and he spoke little2 he was grave1 benevolent1 and pious1 and nothing was known against his character1 except that he had the reputation of possessing some secrets that were not altogether lawful4 ,many extraordinary stories were told of him1 and among the rest1 the following3 ,the wife of a ship-captain1 whose husband was on a voyage to ,europe and ,africa1 and from whom she had been long without tidings1 overwhelmed with anxiety for his safety1 was induced to address herself to this person4 ,having listened to her story1 he begged her to excuse him for awhile1 when he would bring her the intelligence she required4 ,he then passed into an inner room1 and she sat herself down to wait2 but his absence continuing longer than she expected1 she became impatient1 thinking he had forgotten her2 and so softly approaching the door1 she peeped through some aperture1 and to her surprise1 beheld him lying on a sofa1 as motionless as if he was dead4 ,she of course1 did not think it advisable to disturb him1 but waited his return1 when he told her that her husband had not been able to write to her for such and such reasons2 but that he was then in a coffeehouse in ,london1 and would shortly be home again4 ,accordingly1 he arrived1 and as the lady learned from him that the causes of his unusual silence had been precisely those alleged by the man1 she felt extremely desirous of ascertaining the truth of the rest of the information2 and in this she was gratified2 for he no sooner set his eyes on the magician than he said that he had seen him before1 on a certain day1 in a coffeehouse in ,london2 and that he had told him his wife was extremely uneasy about him2 and that he1 the captain1 had thereon mentioned how he had been prevented writing2 adding that he was on the eve of embarking for ,america4 ,he had then lost sight of the stranger among the throng1 and knew nothing more about him4 ,i have no authority for this story1 but that of ,jung ,stilling2 and if it stood alone1 it might appear very incredible2 but it is supported by so many parallel examples of information given by people in somnambulic states1 that we are not entitled to reject it on the score of impossibility4 ,the late ,mr4 ,john ,holloway1 of the bank of ,england1 brother to the engraver of that name1 related of himself that being one night in bed with his wife and unable to sleep1 he had fixed his eyes and thoughts with uncommon intensity on a beautiful star that was shining in at the window1 when he suddenly found his spirit released from his body and soaring into that bright sphere4 ,but1 instantly seized with anxiety for the anguish of his wife1 if she discovered his body apparently dead beside her1 he returned1 and re-entered it with difficulty 7hence1 perhaps1 the violent convulsions with which some somnambules of the highest order are awakened74 ,he described that returning1 was returning to darkness2 and that while the spirit was free1 he was alternately in the light or the dark1 accordingly as his thoughts were with his wife or with the star4 ,he said that he always avoided anything that could produce a repetition of this accident1 the consequences of it being very distressing4 ,we know that by intense contemplation of this sort1 the dervishes produce a state of ecstasy1 in which they pretend to be transported to other spheres2 and not only the seeress of ,prevorst1 but many other persons in a highly magnetic state1 have asserted the same thing of themselves2 and certainly the singular conformity of the intelligence they bring is not a little remarkable4 ,dr4 ,kerner relates of his somnambule1 ,frederica ,hauffe1 that one day1 at ,weinsberg1 she exclaimed in her sleep1 8,oh6 ,god60 ,she immediately awoke1 as if aroused by the exclamation1 and said that she seemed to have heard two voices proceeding from herself4 ,at this time her father was lying dead in his coffin1 at ,oberstenfeld1 and ,dr4 ,fohr1 the physician1 who had attended him in his illness1 was sitting with another person in an adjoining room1 with the door open1 when he heard the exclamation 8,oh1 ,god60 so distinctly1 that1 feeling certain there was nobody there1 he hastened to the coffin1 whence the sound had appeared to proceed1 thinking that ,mr4 ,w----'s death had only been apparent1 and that he was reviving4 ,the other person1 who was an uncle of ,frederica1 had heard nothing4 ,no person was discovered from whom the exclamation could have proceeded1 and the circumstance remained a mystery till an explanation ensued4 ,plutarch relates1 that a certain man1 called ,thespesius1 having fallen from a great height1 was taken up apparently dead from the shock1 although no external wound was to be discovered4 ,on the third day after the accident1 however1 when they were about to bury him1 he unexpectedly revived2 and it was afterward observed1 to the surprise of all who knew him1 that1 from being a vicious reprobate1 he became one of the most virtuous of men4 ,on being interrogated with respect to the cause of the change1 he related that1 during the period of his bodily insensibility1 it appeared to him that he was dead1 and that he had been first plunged into the depths of an ocean1 out of which however1 he soon emerged1 and then1 at one view1 the whole of space was disclosed to him4 ,everything appeared in a different aspect1 and the dimensions of the planetary bodies1 and the intervals between them1 were tremendous1 while his spirit seemed to float in a sea of light1 like a ship in calm waters4 ,he also described many other things that he had seen4 ,he said that the souls of the dead1 on quitting the body1 appeared like a bubble of light1 out of which a human form was quickly evolved4 ,that of these1 some shot away at once in a direct line1 with great rapidity1 while others1 on the contrary1 seemed unable to find their due course1 and continued to hover about1 going hither and thither1 till at length they also darted away in one direction or another4 ,he recognised few of these persons he saw1 but those whom he did1 and sought to address1 appeared as if they were stunned and amazed1 and avoided him with terror4 ,their voices were indistinct1 and seemed to be uttering vague lamentings4 ,there were others1 also1 who floated farther from the earth1 who looked bright1 and were gracious2 these avoided the approach of the last4 ,in short1 the demeanor and appearance of these spirits manifested clearly their degrees of joy or grief4 ,thespesius was then informed by one of them1 that he was not dead1 but that he had been permitted to come there by a ,divine decree1 and that his soul1 which was yet attached to his body1 as by an anchor1 would return to it again4 ,thespesius then observed that he was different to the dead by whom he was surrounded1 and this observation seemed to restore him to his recollection4 ,they were transparent1 and environed by a radiance1 but he seemed to trail after him a dark ray1 or line of shadow4 ,these spirits also presented very different aspects2 some were entirely pervaded by a mild1 clear radiance1 like that of the full moon2 through others there appeared faint streaks1 that diminished this splendor2 while others1 on the contrary1 were distinguished by spots1 or stripes of black1 or of a dark color1 like the marks on the skin of a viper4 ,there is a circumstance which ,i can not help here mentioning in connection with this history of ,thespesius1 which on first reading struck me very forcibly4 ,about three years ago1 ,i had several opportunities of seeing two young girls1 then under the care of a ,mr4 ,a----1 of ,edinburgh1 who hoped1 chiefly by means of magnetism1 to restore them to sight4 ,one was a maid-servant afflicted with amaurosis1 whom he had taken into his house from a charitable desire to be of use to her2 the other1 who had been blind from her childhood1 was a young lady in better circumstances1 the daughter of respectable tradespeople in the north of ,england4 ,the girl with amaurosis was restored to sight1 and the other was so far benefited that she could distinguish houses1 trees1 carriages1 c41 and at length1 though obscurely1 the features of a person near her4 ,at this period of the cur she was1 unhappily1 removed1 and may possibly have relapsed into her former state4 ,my reason1 however1 for alluding to these young women on this occasion is1 that they were in the habit of saying1 when in the magnetic state--for they were both1 more or less1 clairvoyantes--that the people whom ,dr4 ,a---- was magnetizing1 in the same room1 presented very different appearances4 ,some of them they described as looking bright1 while others were1 in different degrees1 streaked with black4 ,one or two they mentioned over whom there seemed to hang a sort of cloud1 like a ragged veil of darkness4 ,they also said1 though this was before any tidings of ,baron von ,reichenbach's discoveries had reached this country1 that they saw light streaming from the fingers of ,mr4 ,a---- when he magnetized them2 and that sometimes his whole person seemed to them radiant4 ,now1 ,i am positively certain that neither ,mr4 ,a---- nor these girls had ever heard of this story of ,thespesius2 neither had ,i1 at that time2 and ,i confess1 when ,i did meet with it ,i was a good deal struck by the coincidence4 ,these young people said that it was the 8goodness or badness10 meaning the moral state1 of the persons that was thus indicated4 ,now1 surely1 this concurrence between the man mentioned by ,plutarch1 and these two girls--one of whom had no education whatever1 and the other very little--is worthy of some regard4 ,i once asked a young person in a highly clairvoyant state1 whether she ever 8saw the spirits of them that had passed away20 for so she designated the dead1 never using the word death herself1 in any of its forms4 ,she answered me that she did4 8,then where are they80 ,i inquired4 8,some are waiting1 and some are gone on before40 8,can you speak to them80 ,i asked4 8,no10 she replied1 8there is no meddling nor direction40 ,in her waking state she would have been quite incapable of these answers2 and that 8some are waiting and some gone on before10 seems to be much in accordance with the vision of ,thespesius4 ,dr4 ,passavent mentions a peasant-boy who1 after a short but painful illness1 apparently died1 his body being perfectly stiff4 ,he1 however1 revived1 complaining bitterly of being called back to life4 ,he said he had been in a delightful place1 and seen his deceased relations4 ,there was a great exaltation of the faculties after this2 and having been before rather stupid1 he now1 while his body lay stiff and immoveable and his eyes closed1 prayed and discoursed with eloquence4 ,he continued in this state for seven weeks1 but finally recovered4 ,in the year #agcc1 ,johann ,schwerzeger fell into a similar state of trance1 after an illness1 but revived4 ,he said he had seen his whole life1 and every sin he had committed1 even those he had quite forgotten--everything had been as present to him as when it happened4 ,he also lamented being recalled from the happiness he was about to enter into2 but said that he had only two days to spend in this valley of tears1 during which time he wished everybody that would1 should come and listen to what he had to tell them4 ,his before sunken eyes now looked bright1 his face had the bloom of youth1 and he discoursed so eloquently1 that the minister said they had exchanged offices1 and the sick man had become his teacher4 ,he died at the time he had foretold4 ,the most frightful cases of trance recorded are those in which the patient retains entire consciousness1 although utterly unable to exhibit any evidence of life2 and it is dreadful to think how many persons may have been actually buried1 hearing every nail that was screwed into their own coffin1 and as perfectly aware of the whole ceremony as those who followed them to the grave4 ,dr4 ,binns mentions a girl1 at ,canton1 who lay in this state1 hearing every word that was said around her1 but utterly unable to move a finger4 ,she tried to cry out1 but could not1 and supposed that she was really dead4 ,the horror of finding herself about to be buried at length caused a perspiration to appear on her skin1 and she finally revived4 ,she described that she felt that her soul had no power to act upon her body1 and that it seemed to be in her body and out of it1 at the same time6 ,now1 this is very much what the somnambulists say3 their soul is out of the body1 but is still so far in rapport with it1 that it does not leave it entirely4 ,probably magnetism would be the best means of reviving a person from this state4 ,the custom of burying people before there are unmistakable signs of death1 is a very condemnable one4 ,a ,mr4 ,m',g---- fell into a trance1 some few years since1 and remained insensible for five days1 his mother being meanwhile quite shocked that the physician would not allow him to be buried4 ,he had afterward a recurrence of the malady1 which continued seven days4 ,a ,mr4 ,s----1 who had been some time out of the country1 died1 apparently1 two days after his return4 ,as he had eaten of a pudding which his stepmother had made for his dinner with her own hands1 people took into their heads she had poisoned him2 and1 the grave being opened for purposes of investigation1 the body was found lying on its face4 ,one of the most frightful cases extant is that of ,dr4 ,walker1 of ,dublin1 who had so strong a presentiment on this subject1 that he had actually written a treatise against the ,irish customs of hasty burial4 ,he himself subsequently died1 as was believed1 of a fever4 ,his decease took place in the night1 and on the following day he was interred4 ,at this time1 ,mrs4 ,bellamy1 the once-celebrated actress1 was in ,ireland2 and as she had promised him1 in the course of conversation1 that she would take care he should not be laid in the earth till unequivocal signs of dissolution had appeared1 she no sooner heard of what had happened than she took measures to have the grave reopened2 but it was1 unfortunately1 too late2 ,dr4 ,walker had evidently revived1 and had turned upon his side2 but life was now quite extinct4 ,the case related by ,lady ,fanshawe1 of her mother1 is very remarkable1 from the confirmation furnished by the event of her death4 8,my mother1 being sick of a fever10 says ,lady ,fanshawe1 in her memoirs1 8her friends and servants thought her deceased1 and she lay in that state for two days and a night2 but ,mr4 ,winslow1 coming to comfort my father1 went into my mother's room1 and1 looking earnestly in her face1 said1 #8,she was so handsome1 and looked so lovely1 that he could not think her dead2' and1 suddenly taking a lancet out of his pocket1 he cut the sole of her foot1 which bled4 ,upon this1 he immediately caused her to be removed to the bed again1 and to be rubbed1 and such means used that she came to life1 and1 opening her eyes1 saw two of her kinswomen standing by her 7,lady ,knollys and ,lady ,russell71 both with great wide sleeves1 as the fashion then was2 and she said1 #8,did you not promise me fifteen years1 and are you come again already8'--which they1 not understanding1 bade her keep her spirits quiet in that great weakness wherein she was2 but1 some hours after1 she desired my father and ,dr4 ,howlesworth might be left alone with her1 to whom she said3 #8,i will acquaint you1 that1 during my trance1 ,i was in great grief1 but in a place ,i could neither distinguish nor describe2 but the sense of leaving my girl1 who is dearer to me than all my children1 remained a trouble upon my spirits4 ,suddenly ,i saw two by me1 clothed in long white garments1 and methought ,i fell down upon my face in the dust1 and they asked me why ,i was so troubled in so great happiness4 ,i replied1 8,oh1 let me have the same grant given to ,hezekiah1 that ,i may live fifteen years to see my daughter a woman60--to which they answered1 8,it is done60--and then at that instant ,i awoke out of my trance6' ,and ,dr4 ,howlesworth did affirm that the day she died made just fifteen years from that time40 ,i have met with a somewhat similar case to this1 which occurred to the mother of a very respectable person now living in ,edinburgh4 ,she having been ill1 was supposed to be dead1 and preparations were making for her funeral1 when one of her fingers was seen to move1 and restoratives being applied1 she revived4 ,as soon as she could speak1 she said she had been at the gates of heaven1 where she saw some going in1 but that they told her she was not ready4 ,among those who had passed her1 and been admitted1 she said she had seen ,mr4 ,so-and-so1 the baker1 and the remarkable thing was1 that during the time she had been in the trance1 this man had died4 ,on the #ajth of ,january1 #agag1 ,mr4 ,john ,gardner1 a minister1 at ,elgin1 fell into a trance1 and1 being to all appearance dead1 he was put into a coffin1 and on the second day was carried to the grave4 ,but1 fortunately1 a noise being heard1 the coffin was opened1 and he was found alive and taken home again1 where1 according to the record1 8he related many strange and amazing things which he had seen in the other world40 ,not to mention somnambules1 there are numerous other cases recorded of persons who have said1 on awaking from a trance1 that they had been in the other world2 though frequently the freed spirit--supposing that to be the interpretation of the mystery--seems busied with the affairs of the earth1 and brings tidings from distant places1 as in the case of the ,american above mentioned4 ,perhaps1 in these latter cases1 the disunion is less complete4 ,dr4 ,werner relates of his somnambule1 that it was after those attacks of catalepsy1 in which her body had lain stiff and cold1 that she used to say she had been wandering away through other spheres4 ,where the catalepsy is spontaneous and involuntary1 and resembles death so nearly as not to be distinguished from it1 we may naturally conclude1 if we admit this hypothesis at all1 that the seeing of the spirit would be clear in proportion to its disentanglement from the flesh4 ,i have spoken above of dream compelling or suggesting1 and ,i have heard of persons who have a power of directing their own dreams to any particular subject4 ,this faculty may be in some degree analogous to that of the ,american1 and a few somnambulic persons1 who appear to carry the recollections of one state into the other4 ,the effects produced by the witch-potions seem to have been somewhat similar1 inasmuch as they dreamed what they wished or expected to dream4 ,jung ,stilling mentions that a woman gave in evidence1 on a witch-trial1 that having visited the so-called witch1 she had found her concocting a potion over the fire1 of which she had advised her 7the visiter7 to drink1 assuring her that she would then accompany her to the ,sbbath4 ,the woman said1 lest she should give offence1 she had put the vessel to her lips1 but had not drunk of it4 ,the witch1 however1 swallowed the whole1 and immediately afterward sunk down upon the hearth in a profound sleep1 where she had left her4 ,when she went to see her on the following day1 she declared she had been to the ,brocken4 ,paolo ,minucci relates that a woman accused of sorcery1 being brought before a certain magistrate at ,florence1 she not only confessed her guilt1 but she declared that1 provided they would let her return home and anoint herself1 she would attend the ,sbbath that very night4 ,the magistrate1 a man more enlightened than the generality of his contemporaries1 consented4 ,the woman went home1 used her unguent1 and fell immediately into a profound sleep2 whereupon they tied her to the bed1 and tested the reality of the sleep by burns1 blows1 and pricking her with sharp instruments4 ,when she awoke on the following day1 she related that she had attended the ,sbbath4 ,i could quote several similar facts2 and ,gassendi actually endeavored to undeceive some peasants who believed themselves witches1 by composing an ointment that produced the same effects as their own magical applications4 ,in the year #aede1 ,andr ,laguna1 physician to ,pope ,julius ,,iii41 anointed a patient of his1 who was suffering from frenzy and sleeplessness1 with an unguent found in the house of a sorcerer1 who had been arrested4 ,the patient slept for thirty-six hours consecutively1 and when1 with much difficulty1 she was awakened1 she complained that they had torn her from the most ravishing delights--delights which seem to have rivalled the heaven of the ,mohammedan4 ,according to ,llorente1 the women who were dedicated to the service of the mother of the gods1 heard continually the sounds of flutes and tambourines1 beheld the joyous dances of the fauns and satyrs1 and tasted of intoxicating pleasures1 doubtless from a similar cause4 ,it is difficult to imagine that all the unfortunate wretches who suffered death at the stake in the middle ages1 for having attended the unholy assemblies they described1 had no faith in their own stories2 yet1 in spite of the unwearied vigilance of public authorities and private malignity1 no such assemblage was ever detected4 ,how1 then1 are we to account for the pertinacity of their confessions1 but by supposing them the victims of some extraordinary delusion8 ,in a paper addressed to the ,inquisition1 by ,llorente1 he does not scruple to assert that the crimes imputed to and confessed by witches have most frequently no existence but in their dreams1 and that their dreams are produced by the drugs with which they anointed themselves4 ,the recipes for these compositions1 which had descended traditionally from age to age1 have been lost since witchcraft went out of fashion1 and modern science has no time to investigate secrets which appear to be more curious than profitable2 but in the profound sleep produced by these applications1 it is not easy to say what phenomena may have occurred to justify1 or1 at least1 account for1 their self-accusations4 ----- #a ,this very curious work ,i have translated from the ,german4 ,published by ,moore1 ,london4--,c4 ,c4 ,also republished in this country4--,,am4 ,,ed4 #b ,since the above was penned1 ,i find from the account of ,dr4 ,cheyne1 who attended him1 that ,colonel ,townshend's own way of describing the phenomenon to which he was subject1 was1 that he 8could die1 or expire1 when he pleased2 and yet1 by an effort or somehow1 he could come to life again40 ,he performed the experiment in the presence of three medical men1 one of whom kept his hand on his heart1 another held his wrist1 and the third placed a looking-glass before his lips2 and they found that all traces of respiration and pulsation gradually ceased1 insomuch that1 after consulting about his condition for some time1 they were leaving the room1 persuaded that he was really dead1 when signs of life appeared and he slowly revived4 ,he did not die while repeating this experiment1 as has been sometimes stated4 ,this reviving 8by an effort or somehow10 seems to be better explained by the hypothesis ,i have suggested1 than by any other--namely1 that1 as in the case of ,mr4 ,holloway 7mentioned on page #abj71 his spirit1 or soul1 was released from his body1 but a sufficient rapport was maintained to reunite them4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,wraiths4 ,,such instances as that of ,lady ,fanshawe1 and other similar ones1 certainly seem to favor the hypothesis that the spirit is freed from the body when the latter becomes no longer a fit habitation for it4 ,it does so when actual death supervenes1 and the reason of its departure we may naturally conclude to be1 that the body has ceased to be available for its manifestations2 and in these cases1 which seem so nearly allied to death1 that frequently there would actually be no revival but for the exertions used1 it does not seem very difficult to conceive that this separation may take place4 ,when we are standing by a death-bed1 all we see is the death of the body--of the going forth of the spirit we see nothing3 so1 in cases of apparent death1 it may depart and return1 while we are aware of nothing but the reanimation of the organism4 ,certain it is1 that the ,scriptures countenance this view of the case in several instances2 thus1 ,luke says1 viii4 #cd3 8,and he put them all out1 and took her by the hand1 and called1 saying1 #8,maid1 arise6' ,and her spirit came again1 and she arose straightway10 c41 c4 ,dr4 ,wigan observes1 when speaking of the effects of temporary pressure on the brain1 that the mind is not annihilated1 because1 if the pressure is timely removed1 it is restored1 though1 if continued too long1 the body will be resolved into its primary elements3 and he compares the human organism to a watch1 which we can either stop or set going at will--which watch1 he says1 will also be gradually resolved into its original elements by chemical action2 and he adds that1 to ask where the mind is1 during the interruption1 is like asking where the motion of the watch is4 ,i think a wind-instrument would be a better simile1 for the motion of the watch is purely mechanical4 ,it requires no informing1 intelligent spirit to breathe into its apertures1 and make it the vehicle of the harshest discords1 or of the most eloquent discourses4 8,the divinely mysterious essence1 which we call the soul10 he adds1 8is not1 then1 the mind1 from which it must be carefully distinguished1 if we would hope to make any progress in mental philosophy4 ,where the soul resides during the suspension of the mental powers by asphyxia1 ,i know not1 any more than ,i know where it resided before it was united with that specific compound of bones1 muscles1 and nerve40 ,by a temporary pressure on the brain1 the mind is certainly not annihilated1 but its manifestations by means of the brain are suspended--the source of these manifestations being the soul1 or anima1 in which dwells the life1 fitting the temple for its divine inhabitant1 the spirit4 ,the connection of the soul and the body is probably a much more intimate one than that of the latter with the spirit1--though the soul1 as well as the spirit1 is immortal1 and survives when the body dies4 ,somnambulic persons seem to intimate that the soul of the fleshly body becomes hereafter the body of the spirit1 as if the imago or idolon were the soul4 ,dr4 ,wigan and indeed psychologists in general do not appear to recognise the old distinction between the pneuma1 or anima1 and the psyches--the soul and the spirit2 and1 indeed1 the ,scriptures occasionally seem to use the terms indifferently4 ,but still there are passages enough which mark the distinction2 as where ,st4 ,paul speaks of a 8living soul and a quickening spirit30 #a ,cor4 xv4 #de2--;again1 #a ,thess4 v4 #bc3 8,i pray ,god your whole spirit1 and soul1 and body10 c42--and also ,heb4 iv4 #ab1 where he speaks of the sword of ,god 8dividing asunder the soul and spirit40 ,in ,genesis1 chap4 ii41 we are told that 8man became a living soul20 but it is distinctly said1 #a ,cor4 xii41 that the gifts of prophecy1 the discerning of spirits1 c41 c41 belong to the spirit4 ,then1 with regard to the possibility of the spirit absenting itself from the body1 ,st4 ,paul says1 in referring to his own vision--#b ,cor4 xii4--8,i knew a man in ,christ1 about fourteen years ago 7whether in the body1 ,i can not tell2 or out of the body1 ,i can not tell3 ,god knoweth72 such a one caught up to the third heaven30 and we are told1 also1 that to be 8absent from the body is to be present with the ,lord20 and that when we are 8at home in the body we are absent from the ,lord40 ,we are told1 also1 8the spirit returns to ,god1 who gave it20 but it depends on ourselves whether or not our souls shall perish4 ,we must suppose1 however1 that even in the worst cases1 some remnant of this divine spirit remains with the soul as long as the latter is not utterly perverted and rendered incapable of salvation4 ,st4 ,john also says1 that when he prophesied1 he was in the spirit2 but it was the 8souls of the slain0 that he saw1 and that 8cried with a loud voice10 c41 c42 souls1 here1 being probably used in the sense of individuals1--as we say1 so many 8souls perished by shipwreck10 c4 ,in the ,revue de ,paris1 #bith ,july1 #ahch1 it is related that a child saw the soul of a woman1 who was lying insensible in a magnetic crisis in which death nearly ensued1 depart out of her2 and ,i find recorded in another work that a somnambule1 who was brought to give advice to a patient1 said3 8,it is too late--her soul is leaving her3 ,i see the vital flame quitting her brain40 ,from some of the cases ,i have above related1 we are led to the conclusion that in certain conditions of the body1 the spirit1 in a manner unknown to us1 resumes a portion of its freedom1 and is enabled to exercise more or less of its inherent properties4 ,it is somewhat released from those inexorable conditions of time and space which bound and limit its powers1 while in close connection with matter1 and it communes with other spirits who are also liberated4 ,how far this liberation 7if such it be71 or reintegration of natural attributes1 may take place in ordinary sleep1 we can only conclude from examples4 ,in prophetic dreams1 and in those instances of information apparently received from the dead1 this condition seems to occur2 as also in such cases as that of the gentleman mentioned in a former chapter1 who has several times been conscious1 on awaking1 that he had been conversing with some one1 whom he has been subsequently startled to hear had died at that period1 and this is a man apparently in excellent health1 endowed with a vigorous understanding1 and immersed in active business4 ,in the story of the ,american1 quoted in a former chapter from ,jung ,stilling1 there was one point which ,i forebore to comment on at the moment1 but to which ,i must now revert3 this is the assertion that the voyager had seen the man1 and even conversed with him1 in the coffeehouse in ,london whence the desired intelligence was brought4 ,now1 this single case1 standing alone1 would amount to nothing1 although ,jung ,stilling1 who was one of the most conscientious of men1 declares himself to have been quite satisfied with the authority on which he relates it2 but1 strange to say--for undoubtedly the thing is very strange--there are numerous similar instances recorded2 and it seems to have been believed in all ages of the world1 that people were sometimes seen where bodily they were not--seen1 not by sleepers alone1 but by persons in a perfect state of vigilance2 and that this phenomenon1 though more frequently occurring at the moment that the individual seen is at the point of death1 does occasionally occur at indefinite periods anterior to the catastrophe1 and sometimes where no such catastrophe is impending4 ,in some of these cases1 an earnest desire seems to be the cause of the phenomenon4 ,it is not very long since a very estimable lady1 who was dying in the ,mediterranean1 expressed herself perfectly ready to meet death1 if she could but once more behold her children1 who were in ,england4 ,she soon afterward fell into a comatose state1 and the persons surrounding her were doubtful whether she had not already breathed her last2 at all events1 they did not expect her to revive4 ,she did so1 however1 and now cheerfully announced that1 having seen her children1 she was ready to depart4 ,during the interval that she lay in this state1 her family saw her in ,england1 and were thus aware of her death before the intelligence reached them4 ,as it is a subject1 ,i understand1 they are unwilling to speak of1 ,i do not know precisely under what circumstances she was seen2--but this is an exactly analogous case to that already recorded of ,maria ,goffe1 of ,rochester1 who1 when dying away from home1 expressed precisely the same feelings4 ,she said she could not die happy till she had seen her children4 ,by-and-by she fell into a state of coma1 which left them uncertain whether she was dead or alive4 ,her eyes were open and fixed1 her jaw fallen1 and there was no perceptible respiration4 ,when she revived1 she told her mother1 who attended her1 that she had been home and seen her children2 which the other said was impossible1 since she had been lying there in bed the whole time4 8,yes10 replied the dying woman1 8but ,i was there in my sleep40 ,a widow woman1 called ,alexander1 who had the care of these children1 declared herself ready to take oath upon the sacrament1 that1 during this period1 she had seen the form of ,maria ,goffe come out of the room where the oldest child slept1 and approach the bed where she herself lay with the younger beside her4 ,the figure had stood there nearly a quarter of an hour1 as far as she could judge2 and she remarked that the eyes and the mouth moved1 though she heard no sound4 ,she declared herself to have been perfectly awake1 and that1 as it was the longest night in the year1 it was quite light4 ,she sat up in bed1 and while she was looking on the figure the clock on the bridge struck two4 ,she then adjured the form in the name of ,god1 whereupon it moved4 ,she immediately arose and followed it1 but could not tell what had become of it4 ,she then became alarmed1 and throwing on her clothes1 went out and walked on the quay1 returning to the house ever and anon to look at the children4 ,at five o'clock she knocked at a neighbor's door1 but they would not let her in4 ,at six she knocked again and was then admitted1 and related to them what she had seen1 which they1 of course1 endeavored to persuade her was a dream or an illusion4 ,she declared herself1 however1 to have been perfectly awake1 and said that if she had ever seen ,maria ,goffe in her life she had seen her that night4 ,the following story has been currently related in ,rome1 and is already in print4 ,i take it from a ,german work1 and ,i do not know how far its authenticity can be established4 ,it is to the effect that two friends having agreed to attend confession together1 one of them went at the appointed time to the ,abbate ,b----1 and made his confession2 after which the priest commenced the usual admonition1 in the midst of which he suddenly ceased speaking4 ,after waiting a short time1 the penitent stepped forward and perceived him lying in the confessional in a state of insensibility4 ,aid was summoned and means used to restore him1 which were for some time ineffectual2 at length1 when he opened his eyes1 he bade the penitent recite a prayer for his friend1 who had just expired4 ,this proved to be the case1 on inquiry2 and when the young man1 who had naturally hastened to his friend's house1 expressed a hope that he had not died without the last offices of the church1 he was told in amazement1 that the ,abbate ,b---- had arrived just as he was in extremis1 and had remained with him till he died4 ,these appearances seem to have taken place when the corporeal condition of the person seen elsewhere1 permits us to conceive the possibility of the spirit's having withdrawn from the body2 but the question then naturally arises1 what is it that was seen2 and ,i confess1 that of all the difficulties that surround the subject1 ,i have undertaken to treat of1 this seems to me the greatest2 for we can not suppose that a spirit can be visible to the human eye1 and both in the above instances and several others ,i have to narrate1 there is nothing that can lead us to the conclusion1 that the persons who saw the wraith or double1 were in any other than a normal state2 the figure1 in short1 seems to have been perceived through their external organs of sense4 ,before ,i discuss this question1 however1 any further1 ,i will relate some instances of a similar kind1 only with this difference1 that the wraith appearing as nearly as could be ascertained at the moment of death1 it remains uncertain whether it was seen before or after the dissolution had taken place4 ,as in both these cases above related and those that follow1 the material body was visible in one place1 while the wraith was visible in another1 they appear to be strictly analogous2 especially1 as in both class of examples1 the body itself was either dead or in a state that closely resembled death4 ,instances of people being seen at a distance from the spot on which they are dying1 are so numerous1 that in this department ,i have positively an embarras de richesse1 and find it difficult to make a selection2 more especially as there is in each case little to relate1 the whole phenomenon being comprised in the fact of the form being observed and the chief variations consisting in this1 that the seer1 or seers1 frequently entertain no suspicion that what they have seen is any other than a form of flesh and blood2 while on other occasions the assurance that the person is far away1 or some peculiarity connected with the appearance itself1 produces the immediate conviction that the shape is not corporeal4 ,mrs4 ,k----1 the sister of ,provost ,b----1 of ,aberdeen1 was sitting one day with her husband1 ,dr4 ,k----1 in the parlor of the manse1 when she suddenly said1 8,oh6 there's my brother come6 he has just passed the window10 and1 followed by her husband1 she hastened to the door to meet the visiter4 ,he was however not there4 8,he is gone round to the back door10 said she2 and thither they went2 but neither was he there1 nor had the servants seen anything of him4 ,dr4 ,k---- said she must be mistaken1 but she laughed at the idea2 her brother had passed the window and looked in2 he must have gone somewhere1 and would doubtless be back directly4 ,but he came not2 and the intelligence shortly arrived from ,st4 ,andrew's1 that at that precise time1 as nearly as they could compare circumstances1 he had died quite suddenly at his own place of residence4 ,i have heard this story from connections of the family1 and also from an eminent professor of ,glasgow1 who told me that he had once asked ,dr4 ,k----1 whether he believed in these appearances4 8,i can not choose but believe10 returned ,dr4 ,k----1 and then he accounted for his conviction by narrating the above particulars4 ,lord and ,lady ,m---- were residing on their estate in ,ireland3 ,lord ,m---- had gone out shooting in the morning1 and was not expected to return till toward dinner-time4 ,in the course of the afternoon1 ,lady ,m---- and a friend were walking on the terrace that forms a promenade in front of the castle1 when she said1 8,oh1 there is ,m---- returning60 whereupon she called to him to join them4 ,he1 however1 took no notice1 but walked on before them1 till they saw him enter the house1 whither they followed him2--but he was not to be found3 and before they had recovered their surprise at his sudden disappearance1 he was brought home dead1 having been killed by his own gun4 ,it is a curious fact1 in this case1 that while the ladies were walking behind the figure on the terrace1 ,lady ,m---- called the attention of her companion to the shooting-jacket1 observing that it was a convenient one1 and that she had the credit of having contrived it for him herself4 ,a person in ,edinburgh1 busied about her daily work1 saw a woman enter her house1 with whom she was on such ill terms that she could not but be surprised at the visit2 but while she was expecting an explanation1 and under the influence of her resentment avoiding to look at her1 she found she was gone4 ,she remained quite unable to account for the visit1 and1 as she said1 8was wondering what had brought her there10 when she heard that the woman had expired at that precise time4 ,madame ,o---- ,b---- was engaged to marry an officer who was with his regiment in ,india2 and1 wishing to live in privacy till the union took place1 she retired to the country and boarded with some ladies of her acquaintance1 awaiting his return4 ,she at length heard that he had obtained an appointment1 which1 by improving his prospects1 had removed some difficulties out of the way of the marriage1 and that he was immediately coming home4 ,a short time after the arrival of this intelligence1 this lady1 and one of those with whom she was residing1 were walking over a bridge1 when the friend said1 alluding to an officer she saw on the other side of the way1 8,what an extraordinary expression of face60 ,but1 without pausing to answer1 ,madame ,o---- ,b---- darted across the road to meet the stranger--but he was gone3 where8 they could not conceive4 ,they ran to the toll-keepers at the ends of the bridge1 to inquire if they had observed such a person1 but they had not4 ,alarmed and perplexed--for it was her intended husband that she had seen--,madame ,o---- ,b---- returned home2 and in due time the packet which should have brought himself1 brought the sad tidings of his unexpected death4 ,madame ,o---- ,b---- never recovered the shock1 and died herself of a broken heart not long afterward4 ,mr4 ,h----1 an eminent artist1 was walking arm in arm with a friend in ,edinburgh1 when he suddenly left him1 saying1 8,oh1 there's my brother60 ,he had seen him with the most entire distinctness2 but was confounded by losing sight of him1 without being able to ascertain whither he had vanished4 ,news came1 ere long1 that at that precise period his brother had died4 ,mrs4 ,t----1 sitting in her drawing-room1 saw her nephew1 then at ,cambridge1 pass across the adjoining room4 ,she started up to meet him1 and1 not finding him1 summoned the servants to ask where he was4 ,they1 however1 had not seen him1 and declared he could not be there2 while she as positively declared he was4 ,the young man had died at ,cambridge quite unexpectedly4 ,a ,scotch minister went to visit a friend who was dangerously ill4 ,after sitting with the invalid for some time1 he left him to take some rest1 and went below4 ,he had been reading in the library some little time1 when1 on looking up1 he saw the sick man standing at the door4 8,god bless me60 he cried1 starting up1 8how can you be so imprudent80 ,the figure disappeared2 and1 hastening up stairs1 he found his friend had expired4 ,three young men at ,cambridge had been out hunting1 and afterward dined together in the apartments of one of them4 ,after dinner1 two of the party1 fatigued with their morning's exercise1 fell asleep1 while the third1 a ,mr4 ,m----1 remained awake4 ,presently the door opened1 and a gentleman entered and placed himself behind the sleeping owner of the rooms1 and1 after standing there a minute1 proceeded to the gyp-room--a small inner chamber1 from which there was no egress4 ,mr4 ,m---- waited a little while1 expecting the stranger would come out again2 but1 as he did not1 he awoke his host1 saying1 8,there's somebody gone into your room3 ,i don't know who it can be40 ,the young man rose and looked into the gyp-room2 but1 there being nobody there1 he naturally accused ,mr4 ,m---- of dreaming2 but the other assured him he had not been asleep4 ,he then described the stranger--an elderly man1 c41 dressed like a country squire1 with gaiters on1 c4 8,why that's my father10 said the host1 and he immediately made inquiry1 thinking it possible the old gentleman had slipped out unobserved by ,mr4 ,m----4 ,he was not1 however1 to be heard of2 and the post shortly brought a letter announcing that he had died at the time he had been seen in his son's chamber at ,cambridge4 ,mr4 ,c---- ,f---- and some young ladies1 not long ago1 were standing together looking in at a shop window at ,brighton1--when he suddenly darted across the way1 and they saw him hurrying along the street1 apparently in pursuit of somebody4 ,after waiting a little while1 as he did not return1 they went home without him2 and1 when he was come1 they of course arraigned him for his want of gallantry4 8,i beg your pardon10 said he2 8but ,i saw an acquaintance of mine that owes me money1 and ,i wanted to get hold of him40 8,and did you80 inquired the ladies4 8,no10 returned he2 8,i kept sight of him some time2 but ,i suddenly missed him--,i can't think how40 ,no more was thought of the matter2 but1 by the next morning's post1 ,mr4 ,c---- ,f---- received a letter enclosing a draft1 from the father of the young man he had seen1 saying that his son had just expired1 and that one of his last requests had been that he would pay ,mr4 ,c---- ,f---- the money that he owed him4 ,two young ladies1 staying at the ,queen's ,ferry1 arose one morning early to bathe2 as they descended the stairs1 they each exclaimed3 8,there's my uncle60 ,they had seen him standing by the clock4 ,he died at that time4 ,very lately1 a gentleman living in ,edinburgh1 while sitting with his wife1 suddenly arose from his seat and advanced toward the door with his hand extended1 as if about to welcome a visiter4 ,on his wife's inquiring what he was about1 he answered that he had seen so-and-so enter the room4 ,she had seen nobody4 ,a day or two afterward1 the post brought a letter announcing the death of the person seen4 ,a regiment1 not very long since1 stationed at ,new ,orleans1 had a temporary mess-room erected1 at one end of which was a door for the officers1 and at the other1 a door and a space railed off for the messman4 ,one day1 two of the officers were playing at chess1 or draughts1 one sitting with his face toward the centre of the room1 the other with his back to it4 8,bless me6 why1 surely that is your brother60 exclaimed the former to the latter1 who looked eagerly round1 his brother being then1 as he believed1 in ,england4 ,by this time the figure1 having passed the spot where the officers were sitting1 presented only his back to them4 8,no10 replied the second1 8that is not my brother's regiment2 that's the uniform of the rifle-brigade4 ,by heavens6 it is my brother1 though10 he added1 starting up and eagerly pursuing the stranger1 who at that moment turned his head and looked at him1 and then1 somehow1 strangely disappeared among the people standing at the messman's end of the room4 ,supposing he had gone out that way1 the brother pursued him1 but he was not to be found2 neither had the messman1 nor anybody there1 observed him4 ,the young man died at that time in ,england1 having just exchanged into the rifle-brigade4 ,i could fill pages with similar instances1 not to mention those recorded in other collections and in history4 ,the case of ,lord ,balcarres is perhaps worth alluding to1 from its being so perfectly well established4 ,nobody has ever disputed the truth of it1 only they get out of the difficulty by saying that it was a spectral illusion6 ,lord ,balcarres was in confinement in the castle of ,edinburgh1 under suspicion of ,jacobitism1 when one morning1 while lying in bed1 the curtains were drawn aside by his friend1 ,viscount ,dundee1 who looked upon him steadfastly1 leaned for some time on the mantel-piece1 and then walked out of the room4 ,lord ,balcarres1 not supposing that what he saw was a spectre1 called to ,dundee to come back and speak to him1 but he was gone2 and shortly afterward the news came that he had fallen about that same hour at ,killicranky4 ,finally1 ,i have met with three instances of persons who are so much the subjects of this phenomenon1 that they see the wraiths of most people that die belonging to them1 and frequently of those who are merely acquaintance4 ,they see the person as if he were alive1 and unless they know him positively to be elsewhere1 they have no suspicion but that it is himself1 in the flesh1 that is before them1 till the sudden disappearance of the figure brings the conviction4 ,sometimes1 as in the case of ,mr4 ,c---- ,f----1 above alluded to1 no suspicion arises till the news of the death arrives2 and they mention1 without reserve1 that they have met so and so1 but he did not stop to speak1 and so forth4 ,on other occasions1 however1 the circumstances of the appearance are such that the seer is instantly aware of its nature4 ,in the first place1 the time and locality may produce the conviction4 ,mrs4 ,j---- wakes her husband in the night1 and tells him she has just seen her father pass through the room--she being in the ,west ,indies and her father in ,england4 ,he died that night4 ,lord ,t---- being at sea1 on his way to ,calcutta1 saw his wife enter his cabin4 ,mrs4 ,mac----1 of ,skye1 went from ,lynedale1 where she resided1 to pay a visit in ,perthshire4 ,during her absence there was a ball given at ,lynedale1 and when it was over1 three young ladies1 two of them her daughters1 assembled in their bed-room to talk over the evening's amusement4 ,suddenly1 one of them cried1 8,o ,god6 my mother40 ,they all saw her pass across the room toward a chest of drawers1 where she vanished4 ,they immediately told their friends what they had seen1 and afterward learned that the lady died that night4 ,lord ,m---- being from home1 saw ,lady ,m----1 whom he had left two days before1 perfectly well1 standing at the foot of his bed2 aware of the nature of the appearance1 but wishing to satisfy himself that it was not a mere spectral illusion1 he called his servant1 who slept in the dressing-room1 and said1 8,john1 who's that80 8,it's my lady60 replied the man4 ,lady ,m---- had been seized with inflammation1 and died after a few hours' illness4 ,this circumstance awakened so much interest at the time1 that1 as ,i am informed by one of the family1 ,george the ,third was not satisfied without hearing the particulars from ,lord ,m---- and from the servant also4 ,but1 besides time and locality1 there are very frequently other circumstances accompanying the appearance1 which not only show the form to be spectral1 but also make known to the seer the nature of the death that has taken place4 ,a lady1 with whose family ,i am acquainted1 had a son abroad4 ,one night she was lying in bed1 with a door open which led into an adjoining room1 where there was a fire4 ,she had not been asleep1 when she saw her son cross this adjoining room and approach the fire1 over which he leaned1 as if very cold4 ,she saw that he was shivering and dripping wet4 ,she immediately exclaimed1 8,that's my ,g----60 ,the figure turned its face round1 looked at her sadly1 and disappeared4 ,that same night the young man was drowned4 ,mr4 ,p----1 the ,american manager1 in one of his voyages to ,england1 being in bed one night1 between sleeping and waking1 was disturbed by somebody coming into his cabin1 dripping with water4 ,he concluded that the person had fallen overboard1 and asked him why he came there to disturb him1 when there were plenty of other places for him to go to4 ,the man muttered something indistinctly1 and ,mr4 ,p---- then perceived that it was his own brother4 ,this roused him completely1 and feeling quite certain that somebody had been there1 he got out of bed to feel if the carpet was wet on the spot where his brother stood4 ,it was not1 however2 and when he questioned his shipmates1 the following morning1 they assured him that nobody had been overboard1 nor had anybody been in his cabin4 ,upon this1 he noted down the date and the particulars of the event1 and1 on his arrival at ,liverpool1 sent the paper sealed to a friend in ,london1 desiring it might not be opened till he wrote again4 ,the ,indian post1 in due time1 brought the intelligence that on that night ,mr4 ,p----'s brother was drowned4 ,a similar case to this is that of ,captain ,kidd1 which ,lord ,byron used to say he heard from the captain himself4 ,he was one night awakened in his hammock1 by feeling something heavy lying upon him4 ,he opened his eyes1 and saw1 or thought he saw1 by the indistinct light in the cabin1 his brother1 in uniform1 lying across the bed4 ,concluding that this was only an illusion arising out of some foregone dream1 he closed his eyes again to sleep2 but again he felt the weight1 and there was the form still lying across the bed4 ,he now stretched out his hand1 and felt the uniform1 which was quite wet4 ,alarmed1 he called out for somebody to come to him2 and1 as one of the officers entered1 the figure disappeared4 ,he afterward learned that his brother was drowned on that night in the ,indian ocean4 ,ben ,jonson told ,drummond1 of ,hawthornden1 that1 being at ,sir ,robert ,cotton's house1 in the country1 with old ,cambden1 he saw1 in a vision1 his eldest son1 then a child at ,london1 appear to him with a mark of a bloody cross on his forehead2 at which1 amazed1 he prayed to ,god2 and1 in the morning1 mentioned the circumstance to ,mr4 ,cambden1 who persuaded him it was fancy4 ,in the meantime1 came letters announcing that the boy had died of the plague4 ,the custom of indicating an infected house by a red cross is here suggested1 the cross apparently symbolizing the manner of the death4 ,mr4 ,s---- ,c----1 a gentleman of fortune1 had a son in ,india4 ,one fine1 calm summer's morning1 in the year #aghj1 he and his wife were sitting at breakfast1 when she arose and went to the window2 upon which1 turning his eyes in the same direction1 he started up and followed her1 saying1 8,my dear1 do you see that80--8,surely10 she replied1 8it is our son4 ,let us go to him60 ,as she was very much agitated1 however1 he begged her to sit down and recover herself2 and when they looked again1 the figure was gone4 ,the appearance was that of their son1 precisely as they had last seen him4 ,they took note of the hour1 and afterward learned that he had died in ,india at that period4 ,a lady1 with whose family ,i am acquainted1 was sitting with her son1 named ,andrew1 when she suddenly exclaimed that she had seen him pass the window1 in a white mantle4 ,as the window was high from the ground1 and overhung a precipice1 no one could have passed2 else1 she said1 8,had there been a path1 and he not beside her at the moment1 she should have thought he had walked by on stilts40 ,three days afterward1 ,andrew was seized with a fever which he had caught from visiting some sick neighbors1 and expired after a short illness4 ,in #ahjg1 when several people were killed in consequence of a false alarm of fire1 at ,sadler's ,wells1 a woman named ,price1 in giving her evidence at the inquest1 said that her little girl had gone into the kitchen about half-past ten o'clock1 and was surprised to see her brother there1 whom she supposed to be at the theatre4 ,she spoke to him1 whereupon he disappeared4 ,the child immediately told her mother1 who1 alarmed1 set off to the theatre1 and found the boy dead4 ,in the year #ahac1 a young lady in ,berlin1 whose intended husband was with the army at ,dusseldorf1 heard some one knock at the door of her chamber1 and her lover entered in a white neglig1 stained with blood4 ,thinking that this vision proceeded from some disorder in herself1 she arose and quitted the room1 to call a servant2 who not being at hand1 she returned1 and found the figure there still4 ,she now became much alarmed1 and having mentioned the circumstance to her father1 inquiries were made of some prisoners that were marching through the town1 and it was ascertained that the young man had been wounded1 and carried to the house of ,dr4 ,ehrlick1 in ,leipsic1 with great hopes of recovery4 ,it afterward proved1 however1 that he had died at that period1 and that his last thoughts were with her4 ,this lady earnestly wished and prayed for another such visit1 but she never saw him again4 ,in the same year1 a woman in ,bavaria1 who had a brother with the army in ,russia1 was one day at field-work1 on the skirts of a forest1 and everything quiet around her1 when she repeatedly felt herself hit by small stones1 though1 on looking round1 she could see nobody4 ,at length1 supposing it was some jest1 she threw down her implements1 and stepped into the wood whence they had proceeded1 when she saw a headless figure1 in a soldier's mantle1 leaning against a tree4 ,afraid to approach1 she summoned some laborers from a neighboring field1 who also saw it2 but on going up to it1 it disappeared4 ,the woman declared her conviction that the circumstance indicated her brother's death2 and it was afterward ascertained that he had1 on that day1 fallen in a trench4 ,some few years ago1 a ,mrs4 ,h----1 residing in ,limerick1 had a servant whom she much esteemed1 called ,nelly ,hanlon4 ,nelly was a very steady person1 who seldom asked for a holy-day1 and consequently ,mrs4 ,h---- was the less disposed to refuse her when she requested a day's leave of absence for the purpose of attending a fair that was to take place a few miles off4 ,the petition was therefore favorably heard2 but when ,mr4 ,h---- came home and was informed of ,nelly's proposed excursion1 he said she could not be spared1 as he had invited some people to dinner for that day1 and he had nobody he could trust with the keys of the cellar except ,nelly1 adding that it was not likely his business would allow him to get home time enough to bring up the wine himself4 ,unwilling1 however1 after giving her consent1 to disappoint the girl1 ,mrs4 ,h---- said that she would herself undertake the cellar department on the day in question2 so when the wished-for morning arrived1 ,nelly departed in great spirits1 having faithfully promised to return that night1 if possible1 or1 at the latest1 the following morning4 ,the day passed as usual1 and nothing was thought about ,nelly1 till the time arrived for fetching up the wine1 when ,mrs4 ,h---- proceeded to the cellar-stairs with the key1 followed by a servant carrying a bottle-basket4 ,she had1 however1 scarcely begun to descend1 when she uttered a loud scream and dropped down in a state of insensibility4 ,she was carried up stairs and laid upon the bed1 while1 to the amazement of the other servants1 the girl who had accompanied her said that they had seen ,nelly ,hanlon1 dripping with water1 standing at the bottom of the stairs4 ,mr4 ,h---- being sent for1 or coming home at the moment1 this story was repeated to him1 whereupon he reproved the woman for her folly2 and1 proper restoratives being applied1 ,mrs4 ,h---- at length began to revive4 ,as she opened her eyes1 she heaved a deep sigh1 saying1 8,oh1 ,nelly ,hanlon60 and as soon as she was sufficiently recovered to speak1 she corroborated what the girl had said3 she had seen ,nelly at the foot of the stairs1 dripping as if she had just come out of the water4 ,mr4 ,h---- used his utmost efforts to persuade his wife out of what he looked upon to be an illusion2 but in vain4 8,nelly10 said he1 8will come home by-and-by and laugh at you20 while she1 on the contrary1 felt sure that ,nelly was dead4 ,the night came1 and the morning came1 but there was no ,nelly4 ,when two or three days had passed1 inquiries were made2 and it was ascertained that she had been seen at the fair1 and started to return home in the evening2 but from that moment all traces of her were lost till her body was ultimately found in the river4 ,how she came by her death was never known4 ,now1 in most of these cases which ,i have above detailed1 the person was seen where his dying thoughts might naturally be supposed to have flown1 and the visit seems to have been made either immediately before or immediately after the dissolution of the body3 in either case1 we may imagine that the final parting of the spirit had taken place1 even if the organic life was not quite extinct4 ,i have met with some cases in which we are not left in any doubt with respect to the last wishes of the dying person4 ,for example3 a lady1 with whom ,i am acquainted1 was on her way to ,india2 when near the end of her voyage1 she was one night awakened by a rustling in her cabin1 and a consciousness that there was something hovering about her4 ,she sat up1 and saw a bluish1 cloudy form moving away2 but persuading herself it must be fancy1 she addressed herself again to sleep2 but as soon as she lay down1 she both heard and felt the same thing3 it seemed to her as if this cloudy form hung over and enveloped her4 ,overcome with horror1 she screamed4 ,the cloud then moved away1 assuming distinctly a human shape4 ,the people about her naturally persuaded her that she had been dreaming2 and she wished to think so2 but when she arrived in ,india1 the first thing she heard was1 that a very particular friend had come down to ,calcutta to be ready to receive her on her landing1 but that he had been taken ill and died1 saying he only wished to live to see his old friend once more4 ,he had expired on the night she saw the shadowy form in her room4 ,a very frightful instance of this kind of phenomenon is related by ,dr4 ,h4 ,werner1 of ,baron ,emilius von ,o----4 ,this young man had been sent to prosecute his studies in ,paris2 but1 forming some bad connections1 he became dissipated1 and neglected them4 ,his father's counsels were unheeded1 and his letters remained unanswered4 ,one day the young baron was sitting alone on a seat1 in the ,bois de ,boulogne1 and had fallen somewhat into a revery1 when1 on raising his eyes1 he saw his father's form before him4 ,believing it to be a mere spectral illusion1 he struck at the shadow with his riding-whip1 upon which it disappeared4 ,the next day brought him a letter1 urging his return home instantly1 if he wished to see his parent alive4 ,he went1 but found the old man already in his grave4 ,the person who had been about him said that he had been quite conscious1 and had a great longing to see his son2 he had1 indeed1 exhibited one symptom of delirium1 which was1 that after expressing this desire1 he had suddenly exclaimed1 8,my ,god6 he is striking at me with his riding-whip60 and immediately expired4 ,in this case1 the condition of the dying man resembles that of a somnambulist1 in which the patient describes what he sees taking place at a distance2 and the archives of magnetism furnish some instances1 especially that of ,auguste ,mller1 of ,carlsruhe1 in which1 by the force of will1 the sleeper has not only been able to bring intelligence from a distance1 but also1 like the ,american magician1 to make himself visible4 ,the faculties of prophecy and clear or far seeing1 frequently disclosed by dying persons1 is fully acknowledged by ,dr4 ,abercrombie and other physiologists4 ,mr4 ,f---- saw a female relative1 one night1 by his bedside4 ,thinking it was a trick of some one to frighten him1 he struck at the figure2 whereon she said3 8,what have ,i done8 ,i know ,i should have told it you before40 ,this lady was dying at a distance1 earnestly desiring to speak to ,mr4 ,f---- before she departed4 ,i will conclude this chapter with the following extract from 8,lockhart's ,life of ,scott30-- 8,,walter ,,scott to ,,daniel ,,terry1 ,april #cj1 #ahah4 7,the new house at ,abbotsford being then in progress1 ,,scott living in an older part1 close adjoining47 8#844444,the exposed state of my house has led to a mysterious disturbance4 ,the night before last we were awakened by a violent noise1 like drawing heavy boards along the new part of the house4 ,i fancied something had fallen1 and thought no more about it4 ,this was about two in the morning4 ,last night1 at the same witching hour1 the very same noise occurred4 ,mrs4 ,scott1 as you know1 is rather timbersome2 so up ,i got1 with ,beardie's broadsword under my arm-- 8,bolt upright1 ,and ready to fight40 ,but nothing was out of order1 neither can ,i discover what occasioned the disturbance4'0 ,mr4 ,lockhart adds3 8,on the morning that ,mr4 ,terry received the foregoing letter1 in ,london1 ,mr4 ,william ,erskine was breakfasting with him1 and the chief subject of their conversation was the sudden death of ,george ,bullock1 which had occurred on the same night1 and1 as nearly as they could ascertain1 at the very hour when ,scott was roused from his sleep by the #8mysterious disturbance' here described4 ,this coincidence1 when ,scott received ,erskine's minute detail of what had happened in ,tenterdon street 7that is1 the death of ,bullock1 who had the charge of furnishing the new rooms at ,abbotsford71 made a much stronger impression on his mind than might be gathered from the tone of an ensuing communication40 ,it appears that ,bullock had been at ,abbotsford1 and made himself a great favorite with old and young4 ,scott1 a week or two afterward1 wrote thus to ,terry3 8,were you not struck with the fantastical coincidence of our nocturnal disturbances at ,abbotsford1 with the melancholy event that followed8 ,i protest to you1 the noise resembled half a dozen men hard at work1 putting up boards and furniture2 and nothing can be more certain than that there was nobody on the premises at the time4 ,with a few additional touches1 the story would figure in ,glanville or ,aubrey's collection4 ,in the meantime1 you may set it down with poor ,dubisson's warnings1 as a remarkable coincidence coming under your own observation40 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,doppelg,,ngers1 ,,or ,,doubles4 ,,in the instances detailed in the last chapter1 the apparition has shown itself1 as nearly as could be discovered1 at the moment of dissolution2 but there are many cases in which the wraith is seen at an indefinite period before or after the catastrophe4 ,of these ,i could quote a great number2 but as they generally resolve themselves into simply seeing a person where they were not1 and death ensuing very shortly afterward1 a few will suffice4 ,there is a very remarkable story of this kind1 related by ,macnish1 which he calls 8a case of hallucination1 arising without the individual being conscious of any physical cause by which it might be occasioned40 ,if this case stood alone1 strange as it is1 ,i should think so too3 but when similar instances abound1 as they do1 ,i can not bring myself to dispose of it so easily4 ,the story is as follows3 ,mr4 ,h---- was one day walking along the street1 apparently in perfect health1 when he saw1 or supposed he saw1 his acquaintance1 ,mr4 ,c----1 walking before him4 ,he called to him aloud2 but he did not seem to hear him1 and continued moving on4 ,mr4 ,h---- then quickened his pace for the purpose of overtaking him2 but the other increased his1 also1 as if to keep ahead of his pursuer1 and proceeded at such a rate that ,mr4 ,h---- found it impossible to make up to him4 ,this continued for some time1 till1 on ,mr4 ,c----'s reaching a gate1 he opened it and passed in1 slamming it violently in ,mr4 ,h----'s face4 ,confounded at such treatment from a friend1 the latter instantly opened the gate1 and looked down the long lane into which it led1 where1 to his astonishment1 no one was to be seen4 ,determined to unravel the mystery1 he then went to ,mr4 ,c----'s house1 and his surprise was great to hear that he was confined to his bed1 and had been so for several days4 ,a week or two afterward1 these gentlemen met at the house of a common friend1 when ,mr4 ,h---- related the circumstance1 jocularly telling ,mr4 ,c---- that1 as he had seen his wraith1 he of course could not live long4 ,the person addressed laughed heartily1 as did the rest of the party2 but1 in a few days1 ,mr4 ,c---- was attacked with putrid sore throat and died2 and within a short period of his death1 ,mr4 ,h---- was also in the grave4 ,this is a very striking case2 the hastening on1 and the actually opening and shutting the gate1 evincing not only will but power to produce mechanical effects1 at a time the person was bodily elsewhere4 ,it is true he was ill1 and it is highly probable was at the time asleep4 ,the showing himself to ,mr4 ,h----1 who was so soon to follow him to the grave1 is another peculiarity which appears frequently to attend these cases1 and which seems like what was in old ,english1 and is still in ,scotch1 called a tryst--an appointment to meet again between those spirits1 so soon to be free4 ,supposing ,mr4 ,c---- to have been asleep1 he was possibly1 in that state1 aware of what impended over both4 ,there is a still more remarkable case given by ,mr4 ,barham in his reminiscences4 ,i have no other authority for it3 but he relates1 as a fact1 that a respectable young woman was awaked1 one night1 by hearing somebody in her room1 and that on looking up she saw a young man to whom she was engaged4 ,extremely offended by such an intrusion1 she bade him instantly depart1 if he wished her ever to speak to him again4 ,whereupon he bade her not be frightened1 but said he was come to tell her that he was to die that day six weeks1--and then disappeared4 ,having ascertained that the young man himself could not possibly have been in her room1 she was naturally much alarmed1 and1 her evident depression leading to some inquiries1 she communicated what had occurred to the family with whom she lived--,i think as dairy-maid2 but ,i quote from memory4 ,they attached little importance to what seemed so improbable1 more especially as the young man continued in perfectly good health1 and entirely ignorant of this prediction1 which his mistress had the prudence to conceal from him4 ,when the fatal day arrived1 these ladies saw the girl looking very cheerful1 as they were going for their morning's ride1 and observed to each other that the prophecy did not seem likely to be fulfilled2 but when they returned1 they saw her running up the avenue toward the house in great agitation1 and learned that her lover was either dead or dying1 from an accident4 ,the only key ,i can suggest as the explanation of such a phenomenon as this1 is1 that the young man in his sleep was aware of the fate that awaited him1--and that while the body lay in his bed1 in a state approaching to trance or catalepsy1 the freed spirit--free as the spirits of the actual dead--went forth to tell the tale to the mistress of his soul4 ,franz von ,baader says1 in a letter to ,dr4 ,kerner1 that ,eckartshausen1 shortly before his death1 assured him that he possessed the power of making a person's double or wraith appear1 while his body lay elsewhere in a state of trance or catalepsy4 ,he added that the experiment might be dangerous1 if care were not taken to prevent intercepting the rapport of the ethereal form with the material one4 ,a lady1 an entire disbeliever in these spiritual phenomena1 was one day walking in her own garden with her husband1 who was indisposed1 leaning on her arm1 when seeing a man with his back toward them1 and a spade in his hand1 digging1 she exclaimed1 8,look there6 who's that80 8,where80 said her companion2 and at that moment the figure leaning on the spade turned round and looked at her1 sadly shaking its head1 and she saw it was her husband4 ,she avoided an explanation1 by pretending she had made a mistake4 ,three days afterward the gentleman died1--leaving her entirely converted to a belief she had previously scoffed at4 ,here1 again1 the foreknowledge and evident design1 as well as the power of manifesting it1 are extremely curious--more especially as the antitype of the figure was neither in a trance nor asleep1 but perfectly conscious1 walking and talking4 ,if any particular purpose were to be gained by the information indicated1 the solution might be less difficult4 ,one object1 it is true1 may have been1 and indeed was attained1 namely1 the change in the opinions of the wife2 and it is impossible to say what influence such a conversion may have had on her after-life4 ,it must be admitted that these cases are very perplexing4 ,we might1 indeed1 get rid of them by denying them2 but the instances are too numerous1 and the phenomenon has been too well known in all ages1 to be set aside so easily4 ,in the above examples1 the apparition1 or wraith1 has been in some way connected with the death of the person whose visionary likeness is seen2 and1 in most of these instances1 the earnest longing to behold those beloved seems to have been the means of effecting the object4 ,the mystery of death is to us so awful and impenetrable1 and we know so little of the mode in which the spiritual and the corporeal are united and kept together during the continuance of life1 or what condition may ensue when this connection is about to be dissolved1 that while we look with wonder upon such phenomena as those above alluded to1 we yet find very few persons who are disposed to reject them as utterly apocryphal4 ,they feel that in that department1 already so mysterious1 there may exist a greater mystery still2 and the very terror with which the thoughts of present death inspires most minds1 deters people from treating this class of facts with that scornful skepticism with which many approximate ones are denied and laughed at4 ,nevertheless1 if we suppose the person to have been dead1 though it be but an inappreciable instant of time before he appears1 the appearance comes under the denomination of what is commonly called a ghost2 for whether the spirit has been parted from the body one second or fifty years1 ought to make no difference in our appreciation of the fact1 nor is the difficulty less in one case than the other4 ,i mention this because ,i have met with1 and do meet with1 people constantly1 who admit this class of facts1 while they declare they can not believe in ghosts2 the instances1 they say1 of people being seen at a distance at the period of their death1 are too numerous to permit of the fact being denied4 ,in granting it1 however1 they seem to me to grant everything4 ,if1 as ,i have said above1 the person be dead1 the form seen is a ghost or spectre1 whether he has been dead a second or a century2 if he be alive1 the difficulty is certainly not diminished2 on the contrary1 it appears to me to be considerably augmented2 and it is to this perplexing class of facts that ,i shall next proceed1 namely1 those in which the person is not only alive1 as in some of the cases above related1 but where the phenomenon seems to occur without any reference to the death of the subject1 present or prospective4 ,in either case1 we are forced to conclude that the thing seen is the same2 the questions are1 what is it that we see1 and how does it render itself visible8 and1 still more difficult to answer1 appears the question1 of how it can communicate intelligence1 or exert a mechanical force4 ,as1 however1 this investigation will be more in its place when ,i have reached that department of my subject commonly called ghosts1 ,i will defer it for the present1 and merely confine myself to that of doubles1 or doppelgngers1 as the ,germans denominate the appearance of a person out of his body4 ,in treating of the case of ,auguste ,mller1 a remarkable somnambule1 who possessed the power of appearing elsewhere1 while his body lay cold and stiff in his bed1 ,professor ,keiser1 who attended him1 says1 that the phenomenon1 as regards the seer1 must be looked upon as purely subjective--that is1 that there was no outstanding form of ,auguste ,mller visible to the sensuous organs1 but that the magnetic influence of the somnambule1 by the force of his will1 acted on the imagination of the seer1 and called up the image which he believed he saw4 ,but then1 allowing this to be possible1 as ,dr4 ,werner says1 how are we to account for those numerous cases in which there is no somnambule concerned in the matter1 and no especial rapport1 that we are aware of1 established between the parties8 ,and yet these latter cases are much the most frequent2 for1 although ,i have met with numerous instances recorded by the ,german physiologists1 of what is called far-working on the part of the somnambules1 this power of appearing out of the body seems to be a very rare one4 ,many persons will be surprised at these allusions to a kind of magnetic phenomena1 of which1 in this country1 so little is known or believed2 but the physiologists and psychologists of ,germany have been studying this subject for the last fifty years1 and the volumes filled with their theoretical views and records of cases1 are numerous beyond anything the ,english public has an idea of4 ,the only other theory ,i have met with1 which pretends to explain the mode of this double appearance1 is that of the spirit leaving the body1 as we have supposed it to do in cases of dreams and catalepsy2 in which instances the nerve-spirit1 which seems to be the archus or astral spirit of the ancient philosophers1 has the power of projecting a visible body out of the imponderable matter of the atmosphere4 ,according to this theory1 this nerve-spirit1 which seems to be an embodiment of--or rather1 a body constructed out of the nervous fluid1 or ether--in short1 the spiritual body of ,st4 ,paul1 is the bond of union between the body and the soul1 or spirit2 and has the plastic force of raising up an aerial form4 ,being the highest organic power1 it can not by any other1 physical or chemical1 be destroyed2 and when the body is cast off1 it follows the soul2 and as1 during life1 it is the means by which the soul acts upon the body1 and is thus enabled to communicate with the external world1 so when the spirit is disembodied1 it is through this nerve-spirit that it can make itself visible1 and even exercise mechanical powers4 ,it is certain1 that not only somnambules1 but sick persons1 are occasionally sensible of a feeling that seems to lend some countenance to this latter theory4 ,the girl at ,canton1 for example1 mentioned in a former chapter1 as well as many somnambulic patients1 declare1 while their bodies are lying stiff and cold1 that they see it1 as if out of it2 and1 in some instances1 they describe particulars of its appearance1 which they could not see in the ordinary way4 ,there are also numerous cases of sick persons seeing themselves double1 where no tendency to delirium or spectral illusion has been observed4 ,these are1 in this country1 always placed under the latter category2 but ,i find various instances recorded by the ,german physiologists1 where this appearance has been seen by others1 and even by children1 at the same that it was felt by the invalid4 ,in one of these cases1 ,i find the sick person saying1 8,i can not think how ,i am lying4 ,it seems to me that ,i am divided and lying in two places at once40 ,it is remarkable1 that a friend of my own1 during an illness in the autumn of #ahde1 expressed precisely the same feeling2 we1 however1 saw nothing of this second ego2 but it must be remembered1 that the seeing of these things1 as ,i have said in a former chapter1 probably depends on a peculiar faculty or condition of the seer4 ,the servant of ,elisha was not blind1 but yet he could not see what his master saw1 till his eyes were opened--that is1 till he was rendered capable of perceiving spiritual objects4 ,when ,peter was released from prison by the angel--and it is not amiss here to remark1 that even he 8wist not that it was true which was done by the angel1 but thought he saw a vision10 that is1 he did not believe his senses1 but supposed himself the victim of a spectral illusion--but when he was released1 and went and knocked at the door of the gate1 where many of his friends were assembled1 they1 not conceiving it possible he could have escaped1 said1 when the girl who had opened the door insisted that he was there1 8,it is his angel40 ,what did they mean by this8 ,the expression is not an angel1 but his angel4 ,now1 it is not a little remarkable1 that in the ,east1 to this day1 a double1 or doppelgnger1 is called a man's angel1 or messenger4 ,as we can not suppose that this term was used otherwise than seriously by the disciples that were gathered together in ,mark's house1 for they were in trouble about ,peter1 and1 when he arrived1 were engaged in prayer1 we are entitled to believe they alluded to some recognised phenomenon4 ,they knew1 either that the likeness of a man--his spiritual self--sometimes appeared where bodily he was not2 and that this imago or idolon was capable of exerting a mechanical force1 or else that other spirits sometimes assumed a mortal form1 or they would not have supposed it to be ,peter's angel that had knocked at the gate4 ,dr4 ,ennemoser1 who always leans to the physical rather than the psychical explanation of a phenomenon1 says1 that the faculty of self-seeing1 which is analogous to seeing another person's double1 is to be considered an illusion2 but that this imago of another seen at a distance1 at the moment of death1 must be supposed to have an objective reality4 ,but if we are capable of thus perceiving the imago of another person1 ,i can not comprehend why we may not see our own2 unless1 indeed1 the former was never perceived but when the body of the person seen was in a state of insensibility2 but this does not always seem to be a necessary condition1 as will appear by some examples ,i am about to detail4 ,the faculty of perceiving the object1 ,dr4 ,ennemoser considers analogous to that of second sight1 and thinks it may be evolved by local1 as well as idiosyncratical conditions4 ,the difficulty arising from the fact that some persons are in the habit of seeing the wraiths of their friends and relations1 must be explained by his hypothesis4 ,the spirit1 as soon as liberated from the body1 is adapted for communion with all spirits1 embodied or otherwise2 but all embodied spirits are not prepared for communion with it4 ,a ,mr4 ,r----1 a gentleman who has attracted public attention by some scientific discoveries1 had had a fit of illness at ,rotterdam4 ,he was in a state of convalescence1 but was still so far taking care of himself as to spend part of the day in bed1 when1 as he was lying there one morning1 the door opened1 and there entered in tears1 a lady with whom he was intimately acquainted1 but whom he believed to be in ,england4 ,she walked hastily to the side of his bed1 wrung her hands1 evincing by her gestures extreme anguish of mind1 and before he could sufficiently recover his surprise to inquire the cause of her distress and sudden appearance1 she was gone4 ,she did not disappear1 but walked out of the room again1 and ,mr4 ,r---- immediately summoned the servants of the hotel1 for the purpose of making inquiries about the ,english lady--when she came1 what had happened to her1 and where she had gone to1 on quitting his room8 ,the people declared there was no such person there2 he insisted there was1 but they at length convinced him that they1 at least1 knew nothing about her4 ,when his physician visited him1 he naturally expressed the great perplexity into which he had been thrown by this circumstance2 and1 as the doctor could find no symptoms about his patient that could warrant a suspicion of spectral illusion1 they made a note of the date and hour of the occurrence1 and ,mr4 ,r---- took the earliest opportunity of ascertaining if anything had happened to the lady in question4 ,nothing had happened to herself1 but at that precise period her son had expired1 and she was actually in the state of distress in which ,mr4 ,r---- beheld her4 ,it would be extremely interesting to know whether her thoughts had been intensely directed to ,mr4 ,r---- at the moment2 but that is a point which ,i have not been able to ascertain4 ,at all events the impelling cause of the form projected1 be the mode of it what it may1 appears to have been violent emotion4 ,the following circumstance1 which is forwarded to me by the gentleman to whom it occurred1 appears to have the same origin3-- 8,on the evening of the #abth of ,march1 #agib10 says ,mr4 ,h----1 an artist1 and a man of science1 8,i had been reading in the #8,philosophical ,transactions1' and retired to my room somewhat fatigued1 but not inclined to sleep4 ,it was a bright moonlight night and ,i had extinguished my candle and was sitting on the side of the bed1 deliberately taking off my clothes1 when ,i was amazed to behold the visible appearance of my half-uncle1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,robertson1 standing before me2 and1 at the same instant1 ,i heard the words1 #8,twice will be sufficient6' ,the face was so distinct that ,i actually saw the pock-pits4 ,his dress seemed to be made of a strong twilled sort of sackcloth1 and of the same dingy color4 ,it was more like a woman's dress than a man's--resembling a petticoat1 the neck-band close to the chin1 and the garment covering the whole person1 so that ,i saw neither hands nor feet4 ,while the figure stood there1 ,i twisted my fingers till they cracked1 that ,i might be sure ,i was awake4 8,on the following morning1 ,i inquired if anybody had heard lately of ,mr4 ,r41 and was well laughed at when ,i confessed the origin of my inquiry4 ,i confess ,i thought he was dead2 but when my grandfather heard the story1 he said that the dress ,i described1 resembled the strait-jacket ,mr4 ,r4 had been put in formerly1 under an attack of insanity4 ,subsequently1 we learned that on the night1 and at the very hour ,i had seen him1 he had attempted suicide1 and been actually put into a strait-jacket4 8,he afterward recovered1 and went to ,egypt with ,sir ,ralph ,abercrombie4 ,some people laugh at this story1 and maintain that it was a delusion of the imagination2 but surely this is blinking the question6 ,why should my imagination create such an image1 while my mind was entirely engrossed with a mathematical problem80 ,the words 8,twice will be sufficient40 probably embodied the thought1 uttered or not1 of the maniac1 under the influence of his emotion--two blows or two stabs would be sufficient for his purpose4 ,dr4 ,kerner relates a case of a ,dr4 ,john ,b----1 who was studying medicine in ,paris1 seeing his mother one night1 shortly after he had got into bed1 and before he had put out his light4 ,she was dressed after a fashion in which he had never seen her2 but she vanished1--and thus1 aware of the nature of the appearance1 he became much alarmed1 and wrote home to inquire after her health4 ,the answer he received was that she was extremely unwell1 having been under the most intense anxiety on his account1 from hearing that several medical students in ,paris had been arrested as resurrectionists2 and1 knowing his passion for anatomical investigations1 she had apprehended he might be among the number4 ,the letter concluded with an earnest request that he would pay her a visit4 ,he did so2 and his surprise was so great on meeting her1 to perceive that she was dressed exactly as he had seen her in his room at ,paris1 that he could not at first embrace her1 and was obliged to explain the cause of his astonishment and repugnance4 ,an analogous case to these is that of ,dr4 ,donne1--which is already mentioned in so many publications1 that ,i should not allude to it here but for the purpose of showing that these examples belong to a class of facts1 and that it is not to be supposed that similarity argues identity1 or that one and the same story is reproduced with new names and localities4 ,i mention this because1 when circumstances of this kind are related1 ,i sometimes hear people say1 8,oh1 ,i have heard that story before1 but it was said to have happened to ,mr4 ,so-and-so1 or at such a place20 the truth being1 that these things happen in all places and to a great variety of people4 ,dr4 ,donne was with the embassy in ,paris1 where he had been but a short time1 when his friend ,mr4 ,roberts1 entering the salon1 found him in a state of considerable agitation4 ,as soon as he was sufficiently recovered to speak1 he said that his wife had passed twice through the room with a dead child in her arms4 ,an express was immediately despatched to ,england to inquire for the lady1 and the intelligence returned was that1 after much suffering1 she had been delivered of a dead infant4 ,the delivery had taken place at the time that her husband had seen her in ,paris4 ,nobody has ever disputed ,dr4 ,donne's assertion that he saw his wife3 but1 as usual1 the case is crammed into the theory of spectral illusions4 ,they say ,dr4 ,donne was naturally very anxious about his wife's approaching confinement1 of which he must have been aware1 and that his excited imagination did all the rest4 ,in the first place1 ,i do not find it recorded that he was suffering any particular anxiety on the subject2 and1 even if he were1 the coincidences in time and in the circumstance of the dead child remain unexplained4 ,neither are we led to believe that the doctor was unwell1 or living the kind of life that is apt to breed thick-coming fancies4 ,he was attached to the embassy in the gay city of ,paris2 he had just been taking luncheon with others of the suite1 and had been left alone but a short time1 when he was found in the state of amazement above described4 ,if such extraordinary cases of spectral illusion as this1 and many others ,i am recording1 can suddenly arise in constitutions apparently healthy1 it is certainly high time that the medical world reconsider the subject1 and give us some more comprehensible theory of it2 if they are not cases of spectral illusion1 but are to be explained under that vague and abused term imagination1 let us be told something more about imagination--a service which those who consider the word sufficient to account for these strange phenomena1 must of course be qualified to perform4 ,if1 however1 both these hypotheses--for they are but simple hypotheses1 unsupported by any proof whatever1 only1 being delivered with an air of authority in a rationalistic age1 they have been allowed to pass unquestioned--if1 however1 they are not found sufficient to satisfy a vast number of minds1 which ,i know to be the case1 ,i think the inquiry ,i am instituting can not be wholly useless or unacceptable1 let it lead us where it may4 ,the truth is all ,i seek2 and ,i think there is a very important truth to be deduced from the further investigation of this subject in its various relations--in short1 a truth of paramount importance to all others2 one which contains evidence of a fact in which we are more deeply concerned than in any other1 and which1 if well established1 brings demonstration to confirm intuition and tradition4 ,i am very well aware of all the difficulties in the way--difficulties internal and external1--many inherent to the subject itself1 and others extraneous but inseparable from it2 and ,i am very far from supposing that my book is to settle the question even with a single mind4 ,all ,i hope or expect is to show that the question is not disposed of yet1 either by the rationalists or the physiologists1 and that it is still an open one2 and all ,i desire is to arouse inquiry and curiosity1 and that thus some mind1 better qualified than mine to follow out the investigation1 may be incited to undertake it4 ,dr4 ,kerner mentions the case of a lady named ,dillenius1 who was awakened one night by her son1 a child six years of age2 her sister-in-law1 who slept in the same room1 also awoke at the same time1 and all three saw ,madame ,dillenius enter the room1 attired in a black dress1 which she had lately bought4 ,the sister said1 8,i see you double6 you are in bed1 and yet you are walking about the room40 ,they were both extremely alarmed1 while the figure stood between the doors in a melancholy attitude with the head leaning on the hand4 ,the child--who also saw it1 but seems not to have been terrified--jumped out of bed1 and running to the figure1 put his hand through it as he attempted to push it1 exclaiming1 8,go away1 you black woman40 ,the form1 however1 remained as before2 and the child1 becoming alarmed1 sprung into bed again4 ,madame ,dillenius expected that the appearance foreboded her own death2 but that did not ensue4 ,a serious accident immediately afterward occurred to her husband1 and she fancied there might be some connection between the two events4 ,this is one of those cases which1 from their extremely perplexing nature1 have induced some psychologists to seek an explanation in the hypothesis that other spirits may for some purpose1 or under certain conditions1 assume the form of a person with a view to giving an intimation or impression1 which the gulf separating the material from the spiritual world renders it difficult to convey4 ,as regards such instances as that of ,madame ,dillenius1 however1 we are at a loss to discover any motive--unless1 indeed1 it be sympathy--for such an exertion of power1 supposing it to be possessed4 ,but in the famous case of ,catherine of ,russia1 who is said1 while lying in bed1 to have been seen by the ladies to enter the throne-room1 and1 being informed of the circumstance1 went herself and saw the figure seated on the throne1 and bade her guards fire on it1 we may conceive it possible that her guardian-spirit1 if such she had1 might adopt this mode of warning her to prepare for a change1 which1 after such a life as hers1 we are entitled to conclude she was not very fit to encounter4 ,there are numerous examples of similar phenomena to be met with4 ,professor ,stilling relates that he heard from the son of a ,madame ,m----1 that his mother1 having sent her maid up stairs on an errand1 the woman came running down in a great fright1 saying that her mistress was sitting above1 in her arm-chair1 looking precisely as she had left her below4 ,the lady went up stairs1 and saw herself as described by the woman1 very shortly after which she died4 ,dr4 ,werner relates that a jeweller at ,ludwigsburg1 named ,ratzel1 when in perfect health1 one evening1 on turning the corner of a street1 met his own form1 face to face4 ,the figure seemed as real and lifelike as himself2 and he was so close as to look into its very eyes4 ,he was seized with terror1 and it vanished4 ,he related the circumstance to several people1 and endeavored to laugh1 but1 nevertheless1 it was evident he was painfully impressed with it4 ,shortly afterward1 as he was passing through a forest1 he fell in with some wood-cutters1 who asked him to lend a hand to the ropes with which they were pulling down an oak-tree4 ,he did so1 and was killed by its fall4 ,becker1 professor of mathematics at ,rostock1 having fallen into argument with some friends regarding a disputed point of theology1 on going to his library to fetch a book which he wished to refer to1 saw himself sitting at the table in the seat he usually occupied4 ,he approached the figure1 which appeared to be reading1 and1 looking over its shoulder1 he observed that the book open before it was a bible1 and that1 with one of the fingers of the right hand1 it pointed to the passage--8,make ready thy house1 for thou must die60 ,he returned to the company1 and related what he had seen1 and1 in spite of all their arguments to the contrary1 remained fully persuaded that his death was at hand4 ,he took leave of his friends1 and expired on the following day1 at six o'clock in the evening4 ,he had already attained a considerable age4 ,those who would not believe in the appearance1 said he had died of the fright2 but1 whether he did so or not1 the circumstance is sufficiently remarkable3 and1 if this were a real1 outstanding apparition1 it would go strongly to support the hypothesis alluded to above1 while1 if it were a spectral illusion1 it is certainly an infinitely strange one4 ,as ,i am aware how difficult it is1 except where the appearance is seen by more persons than one1 to distinguish cases of actual self-seeing from those of spectral illusion1 ,i do not linger longer in this department2 but1 returning to the analogous subject of doppelgngers1 ,i will relate a few curious instances of this kind of phenomena3-- ,stilling relates that a government-officer1 of the name of ,triplin1 in ,weimar1 on going to his office to fetch a paper of importance1 saw his own likeness sitting there1 with the deed before him4 ,alarmed1 he returned home1 and desired his maid to go there and fetch the paper she would find on the table4 ,the maid saw the same form1 and imagined that her master had gone by another road1 and got there before her4 ,his mind seems to have preceded his body4 ,the landrichter1 or sheriff1 ,f----1 in ,frankfort1 sent his secretary on an errand4 ,presently afterward1 the secretary re-entered the room1 and laid hold of a book4 ,his master asked him what had brought him back1 whereupon the figure vanished1 and the book fell to the ground4 ,it was a volume of ,linnus4 ,in the evening1 when the secretary returned1 and was interrogated with regard to his expedition1 he said that he had fallen into an eager dispute with an acquaintance1 as he went along1 about some botanical question1 and had ardently wished he had had his ,linnus with him to refer to4 ,dr4 ,werner relates that ,professor ,happach had an elderly maid-servant1 who was in the habit of coming every morning to call him1 and on entering the room1 which he generally heard her do1 she usually looked at a clock which stood under the mirror4 ,one morning1 she entered so softly1 that1 though he saw her1 he did not hear her foot4 ,she went1 as was her custom1 to the clock1 and came to his bedside1 but suddenly turned round and left the room4 ,he called after her1 but she not answering1 he jumped out of bed and pursued her4 ,he could not see her1 however1 till he reached her room1 where he found her fast asleep in bed4 ,subsequently1 the same thing occurred frequently with this woman4 ,an exactly parallel case was related to me1 as occurring to himself1 by a publisher in ,edinburgh4 ,his housekeeper was in the habit of calling him every morning4 ,on one occasion1 being perfectly awake1 he saw her enter1 walk to the window1 and go out again without speaking4 ,being in the habit of fastening his door1 he supposed he had omitted to do so2 but presently afterward he heard her knocking to come in1 and he found the door was still locked4 ,she assured him she had not been there before4 ,he was in perfectly good health at the time this happened4 ,only a few nights since1 a lady1 with whom ,i am intimately acquainted1 was in bed1 and had not been to sleep1 when she saw one of her daughters1 who slept in an upper room1 and who had retired to rest some time before1 standing at the foot of her bed4 8,h----10 she said1 8what is the matter8 what are you come for80 ,the daughter did not answer1 but moved away4 ,the mother jumped out of bed1 but not seeing her1 got in again3 but the figure was still there4 ,perfectly satisfied it was really her daughter1 she spoke to her1 asking if anything had happened2 but again the figure moved silently away1 and again the mother jumped out of bed1 and actually went part of the way up stairs3 and this occurred a third time6 ,the daughter was during the whole of this time asleep in her bed1 and the lady herself is quite in her usual state of health--not robust1 but not by any means sickly1 nor in the slightest degree hysterical or nervous2 yet she is perfectly convinced that she saw the figure of her daughter on that occasion1 though quite unable to account for the circumstance4 ,probably the daughter was dreaming of the mother4 ,edward ,stern1 author of some ,german works1 had a friend who was frequently seen out of the body1 as the ,germans term it2 and the father of that person was so much the subject of this phenomenon1 that he was frequently observed to enter his house while he was yet working in the fields6 ,his wife used to say to him1 8,why1 papa1 you came home before20 and he would answer1 8,i dare say1 ,i was so anxious to get away earlier1 but it was impossible60 ,the cook in a convent of nuns1 at ,ebersdorf1 was frequently seen picking herbs in the garden1 when she was in the kitchen and much in need of them4 ,a ,danish physician1 whose name ,dr4 ,werner does not mention1 is said to have been frequently seen entering a patient's room1 and on being spoken to1 the figure would disappear1 with a sigh4 ,this used to occur when he had made an appointment which he was prevented keeping1 and was rendered uneasy by the failure4 ,the hearing of it1 however1 occasioned him such an unpleasant sensation1 that he requested his patients never to tell him when it happened4 ,a president of the supreme court1 in ,ulm1 named ,pfizer1 attests the truth of the following case3 ,a gentleman1 holding an official situation1 had a son at ,gttingen1 who wrote home to his father1 requesting him to send him1 without delay1 a certain book1 which he required to aid him in preparing a dissertation he was engaged in4 ,the father answered that he had sought but could not find the work in question4 ,shortly afterward1 the latter had been taking a book from his shelves1 when1 on turning round1 he beheld1 to his amazement1 his son just in the act of stretching up his hand toward one on a high shelf in another part of the room4 8,hallo60 he exclaimed1 supposing it to be the young man himself1 but the figure disappeared2 and1 on examining the shelf1 the father found there the book that was required1 which he immediately forwarded to ,gttingen2 but before it could arrive there1 he received a letter from his son1 describing the exact spot where it was to be found4 ,a case of what is called spectral illusion is mentioned by ,dr4 ,paterson1 which appears to me to belong to the class of phenomena ,i am treating of4 ,one ,sunday evening1 ,miss ,n---- was left at home1 the sole inmate of the house1 not being permitted to accompany her family to church on account of her delicate state of health4 ,her father was an infirm old man1 who seldom went from home1 and she was not aware whether1 on this occasion1 he had gone out with the rest or not4 ,by-and-by1 there came on a severe storm of thunder1 lightning1 and rain1 and ,miss ,n---- is described as becoming very uneasy about her father4 ,under the influence of this feeling1 ,dr4 ,paterson says she went into the back room1 where he usually sat1 and there saw him in his arm-chair4 ,not doubting but it was himself1 she advanced and laid her hand upon his shoulder1 but her hand encountered vacancy2 and1 alarmed1 she retired4 ,as she quitted the room1 however1 she looked back1 and there still sat the figure4 ,not being a believer in what is called the 8supernatural10 ,miss ,n---- resolved to overcome her apprehensions1 and return into the room1 which she did1 and saw the figure as before4 ,for the space of fully half an hour she went in and out of the room in this manner1 before it disappeared4 ,she did not see it vanish1 but the fifth time she returned1 it was gone4 ,dr4 ,paterson vouches for the truth of this story1 and no doubt of its being a mere illusion occurs to him1 though the lady had never before or since1 as she assured him1 been troubled with the malady4 ,it seems to me much more likely that1 when the storm came on1 the thoughts of the old man would be intensely drawn homeward3 he would naturally wish himself in his comfortable arm-chair1 and1 knowing his young daughter to be alone1 he would inevitably feel some anxiety about her too4 ,there was a mutual projection of their spirits toward each other2 and the one that was most easily freed from its bonds1 was seen where in the spirit it actually was2 for1 as ,i have said above1 a spirit out of the flesh1 to whom space is annihilated1 must be where its thoughts and affections are1 for its thoughts and affections are itself4 ,i observe that ,sir ,david ,brewster and others1 who have written on this subject1 and who represent all these phenomena as images projected on the retina from the brain1 dwell much on the fact that they are seen alike1 whether the eye be closed or open4 ,there are1 however1 two answers to be made to this argument3 first1 that even if it were so1 the proof would not be decisive1 since it is generally with closed eyes that somnambulic persons see1 whether natural somnambules or magnetic patients2 and1 secondly1 ,i find in some instances1 which appear to me to be genuine cases of an objective appearance1 that where the experiment has been tried1 the figure is not seen when the eyes are closed4 ,the author of a work entitled 8,an ,inquiry into the ,nature of ,ghosts10 who adopts the illusion theory1 relates the following story1 as one he can vouch for1 though not permitted to give the names of the parties3-- 8,miss ----1 at the age of seven years1 being in a field not far from her father's house1 in the parish of ,kirklinton1 in ,cumberland1 saw what she thought was her father in the field1 at a time that he was in bed1 from which he had not been removed for a considerable period4 ,there were in the field also1 at the same moment1 ,george ,little1 and ,john1 his fellow-servant4 ,one of these cried out1 #8,go to your father1 miss6' ,she turned round1 and the figure had disappeared4 ,on returning home1 she said1 #8,where is my father8' ,the mother answered1 #8,in bed1 to be sure1 child6'--out of which he had not been40 ,i quote this case1 because the figure was seen by two persons4 ,i could mention several similar instances1 but when only seen by one1 they are1 of course1 open to another explanation4 ,goethe 7whose family1 by-the-way1 were ghost-seers7 relates that as he was once in an uneasy state of mind1 riding along the footpath toward ,drusenheim1 he saw1 8not with the eyes of his body1 but with those of his spirit10 himself on horseback coming toward him1 in a dress that he then did not possess4 ,it was gray1 and trimmed with gold4 ,the figure disappeared2 but eight years afterward he found himself1 quite accidentally1 on that spot1 on horseback1 and in precisely that attire4 ,this seems to have been a case of second-sight4 ,the story of ,byron's being seen in ,london when he was lying in a fever at ,patras1 is well known2 but may possibly have arisen from some extraordinary personal resemblance1 though so firm was the conviction of its being his actual self1 that a bet of a hundred guineas was offered on it4 ,some time ago1 the 8,dublin ,university ,magazine0 related a case--,i know not on what authority--as having occurred at ,rome1 to the effect that a gentleman had1 one night on going home to his lodging1 thrown his servant into great amazement1 the man exclaiming1 8,good ,lord1 sir1 you came home before60 ,he declared that he had let his master into the house1 attended him up stairs1 and1 ,i think1 undressed him1 and seen him get into bed4 ,when they went to the room1 they found no clothes2 but the bed appeared to have been lain in1 and there was a strange mark upon the ceiling1 as if from the passage of an electrical fluid4 ,the only thing the young man could remember1 whereby to account for this extraordinary circumstance1 was1 that while abroad1 and in company1 he had been overcome with ennui1 fallen into a deep reverie1 and had for a time forgotten that he was not at home4 ,when ,i read this story1 though ,i have learned from experience to be very cautious how ,i pronounce that impossible which ,i know nothing about1 ,i confess it somewhat exceeded my receptive capacity1 but ,i have since heard of a similar instance1 so well authenticated1 that my incredulity is shaken4 ,dr4 ,kerner relates that a canon of a catholic cathedral1 of somewhat dissipated habits1 on coming home one evening1 saw a light in his bed-room4 ,when the maid opened the door1 she started back with surprise1 while he inquired why she had left a candle burning up stairs2 upon which she declared that he had come home just before1 and gone to his room1 and she had been wondering at his unusual silence4 ,on ascending to his chamber1 he saw himself sitting in the arm-chair4 ,the figure rose1 passed him1 and went out at the room-door4 ,he was extremely alarmed1 expecting his death was at hand4 ,he1 however1 lived many years afterward1 but the influence on his moral character was very beneficial4 ,not long since1 a professor1 ,i think of theology1 at a college at ,berlin1 addressed his class1 saying1 that1 instead of his usual lecture1 he should relate to them a circumstance which1 the preceding evening1 had occurred to himself1 believing the effects would be no less salutary4 ,he then told them that1 as he was going home the last evening1 he had seen his own imago1 or double1 on the other side of the street4 ,he looked away1 and tried to avoid it1 but1 finding it still accompanied him1 he took a short cut home1 in hopes of getting rid of it1 wherein he succeeded1 till he came opposite his own house1 when he saw it at the door4 ,it rang1 the maid opened1 it entered1 she handed it a candle1 and1 as the professor stood in amazement1 on the other side of the street1 he saw the light passing the windows1 as it wound its way up to his own chamber4 ,he then crossed over and rang2 the servant was naturally dreadfully alarmed on seeing him1 but1 without waiting to explain1 he ascended the stairs4 ,just as he reached his own chamber1 he heard a loud crash1 and1 on opening the door1 they found no one there1 but the ceiling had fallen in1 and his life was thus saved4 ,the servant corroborated this statement to the students2 and a minister1 now attached to one of the ,scotch churches1 was present when the professor told his tale4 ,without admitting the doctrine of protecting spirits1 it is difficult to account for these latter circumstances4 ,a very interesting case of an apparent friendly intervention occurred to the celebrated ,dr4 ,a---- ,t----1 of ,edinburgh4 ,he was sitting up late one night1 reading in his study1 when he heard a foot in the passage1 and knowing the family were1 or ought to be1 all in bed1 he rose and looked out to ascertain who it was1 but1 seeing nobody1 he sat down again4 ,presently1 the sound recurred1 and he was sure there was somebody1 though he could not see him4 ,the foot1 however1 evidently ascended the stairs1 and he followed it1 till it led him to the nursery-door1 which he opened1 and found the furniture was on fire2 and thus1 but for this kind office of his good angel1 his children would have been burned in their beds4 ,the most extraordinary history of this sort1 however1 with which ,i am acquainted1 is the following1 the facts of which are perfectly authentic3-- ,some seventy or eighty years since1 the apprentice1 or assistant1 of a respectable surgeon in ,glasgow1 was known to have had an illicit connection with a servant-girl1 who somewhat suddenly disappeared4 ,no suspicion1 however1 seems to have been entertained of foul play4 ,it appears rather to have been supposed that she had retired for the purpose of being confined1 and1 consequently1 no inquiries were made about her4 ,glasgow was1 at that period1 a very different place to what it is at present1 in more respects than one2 and1 among its peculiarities1 was the extraordinary strictness with which the observance of the sabbath was enforced1 insomuch1 that nobody was permitted to show themselves in the streets or public walks during the hours dedicated to the church services1 and there were actually inspectors appointed to see that this regulation was observed1 and to take down the names of defaulters4 ,at one extremity of the city1 there is some open ground1 of rather considerable extent1 on the north side of the river1 called 8,the ,green10 where people sometimes resort for air and exercise2 and where lovers not unfrequently retire to enjoy as much solitude as the proximity to so large a town can afford4 ,one ,sunday morning1 the inspectors of public piety above alluded to having traversed the city1 and extended their perquisitions as far as the lower extremity of the ,green1 where it was bounded by a wall1 observed a young man lying on the grass1 whom they immediately recognised to be the surgeon's assistant4 ,they1 of course1 inquired why he was not at church1 and proceeded to register his name in their books1 but1 instead of attempting to make any excuse for his offence1 he only rose from the ground1 saying1 8,i am a miserable man2 look in the water60 ,he then immediately crossed a stile1 which divided the wall1 and led to a path extending along the side of the river toward the ,rutherglen road4 ,they saw him cross the stile1 but1 not comprehending the significance of his words1 instead of observing him further1 they naturally directed their attention to the water1 where they presently perceived the body of a woman4 ,having with some difficulty dragged it ashore1 they immediately proceeded to carry it into the town1 assisted by several other persons1 who by this time had joined them4 ,it was now about one o'clock1 and1 as they passed through the streets1 they were obstructed by the congregation that was issuing from one of the principal places of worship2 and1 as they stood up for a moment1 to let them pass1 they saw the surgeon's assistant issue from the church door4 ,as it was quite possible for him to have gone round some other way1 and got there before them1 they were not much surprised4 ,he did not approach them1 but mingled with the crowd1 while they proceeded on their way4 ,on examination1 the woman proved to be the missing servant-girl4 ,she was pregnant1 and had evidently been murdered with a surgeon's instrument1 which was found entangled among her clothes4 ,upon this1 in consequence of his known connection with her1 and his implied self-accusation to the inspectors1 the young man was apprehended on suspicion of being the guilty party1 and tried upon the circuit4 ,he was the last person seen in her company1 immediately previous to her disappearance2 and there was1 altogether1 such strong presumptive evidence against him1 as corroborated by what occurred on the green would have justified a verdict of guilty4 ,but1 strange to say1 this last most important item in the evidence failed1 and he established an incontrovertible alibi2 it being proved1 beyond all possibility of doubt1 that he had been in church from the beginning of the service to the end of it4 ,he was1 therefore1 acquitted2 while the public were left in the greatest perplexity1 to account as they could for this extraordinary discrepancy4 ,the young man was well known to the inspectors1 and it was in broad daylight that they had met him and placed his name in their books4 ,neither1 it must be remembered1 were they seeking for him1 nor thinking of him1 nor of the woman1 about whom there existed neither curiosity nor suspicion4 ,least of all1 would they have sought her where she was1 but for the hint given to them4 ,the interest excited1 at the time1 was very great2 but no natural explanation of the mystery has ever been suggested4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,apparitions4 ,,the number of stories on record1 which seem to support the views ,i have suggested in my last chapter1 is1 ,i fancy1 little suspected by people in general2 and still less is it imagined that similar occurrences are yet frequently taking place4 ,i had1 indeed1 myself no idea of either one circumstance or the other1 till my attention being accidentally turned in this direction1 ,i was led into inquiries1 the result of which has extremely surprised me4 ,i do not mean to imply that all my acquaintance are ghost-seers1 or that these things happen every day2 but the amount of what ,i do mean1 is this3 first1 that besides the numerous instances of such phenomena alluded to in history1 which have been treated as fables by those who profess to believe the rest of the narratives1 though the whole rests upon the same foundation1 that is1 tradition and hearsay2 besides these1 there exists in one form or another1 hundreds and hundreds of recorded cases1 in all countries1 and in all languages1 exhibiting that degree of similarity which mark them as belonging to a class of facts1 many of these being of a nature which seems to preclude the possibility of bringing them under the theory of spectral illusions2 and1 secondly1 that ,i scarcely meet any one man or woman1 who1 if ,i can induce them to believe ,i will not publish their names1 and am not going to laugh at them1 is not prepared to tell me of some occurrence of the sort1 as having happened to themselves1 their family1 or their friends4 ,i admit that in many instances they terminate their narration1 by saying1 that they think it must have been an illusion1 because they can not bring themselves to believe in ghosts2 not unfrequently adding1 that they wish to think so2 since to think otherwise would make them uncomfortable4 ,i confess1 however1 that this seems to me a very unwise1 as well as a very unsafe way of treating the matter4 ,believing the appearance to be an illusion1 because they can not bring themselves to believe in ghosts1 simply amounts to saying1 8,i don't believe1 because ,i don't believe20 and is an argument of no effect1 except to invalidate their capacity for judging the question1 at all2 but the second reason for not believing1 namely1 that they do not wish to do so1 has not only the same disadvantage1 but is liable to much more serious objections2 for it is our duty to ascertain the truth in an affair that concerns every soul of us so deeply2 and to shrink from looking at it1 lest it should disclose something we do not like1 is an expedient as childish as it is desperate4 ,in reviewing my late novel of 8,lilly ,dawson10 where ,i announce the present work1 ,i observe that while some of the reviewers scout the very idea of anybody's believing in ghosts1 others1 less rash1 while they admit that it is a subject we know nothing about1 object to further investigation1 on account of the terrors and uncomfortable feelings that will be engendered4 ,now1 certainly1 if it were a matter in which we had no personal concern1 and which belonged merely to the region of speculative curiosity1 everybody would be perfectly justified in following their inclinations with regard to it2 there would be no reason for frightening themselves1 if they did not like it2 but1 since it is perfectly certain that the fate of these poor ghosts1 be what it may1 will be ours some day--perhaps before another year or another week has passed over our heads--to shut our eyes to the truth1 because it may perchance occasion us some uncomfortable feelings1 is surely a strange mixture of contemptible cowardice and daring temerity4 ,if it be true that1 by some law of nature1 departed souls occasionally revisit the earth1 we may be quite certain that it was intended we should know it1 and that the law is to some good end2 for no law of ,god can be purposeless or mischievous2 and is it conceivable that we should say we will not know it1 because it is disagreeable to us8 ,is not this very like saying1 8,let us eat1 drink1 and be merry1 for to-morrow we die60 and yet refusing to inquire what is to become of us when we do die8 refusing to avail ourselves of that demonstrative proof which ,god has mercifully placed within our reach8 ,and1 with all this obstinacy1 people do not get rid of the apprehension2 they go on struggling against it and keeping it down by argument and reason2 but there are very few persons indeed1 men or women1 who1 when placed in a situation calculated to suggest the idea1 do not feel the intuitive conviction striving within them4 ,in the ordinary circumstances of life1 nobody suffers from this terror2 in the extraordinary ones1 ,i find the professed disbelievers not much better off than the believers4 ,not long ago1 ,i heard a lady expressing the great alarm she should have felt1 had she been exposed to spend a whole night on ,ben ,lomond1 as ,margaret ,fuller1 the ,american authoress1 did lately2 8for10 said she1 8though ,i don't believe in ghosts1 ,i should have been dreadfully afraid of seeing one then60 ,moreover1 though ,i do not suppose that man1 in his normal state1 could ever encounter an incorporeal spirit without considerable awe1 ,i am inclined to think that the extreme terror the idea inspires arises from bad training4 ,the ignorant frighten children with ghosts1 and the better educated assure them there is no such thing4 ,our understanding may believe the latter1 but our instincts believe the former2 so that1 out of this education1 we retain the terror1 and just belief enough to make it very troublesome whenever we are placed in circumstances that awaken it4 ,now1 perhaps1 if the thing were differently managed1 the result might be different4 ,suppose the subject were duly investigated1 and it were ascertained that the views which ,i and many others are disposed to entertain with regard to it are correct1--and suppose1 then1 children were calmly told that it is not impossible but that1 on some occasion1 they may see a departed friend again--that the laws of nature1 established by an allwise ,providence1 admit of the dead sometimes revisiting the earth1 doubtless for the benevolent purpose of keeping alive in us our faith in a future state--that death is merely a transition to another life1 which it depends on ourselves to make happy or otherwise--and that while those spirits which appear bright and blessed may well be objects of our envy1 the others should excite only our intense compassion3 ,i am persuaded that a child so educated would feel no terror at the sight of an apparition1 more especially as there very rarely appears to be anything terrific in the aspect of these forms2 they generally come in their 8habits as they lived10 and appear so much like the living person in the flesh1 that where they are not known to be already dead1 they are frequently mistaken for them4 ,there are exceptions to this rule1--but the forms in themselves rarely exhibit anything to create alarm4 ,as a proof that a child would not naturally be terrified at the sight of an apparition1 ,i will adduce the following instance1 the authenticity of which ,i can vouch for3-- ,a lady with her child embarked on board a vessel at ,jamaica1 for the purpose of visiting her friends in ,england1 leaving her husband behind her quite well4 ,it was a sailing packet2 and they had been some time at sea1 when one evening1 while the child was kneeling before her saying his prayers previous to going to rest1 he suddenly said3 8,mamma1 papa60 8,nonsense1 my dear60 the mother answered1 8you know your papa is not here60--8,he is indeed1 mamma10 returned the child1 8he is looking at us now40 ,nor could she convince him to the contrary4 ,when she went on deck1 she mentioned the circumstance to the captain1 who thought it so strange1 that he said he would note down the date of the occurrence4 ,the lady begged him not to do so1 saying it was attaching a significance to it which would make her miserable4 ,he did it1 however2 and1 shortly after her arrival in ,england1 she learned that her husband had died exactly at that period4 ,i have met with other instances in which children have seen apparitions without exhibiting any alarm2 and in the case of ,fredericka ,hauffe1 the infant in her arms was frequently observed to point smilingly to those which she herself said she saw4 ,in the above related case1 we find a valuable example of an apparition which we can not believe to have been a mere subjective phenomenon1 being seen by one person and not by another4 ,the receptivity of the child may have been greater1 or the rapport between it and its father stronger2 but this occurrence inevitably leads us to suggest1 how often our departed friends may be near us1 and we not see them6 ,a ,mr4 ,b----1 with whom ,i am acquainted1 informed me that1 some years ago1 he lost two children4 ,there was an interval of two years between their deaths2 and about as long a period had elapsed since the decease of the second1 when the circumstance ,i am about to relate took place4 ,it may be conceived that at that distance of time1 however vivid the impression had been at first1 it had considerably faded from the mind of a man engaged in business2 and he assures me that1 on the night this event occurred1 he was not thinking of the children at all2 he was1 moreover1 perfectly well1 and had neither eaten nor drank anything unusual1 nor abstained from eating or drinking anything to which he was accustomed4 ,he was therefore in his normal state2 when shortly after he had lain down in bed1 and before he had fallen asleep1 he heard the voice of one of the children say3 8,papa--papa60 8,do you hear that80 he said to his wife1 who lay beside him--8,i hear ,archy calling me1 as plain as ever ,i heard him in my life60 8,nonsense60 returned the lady2 8you are fancying it40 ,but presently he again heard 8,papa1 papa60 and now both voices spoke4 ,upon which--exclaiming1 8,i can stand this no longer0--he started up1 and1 drawing back the curtains1 saw both children in their night-dresses1 standing near the bed4 ,he immediately jumped out2 whereupon they retreated slowly1 and with their faces toward him1 to the window1 where they disappeared4 ,he says that the circumstance made a great impression upon him at the time2 and1 indeed1 that it was one that could never be effaced2 but he did not know what to think of it1 not believing in ghosts1 and therefore concluded it must have been some extraordinary spectral illusion1 especially as his wife heard nothing4 ,it may have been so2 but that circumstance by no means proves it4 ,from these varying degrees of susceptibility1 or affinity1 there seems to arise another consequence1 namely1 that more than one person may see the same object1 and yet see it differently1 and ,i mention this particularly1 because it is one of the objections that unreflecting persons make to phenomena of this kind1 second sight especially4 ,in the remarkable instance which is recorded to have occurred at ,ripley1 in the year #ahab1 to which ,i shall allude more particularly in a future chapter1 much stress was laid on the fact1 that the first seer said1 8,look at those beasts60 ,while the second answered1 they were 8not beasts1 but men40 ,in a former chapter1 ,i mentioned the case of a lady1 on board a ship1 seeing and feeling a sort of blue cloud hanging over her1 which afterward1 as it retired1 assumed a human form1 though still appearing a vapory substance4 ,now1 possibly1 had her receptivity1 or the rapport1 been greater1 she might have seen the distinct image of her dying friend4 ,i have met with several instances of these cloudy figures being seen1 as if the spirit had built itself up a form of atmospheric air2 and it is remarkable1 that when other persons perceived the apparitions that frequented the ,seeress of ,prevorst1 some saw those as cloudy forms1 which she saw distinctly attired in the costume they wore when alive2 and thus1 on some occasions1 apparitions are represented as being transparent1 while on others they have not been distinguishable from the real corporeal body4 ,all these discrepancies1 and others1 to be hereafter alluded to1 are doubtless only absurd to our ignorance2 they are the results of physical laws1 as absolute1 though not so easily ascertained1 as those by which the most ordinary phenomena around us are found explicable4 ,with respect to these cloudy forms1 ,i have met with four instances lately1 two occurring to ladies1 and two to gentlemen2 the one a minister1 and the other a man engaged in business2 and although ,i am quite aware that these cases are not easily to be distinguished from those of spectral illusion1 yet ,i do not think them so myself2 and as they occurred to persons in their normal state of health1 who never before or since experienced anything of the kind1 and who could find nothing in their own circumstances to account for its happening then1 ,i shall mention them4 ,in the instances of the gentlemen and one of the ladies1 they were suddenly awakened1 they could not tell by what1 and perceived bending over them a cloudy form1 which immediately retreated slowly to the other end of the room1 and disappeared4 ,in the fourth case1 which occurred to an intimate friend of my own1 she had not been asleep2 but having been the last person up in the house1 had just stepped into the bed1 where her sister had already been some time asleep4 ,she was perfectly awake1 when her attention was attracted by hearing the clink of glass1 and1 on looking up1 she saw a figure standing on the hearth1 which was exactly opposite her side of the bed1 and as there was water and a tumbler there1 she concluded that her sister had stepped out at the bottom1 unperceived by her1 and was drinking4 ,while she was carelessly observing the figure1 it moved toward the bed1 and laid a heavy hand upon her1 pressing her arm in a manner that gave her pain4 8,oh1 ,maria1 don't60 she exclaimed2 but as the form retreated1 and she lost sight of it1 a strange feeling crept over her1 and she stretched out her hand to ascertain if her sister was beside her4 ,she was1 and asleep2 but this movement awoke her1 and she found the other now in considerable agitation4 ,she1 of course1 tried to persuade her that it was a dream1 or night-mare1 as did the family the next day2 but she was quite clear in her mind at the time1 as she then assured me1 that it was neither one nor the other2 though now1 at the distance of a year from the occurrence1 she is very desirous of putting that construction upon it4 ,as somebody will be ready to suggest that this was a freak played by one of the family1 ,i can only answer that that is an explanation that no one who is acquainted with all the circumstances1 could admit2 added to which1 the figure did not disappear in the direction of the door1 but in quite an opposite one4 ,a very singular thing happened to the accomplished authoress of 8,letters from the ,baltic10 on which my readers may put what interpretation they please1 but ,i give it here as a pendant to the last story4 ,the night before she left ,petersburgh she passed in the house of a friend4 ,the room appropriated to her use was a large dining-room1 in which a temporary bed was placed1 and a folding screen was so arranged as to give an air of comfort to the nook where the bed stood4 ,she went to bed1 and to sleep1 and no one who knows her can suspect her of seeing spectral illusions1 or being incapable of distinguishing her own condition when she saw anything whatever4 ,as she was to commence her journey on the following day1 she had given orders to be called at an early hour1 and1 accordingly1 she found herself awakened toward morning by an old woman in a complete ,russian costume1 who looked at her1 nodding and smiling1 and intimating1 as she supposed1 that it was time to rise4 ,feeling1 however1 very sleepy1 and very unwilling to do so1 she took her watch from behind her pillow1 and1 looking at it1 perceived that it was only four o'clock4 ,as1 from the costume of the old woman1 she knew her to be a ,russian1 and therefore not likely to understand any language she could speak1 she shook her head1 and pointed to the watch1 giving her to understand that it was too early4 ,the woman looked at her1 and nodded1 and then retreated1 while the traveller lay down again and soon fell asleep4 ,by-and-by1 she was awakened by a knock at the door and the voice of the maid whom she had desired to call her4 ,she bade her come in1 but1 the door being locked on the inside1 she had to get out of bed to admit her4 ,it now occurred to her to wonder how the old woman had entered1 but1 taking it for granted that there was some other mode of ingress she did not trouble herself about it1 but dressed1 and descended to breakfast4 ,of course1 the inquiry usually addressed to a stranger was made--they hoped she had slept well6 8,perfectly10 she said1 8only that one of their good people had been somewhat over anxious to get her up in the morning20 and she then mentioned the old woman's visit1 but to her surprise1 they declared they had no such person in the family4 8,it must have been some old nurse1 or laundress1 or something of that sort10 she suggested4 8,impossible60 they answered2 8you must have dreamed the whole thing2 we have no old woman in the house2 nobody wearing that costume2 and nobody could have got in1 since the door must have been fastened long after that60 ,and these assertions the servants fully confirmed2 added to which1 ,i should observe1 that the house1 like foreign houses in general1 consisted of a flat1 or floor1 shut in by a door1 which separated it entirely from the rest of the building1 and1 being high up from the street1 nobody could even have gained access by a window4 ,the lady now beginning to get somewhat puzzled1 inquired if there were any second entrance into the room2 but1 to her surprise1 she heard there was not2 and she then mentioned that she had locked the door on going to bed1 and had found it locked in the morning4 ,the thing has ever remained utterly inexplicable1 and the family1 who were much more amazed by it than she was1 would willingly believe it to have been a dream2 but1 whatever the interpretation of it may be1 she feels quite certain that that is not the true one4 ,i make no comments on the above case1 though a very inexplicable one2 and ,i scarcely know whether to mention any of those well-established tales1 which appear to be certainly as satisfactorily attested as any circumstance which is usually taken simply on report4 ,i allude particularly to the stories of ,general ,wynyard2 ,lord ,tyrone and ,lady ,beresford2 the case which took place at ,havant1 in ,hampshire1 and which is related in a letter from ,mr4 ,caswell the mathematician to ,dr4 ,bentley2 that which occurred in ,cornwall1 as narrated by the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,ruddle1 one of the prebendaries of ,exeter1 whose assistance and advice were asked1 and who himself had two interviews with the spirit2 and many others1 which are already published in different works2 especially in a little book entitled 8,accredited ,ghost-,stories40 ,i may1 however1 mention that1 with respect to those of ,lady ,beresford and ,general ,wynyard1 the families of the parties have always maintained their entire belief in the circumstances2 as do the family of ,lady ,betty ,cobb1 who took the riband from ,lady ,beresford's arm1 after she was dead--she having always worn it since her interview with the apparition1 in order to conceal the mark he had left by touching her4 ,there have been many attempts to explain away the story of ,lord ,littleton's warning1 although the evidence for it certainly satisfied the family1 as we learn from ,dr4 ,johnson1 who said1 in regard to it1 that it was the most extraordinary thing that had happened in his day1 and that he heard it from the lips of ,lord ,westcote1 the uncle of ,lord ,littleton4 ,there is a sequel1 however1 to this story1 which is extremely well authenticated1 though much less generally known4 ,it appears that ,mr4 ,miles ,peter ,andrews1 the intimate friend of ,lord ,littleton1 was at his house1 at ,dartford1 when ,lord ,l4 died at ,pitt-place1 ,epsom1 thirty miles off4 ,mr4 ,andrews' house was full of company1 and he expected ,lord ,littleton1 whom he had left in his usual state of health1 to join him the next day1 which was ,sunday4 ,mr4 ,andrews himself feeling rather indisposed on the ,saturday evening1 retired early to bed1 and requested ,mrs4 ,pigou1 one of his guests1 to do the honors of his supper-table4 ,he admitted 7for he is himself the authority for the story7 that he fell into a feverish sleep on going to bed1 but was awakened between eleven and twelve by somebody opening his curtains1 which proved to be ,lord ,littleton1 in a night-gown and cap1 which ,mr4 ,andrews recognised4 ,lord ,littleton spoke1 saying that he was come to tell him all was over4 ,it appears that ,lord ,littleton was fond of practical joking1 and as ,mr4 ,andrews entertained no doubt whatever of his visiter being ,lord ,littleton himself1 in the body1 he supposed that this was one of his tricks2 and1 stretching his arm out of bed1 he took hold of his slippers1 the nearest thing he could get at1 and threw them at him1 whereupon the figure retreated to a dressing-room1 which had no ingress or egress except through the bed-chamber4 ,upon this1 ,mr4 ,andrews jumped out of bed to follow him1 intending to chastise him further1 but he could find nobody in either of the rooms1 although the door was locked on the inside2 so he rang his bell1 and inquired who had seen ,lord ,littleton4 ,nobody had seen him2 but1 though how he had got in or out of the room remained an enigma1 ,mr4 ,andrews asserted that he was certainly there2 and1 angry at the supposed trick1 he ordered that they should give him no bed1 but let him go and sleep at the inn4 ,lord ,littleton1 however1 appeared no more1 and ,mr4 ,andrews went to sleep1 not entertaining the slightest suspicion that he had seen an apparition4 ,it happened that1 on the following morning1 ,mrs4 ,pigou had occasion to go at an early hour to ,london1 and great was her astonishment to learn that ,lord ,littleton had died on the preceding night4 ,she immediately despatched an express to ,dartford with the news1 upon the receipt of which1 ,mr4 ,andrews1 then quite well1 and remembering perfectly all that had happened1 swooned away4 ,he could not understand it1 but it had a most serious effect upon him1 and1 to use his own expression1 he was not his own man again for three years4 ,there are various authorities for this story1 the correctness of which is vouched for by some members of ,mrs4 ,pigou's family1 with whom ,i am acquainted1 who have frequently heard the circumstances detailed by herself1 and who assure me it was always believed by the family4 ,i really1 therefore1 do not see what grounds we have for doubting either of these facts4 ,lord ,westcote1 on whose word ,dr4 ,johnson founded his belief of ,lord ,littleton's warning1 was a man of strong sense2 and that the story was not looked upon lightly by the family1 is proved by the fact that the dowager ,lady ,littleton had a picture--which was seen by ,sir ,nathaniel ,wraxhall in her house in ,portugal street1 as mentioned in his memoirs--wherein the event was commemorated4 ,his lordship is in bed2 the dove appears at the window2 and a female figure stands at the foot of the couch1 announcing to the unhappy profligate his approaching dissolution4 ,that he mentioned the warning to his valet1 and some other persons1 and that he talked of jockeying the ghost by surviving the time named1 is certain2 as also that he died with his watch in his hand1 precisely at the appointed period6 ,mr4 ,andrews says that he was subject to fits of strangulation1 from a swelling in the throat1 which might have killed him at any moment2 but his decease having proceeded from a natural and obvious cause1 does not interfere one way or the other with the validity of the prediction1 which simply foretold his death at a particular period1 not that there was to be anything preternatural in the manner of it4 ,as ,i find so many people willing to believe in wraiths1 who can not believe in ghosts--that is1 they are overpowered by the numerous examples1 and the weight of evidence for the first--it would be desirable if we could ascertain whether these wraiths are seen before the death occurs or after it2 but1 though the day is recorded1 and seems always to be the one on which the death took place1 and the hour about the same1 minutes are not sufficiently observed to enable us to answer that question4 ,it would be an interesting one1 because the argument advanced by those who believe that the dead never are seen1 is1 that it is the strong will and desire of the expiring person which enables him so to act on the nervous system of his distant friend1 that the imagination of the latter projects the form1 and sees it as if objectively4 ,by imagination ,i do not simply mean to convey the common notion implied by that much-abused word1 which is only fancy1 but the constructive imagination1 which is a much higher function1 and which1 inasmuch as man is made in the likeness of ,god1 bears a distant relation to that sublime power by which the ,creator projects1 creates1 and upholds1 his universe2 while the far-working of the departing spirit seems to consist in the strong will to do1 reinforced by the strong faith that it can be done4 ,we have rarely the strong will1 and still more rarely the strong faith1 without which the will remains ineffective4 ,in the following case1 which is perfectly authentic1 the apparition of ,major ,r---- was seen several hours after his death had occurred4 ,in the year #aghe1 some cadets were ordered to proceed from ,madras to join their regiments up the country4 ,a considerable part of the journey was to be made in a barge1 and they were under the conduct of a senior officer1 ,major ,r----4 ,in order to relieve the monotony of the voyage1 this gentleman proposed1 one day1 that they should make a shooting excursion inland1 and walk round to meet the boat at a point agreed on1 which1 owing to the windings of the river1 it would not reach till evening4 ,they accordingly took their guns1 and as they had to cross a swamp1 ,major ,r----1 who was well acquainted with the country1 put on a heavy pair of top-boots1 which1 together with an odd limp he had in his gait1 rendered him distinguishable from the rest of the party at a considerable distance4 ,when they reached the jungle1 they found there was a wide ditch to leap1 which all succeeded in doing except the major1 who being less young active1 jumped short of the requisite distance2 and although he scrambled up unhurt1 he found his gun so crammed full of wet sand that it would be useless till thoroughly cleansed4 ,he therefore bade them walk on1 saying he would follow2 and taking off his hat1 he sat down in the shade1 where they left him4 ,when they had been beating about for game some time1 they began to wonder why the major did not come on1 and they shouted to let him know whereabouts they were2 but there was no answer1 and hour after hour passed without his appearance1 till at length they began to feel somewhat uneasy4 ,thus the day wore away1 and they found themselves approaching the rendezvous4 ,the boat was in sight1 and they were walking down to it1 wondering how their friend could have missed them1 when suddenly1 to their great joy1 they saw him before them1 making toward the barge4 ,he was without his hat or gun1 limping hastily along in his top-boots1 and did not appear to observe them4 ,they shouted after him1 but as he did not look round1 they began to run1 in order to overtake him2 and1 indeed1 fast as he went1 they did gain considerably upon him4 ,still he reached the boat first1 crossing the plank which the boatmen had placed ready for the gentlemen they saw approaching4 ,he ran down the companion-stairs1 and they after him2 but inexpressible was their surprise when they could not find him below6 ,they ascended again1 and inquired of the boatmen what had become of him2 but they declared he had not come on board1 and that nobody had crossed the plank till the young men themselves had done so4 ,confounded and amazed at what appeared so inexplicable1 and doubly anxious about their friend1 they immediately resolved to retrace their steps in search of him2 and1 accompanied by some ,indians who knew the jungle1 they made their way back to the spot where they had left him4 ,thence some footmarks enabled them to trace him1 till1 at a very short distance from the ditch1 they found his hat and his gun4 ,just then the ,indians called out to them to beware1 for that there was a sunken well thereabouts1 into which they might fall4 ,an apprehension naturally seized them that this might have been the fate of their friend2 and on examining the edge1 they saw a mark as of a heel slipping up4 ,upon this1 one of the ,indians consented to go down1 having a rope with which they had provided themselves tied round his waist2 for1 aware of the existence of the wells1 the natives suspected what had actually occurred1 namely1 that the unfortunate gentleman had slipped into one of these traps1 which1 being overgrown with brambles1 were not discernible by the eye4 ,with the assistance of the ,indian1 the body was brought up and carried back to the boat1 amid the deep regrets of the party1 with whom he had been a great favorite4 ,they proceeded with it to the next station1 where an inquiry was instituted as to the manner of his death1 but of course there was nothing more to be elicited4 ,i give this story as related by one of the parties present1 and there is no doubt of its perfect authenticity4 ,he says he can in no way account for the mystery--he can only relate the fact2 and not one1 but the whole five cadets1 saw him as distinctly as they saw each other4 ,it was evident1 from the spot where the body was found1 which was not many hundred yards from the well1 that the accident must have occurred very shortly after they left him4 ,when the young men reached the boat1 ,major ,r---- must have been1 for some seven or eight hours1 a denizen of the other world1 yet he kept the rendezvous6 ,there was a similar occurrence in ,devonshire1 some years back1 which happened to the well-known ,dr4 ,hawker1 who1 one night in the street1 observed an old woman pass him1 to whom he was in the habit of giving a weekly charity4 ,immediately after she had passed1 he felt somebody pull his coat1 and on looking round saw it was her1 whereupon he put his hand in his pocket to seek for a sixpence1 but on turning to give it to her she was gone4 ,he thought nothing about it2 but when he got home1 he inquired if she had had her money that week1--when1 to his amazement1 he heard she was dead1 but his family had forgotten to mention the circumstance4 ,i have met with two curious cases1 occurring in ,edinburgh1 of late years2 in one1 a young man and his sister were in their kitchen1 warming themselves over the fire before they retired to bed1 when1 on raising their eyes1 they both saw a female figure1 dressed in white1 standing in the door-way and looking at them2 she was leaning against one of the door-posts4 ,miss ,e----1 the young lady1 screamed2 whereupon the figure advanced1 crossed the kitchen toward a closet1 and disappeared4 ,there was no egress at the closet3 and as they lived in a flat1 and the door was closed for the night1 a stranger could neither have entered the house nor got out of it4 ,in the other instance1 there were two houses on one flat1 the doors opposite each other4 ,in one of the houses there resided a person with her two daughters1 grown-up women3 in the other lived a shoemaker and his wife4 ,the latter died1 and it was said her husband had ill-treated her and worried her out of the world4 ,he was a drunken1 dissipated man1 and used to be out till a late hour most nights1 while this poor woman sat up for him1 and when she heard a voice on the stairs1 or a bell1 she used often to come out and look over to see if it were her husband returned4 ,one night1 when she had been dead some weeks1 the two young women were ascending the stairs to their own door1 when1 to their amazement1 they both saw her standing at the top1 looking over as she used to do in her lifetime4 ,at the same moment their mother opened the door and saw the figure also2 the girls rushed past1 overcome with terror1 and one if not both fainted as soon as they got into the door4 ,the youngest fell on her face in the passage4 ,another case1 which occurred in this town1 ,i mention--although ,i know it is liable to be called a spectral illusion--because it bears a remarkable similarity to one which took place in ,america4 ,a respectable woman lost her father1 for whom she had a great affection2 she was of a serious turn1 and much attached to the tenets of her church1 in which particulars she thought her father had been deficient4 ,she was therefore very unhappy about him1 fearing that he had not died in a proper state of mind4 ,a considerable time had elapsed since his death1 but her distrust of his condition was still causing her uneasiness2 when one day1 while she was sitting at her work1 she felt something touch her shoulder1 and on looking round she perceived her father1 who bade her cease to grieve about him1 as he was not unhappy4 ,from that moment she became perfectly resigned and cheerful4 ,the ,american case--,i have omitted to write down the name of the place1 and forget it--was that of a mother and son4 ,she was also a highly respectable person1 and was described to me as perfectly trustworthy by one who knew her4 ,she was a widow1 and had one son1 to whom she was extremely attached4 ,he however disappeared one day1 and she never could learn what had become of him2 she always said that if she did but know his fate she should be happier4 ,at length1 when he had been dead a considerable time1 her attention was one day1 while reading1 attracted by a slight noise1 which induced her to look round1 and she saw her son1 dripping with water1 and with a sad expression of countenance4 ,the features1 however1 presently relaxed1 and they assumed a more pleasing aspect before he disappeared4 ,from that time she ceased to grieve1 and it was subsequently ascertained that the young man had run away to sea2 but no more was known of him4 ,certain it was1 however1 that she attributed her recovered tranquillity to having seen her son as above narrated4 ,a lady with whom ,i am acquainted was one day1 when a girl1 standing at the top of the stairs1 with two others1 discussing their games1 when they each suddenly exclaimed3 8,who's that80 ,there was a fourth among them--a girl in a checked pinafore2 but she was gone again4 ,they had all seen her4 ,one day a younger brother1 in the same house1 was playing with a whip1 when he suddenly laughed at something1 and cried 8,take that20 and described having seen the same girl4 ,this led to some inquiry1 and it was said that such a girl as they described had lived in that house1 and had died from the bite of a mad dog2 or1 rather1 had been smothered between two feather-beds3 but whether that was actually done1 or was only a report1 ,i can not say4 ,supposing this to have been no illusion1 and ,i really can not see how it could be one1 the memory of past sports and pleasures seems to have so survived as to have attracted the young soul1 prematurely cut off1 to the spot where the same sports and pleasures were being enjoyed by the living4 ,a maid-servant in one of the midland counties of ,england1 being up early one morning1 heard her name called in a voice that seemed to be her brother's1 a sailor then at sea2 and running up1 she found him standing in the hall2 he said he was come from afar1 and was going again1 and mentioned some other things2 when her mistress1 hearing voices1 called to know who she was talking to3 she said it was her brother from sea4 ,after speaking to her for some time1 she suddenly lost sight of him1 and found herself alone4 ,amazed and puzzled1 she told her mistress what had happened1 who being led thus to suspect the kind of visiter it was1 looked out of the window to ascertain if there were any marks of footsteps1 the ground being covered with snow4 ,there were1 however1 none1--and it was therefore clear that nobody could have entered the house4 ,intelligence afterward arrived of the young man's death4 ,this last is a case of wraith1 but a more complicated one1 from the circumstance of speech being superadded4 ,but this is not by any means an isolated particular2 there are many such4 ,the author of the book called 8,accredited ,ghost ,stories0--whose name ,i at this moment forget1 and ,i have not the book at hand--gives1 on his own authority1 the following circumstance1 professing to be acquainted with the parties4 ,a company were visiting ,york cathedral1 when a gentleman and lady1 who had detached themselves from the rest1 observed an officer wearing a naval uniform approaching them2 he walked quickly1 saying to the lady1 as he passed1 8,there is another world40 ,the gentleman1 seeing her greatly agitated1 pursued the stranger1 but lost sight of him1 and nobody had seen such a person but themselves4 ,on returning to his companion1 she told him that it was her brother1 who was then abroad with his ship1 and with whom she had frequently held discussions as to whether there was or was not a future life4 ,the news of the young man's death shortly reached the family4 ,in this case the brother must have been dead2 the spirit must have passed out of this world into that other1 the existence of which he came to certify4 ,this is one of those cases which--happening not long ago--leads one especially to regret the want of moral courage which prevents people giving up their names and avowing their experience4 ,the author of the abovementioned book1 from which ,i borrow this story1 says that the sheet had gone to the press with the real names of the parties attached1 but that he was requested to withdraw them1 as it would be painful to the family4 ,my view of this case is so different1 that1 had it occurred to myself1 ,i should have felt it my imperative duty to make it known and give every satisfaction to inquirers4 ,some years ago1 during the war1 when ,sir ,robert ,h4 ,e---- was in the ,netherlands1 he happened to be quartered with two other officers1 one of whom was despatched into ,holland on an expedition4 ,one night1 during his absence1 ,sir ,r4 ,h4 ,e---- awoke1 and1 to his great surprise1 saw this absent friend sitting on the bed which he used to occupy1 with a wound in his breast4 ,sir ,robert immediately awoke his companion1 who saw the spectre also4 ,the latter then addressed them1 saying that he had been that day killed in a skirmish1 and that he had died in great anxiety about his family1 wherefore he had come to communicate that there was a deed of much consequence to them deposited in the hands of a certain lawyer in ,london1 whose name and address he mentioned1 adding that this man's honesty was not to be altogether relied on4 ,he therefore requested that1 on their return to ,england1 they would go to his house and demand the deed1 but that1 if he denied the possession of it1 they were to seek it in a certain drawer in his office1 which he described to them4 ,the circumstance impressed them very much at the time1 but a long time had elapsed ere they reached ,england1 during which period they had gone through so many adventures and seen so many friends fall around them1 that this impression was considerably weakened1 insomuch that each went to his own home and his own pursuits without thinking of fulfilling the commission they had undertaken4 ,some time afterward1 however1 it happened that they both met in ,london1 and they then resolved to seek the street that had been named to them1 and ascertain if such a man lived there4 ,they found him1 requested an interview1 and demanded the deed1 the possession of which he denied2 but their eyes were upon the drawer that had been described to them1 where they asserted it to be1 and being there discovered1 it was delivered into their hands4 ,here1 also1 the soul had parted from the body1 while the memory of the past and an anxiety for the worldly prosperity1 of those left behind1 survived2 and we thus see that the condition of mind in which this person had died1 remained unchanged4 ,he was not indifferent to the worldly prosperity of his relatives1 and he found his own state rendered unhappy by the fear that they might suffer from the dishonesty of his agent4 ,it may here be naturally objected that hundreds of much-loved widows and orphans have been ruined by dishonest trustees and agents1 where no ghost came back to instruct them in the means of obviating the misfortune4 ,this is1 no doubt1 a very legitimate objection1 and one which it is very difficult to answer4 ,i must1 however1 repeat what ,i said before1 nature is full of exceptional cases1 while we know very little of the laws which regulate these exceptions2 but we may see a very good reason for the fact that such communications are the exception1 and not the rule2 for if they were the latter1 the whole economy of this earthly life would be overturned1 and its affairs must necessarily be conducted in a totally different manner to that which prevails at present4 ,what the effects of such an arrangement of nature would be1 had it pleased ,god to make it1 he alone knows2 but certain it is1 that man's freedom1 as a moral agent1 would be in a great degree abrogated1 were the barriers that impede our intercourse with the spiritual world removed4 ,it may be answered1 that this is an argument which may be directed against the fact of such appearances being permitted at all2 but that is a fallacious objection4 ,earthquakes and hurricanes are occasionally permitted1 which overthrow the work of man's hands for centuries2 but if these convulsions of nature were of every-day occurrence1 nobody would think it worth their while to build a house or cultivate the earth1 and the world would be a wreck and a wilderness4 ,the apparitions that do appear1 are not without their use to those who believe in them2 while there is too great an uncertainty attending the subject1 generally to allow of its ever being taken into consideration in mundane affairs4 ,the old1 so-called1 superstition of the people1 that a person's 8dying with something on his mind0 is one of the frequent causes of these revisitings1 seems1 like most other of their superstitions1 to be founded on experience4 ,i meet with many cases in which some apparently trivial anxiety1 or some frustrated communication1 prevents the uneasy spirit flinging off the bonds that bind it to the earth4 ,i could quote many examples characterized by this feature1 but will confine myself to two or three4 ,jung ,stilling gives a very curious one1 which occurred in the year #agdf1 and for the authenticity of which he vouches4 ,a gentleman of the name of ,dorrien1 of most excellent character and amiable disposition1 who was tutor in the ,carolina ,colleges1 at ,brunswick1 died there in that year2 and immediately previous to his death he sent to request an interview with another tutor1 of the name of ,hofer1 with whom he had lived on terms of friendship4 ,hofer obeyed the summons1 but came too late1 the dying man was already in the last agonies4 ,after a short time1 rumors began to circulate that ,herr ,dorrien had been seen by different persons about the college2 but as it was with the pupils that these rumors originated1 they were supposed to be mere fancies1 and no attention whatever was paid to them4 ,at length1 however1 in the month of ,october1 three months after the decease of ,herr ,dorrien1 a circumstance occurred that excited considerable amazement among the professors4 ,it formed part of the duty of ,hofer to go through the college every night1 between the hours of eleven and twelve1 for the purpose of ascertaining that all the scholars were in bed1 and that nothing irregular was going on among them4 ,on the night in question1 on entering one of the ante-rooms in the execution of this duty1 he saw1 to his great amazement1 ,herr ,dorrien1 seated1 in the dressing-gown and white cap he was accustomed to wear1 and holding the latter with his right hand1 in such a manner as to conceal the upper part of the face2 from the eyes to the chin1 however1 it was distinctly visible4 ,this unexpected sight naturally startled ,hofer1 but1 summoning resolution1 he advanced into the young men's chamber1 and1 having ascertained that all was in order1 closed the door2 he then turned his eyes again toward the spectre1 and there it sat as before1 whereupon he went up to it1 and stretched out his arm toward it2 but he was now seized with such a feeling of indescribable horror1 that he could scarcely withdraw his hand1 which became swollen to a degree that for some months he had no use of it4 ,on the following day he related this circumstance to the professor of mathematics1 ,oeder1 who of course treated the thing as a spectral illusion4 ,he1 however1 consented to accompany ,hofer on his rounds the ensuing night1 satisfied that he should be able either to convince him it was a mere phantasm1 or else a spectre of flesh and blood that was playing him a trick4 ,they accordingly went at the usual hour1 but no sooner had the professor set his foot in that same room1 than he exclaimed1 8,by ,heavens6 it is ,dorrien himself60 ,hofer1 in the meantime1 proceeded into the chamber as before1 in the pursuance of his duties1 and1 on his return1 they both contemplated the figure for some time2 neither of them had1 however1 the courage to address or approach it1 and finally quitted the room1 very much impressed1 and perfectly convinced that they had seen ,dorrien4 ,this incident soon got spread abroad1 and many people came in hopes of satisfying their own eyes of the fact1 but their pains were fruitless2 and even ,professor ,oeder1 who had made up his mind to speak to the apparition1 sought it repeatedly in the same place in vain4 ,at length1 he gave it up1 and ceased to think of it1 saying1 8,i have sought the ghost long enough2 if he has anything to say1 he must now seek me40 ,about a fortnight after this1 he was suddenly awakened1 between three and four o'clock in the morning1 by something moving in his chamber1 and on opening his eyes1 he beheld a shadowy form1 having the same appearance as the spectre1 standing in front of a press which was not more than two steps from his bed4 ,he raised himself1 and contemplated the figure1 the features of which he saw distinctly for some minutes1 till it disappeared4 ,on the following night he was awakened in the same manner1 and saw the figure as before1 with the addition that there was a sound proceeded from the door of the press1 as if somebody was leaning against it4 ,the spectre also stayed longer this time1 and ,professor ,oeder1 no doubt frightened and angry1 addressing it as an evil spirit1 bade it begone1 whereon it made gestures with its head and hands that alarmed him so much1 that he adjured it in the name of ,god to leave him1 which it did4 ,eight days now elapsed without any further disturbance1 but1 after that period1 the visits of the spirit were resumed1 and he was awakened by it repeatedly about three in the morning1 when it would advance from the press to the bed1 and hang its head over him in a manner so annoying1 that he started up and struck at it1 whereupon it would retire1 but presently advance again4 ,perceiving now1 that the countenance was rather placid and friendly than otherwise1 the professor at length addressed it1 and1 having reason to believe that ,dorrien had left some debts unpaid1 he asked him if that were the case1 upon which the spectre retreated some steps1 and seemed to place itself in an attitude of attention4 ,oeder reiterated the inquiry1 whereupon the figure drew its hand across its mouth1 in which the professor now observed a short pipe4 8,is it to the barber you are in debt80 he inquired4 ,the spectre slowly shook its head4 8,is it to the tobacconist1 then80 asked he1 the question being suggested by the pipe4 ,hereupon the form retreated1 and disappeared4 ,on the following day1 ,oeder narrated what had occurred to ,councillor ,erath1 one of the curators of the college1 and also to the sister of the deceased1 and arrangements were made for discharging the debt4 ,professor ,seidler1 of the same college1 now proposed to pass the night with ,oeder1 for the purpose of observing if the ghost came again1 which it did about five o'clock1 and awoke ,oeder as usual1 who awoke his companion1 but just then the form disappeared1 and ,seidler said he only saw something white4 ,they then both disposed themselves to sleep1 but presently ,seidler was aroused by ,oeder's starting up and striking out1 while he cried1 with a voice expressive of rage and horror1 8,begone6 ,you have tormented me long enough6 ,if you want anything of me1 say what it is1 or give me an intelligible sign1 and come here no more60 ,seidler heard all this1 though he saw nothing2 but as soon as ,oeder was somewhat appeased1 he told him that the figure had returned1 and not only approached the bed1 but stretched itself upon it4 ,after this1 ,oeder burned a light1 and had some one in the room every night4 ,he gained this advantage by the light1 that he saw nothing2 but about four o'clock1 he was generally awakened by noises in his room1 and other symptoms that satisfied him the ghost was there4 ,at length1 however1 this annoyance ceased also2 and trusting that his unwelcome guest had taken his leave1 he dismissed his bedfellow1 and dispensed with his light4 ,two nights passed quietly over2 on the third1 however1 the spectre returned2 but very perceptibly darker4 ,it now presented another sign1 or symbol1 which seemed to represent a picture1 with a hole in the middle1 through which it thrust its head4 ,oeder was now so little alarmed1 that he bade it express its wishes more clearly1 or approach nearer4 ,to these requisitions the apparition shook its head1 and then vanished4 ,this strange phenomenon recurred several times1 and even in the presence of another curator of the college2 but it was with considerable difficulty they discovered what the symbol was meant to convey4 ,they at length1 however1 found that ,dorrien just before his illness1 had obtained1 on trial1 several pictures for a magic lantern1 which had never been returned to their owner4 ,this was now done1 and from that time the apparition was neither seen nor heard again4 ,professor ,oeder made no secret of these circumstances2 he related them publicly in court and college2 he wrote the account to several eminent persons1 and declared himself ready to attest the facts upon his oath4 ,stilling1 who relates this story1 has been called superstitious2 he may be so2 but his piety and his honesty are above suspicion2 he says the facts are well known1 and that he can vouch for their authenticity2 and as he must have been a contemporary of the parties concerned1 he had1 doubtless1 good opportunities of ascertaining what foundation there was for the story4 ,it is certainly a very extraordinary one1 and the demeanor of the spirit as little like what we should have naturally apprehended as possible2 but1 as ,i have said before1 we have no right to pronounce any opinion on this subject1 except from experience1 and there are two arguments to be advanced in favor of this narration2 the one being1 that ,i can not imagine anybody setting about to invent a ghost-story1 would have introduced circumstances so apparently improbable and inappropriate2 and the other consisting in the fact1 that ,i have met with numerous relations1 coming from very opposite quarters1 which seem to corroborate the one in question4 ,with respect to the cause of the spectre's appearance1 ,jung ,stilling1 ,i think1 reasonably enough1 suggests that the poor man had intended to commission ,hofer to settle these little affairs for him1 but that delaying this duty too long1 his mind had been oppressed by the recollection of them in his last moments--he had carried his care with him1 and it bound him to the earth4 ,wherefore1 considering how many persons die with duties unperformed1 this anxiety to repair the neglect1 is not more frequently manifested1 we do not know2 some reasons we have already suggested as possible2 there may be others of which we can form no idea1 any more than we can solve the question1 why in some cases communication and even speech seems easy1 while in this instance1 the spirit was only able to convey its wishes by gestures and symbols4 ,its addressing itself to ,oeder instead of ,hofer1 probably arose from its finding communication with him less difficult2 the swelling of ,hofer's arm indicating that his physical nature was not adapted for this spiritual intercourse4 ,with respect to ,oeder's expedient of burning a light in his room1 in order to prevent his seeing this shadowy form1 we can comprehend1 that the figure would be discerned more easily on the dark ground of comparative obscurity1 and that clear light would render it invisible4 ,dr4 ,kerner mentions1 on one occasion1 that while sitting in an adjoining room1 with the door open1 he had seen a shadowy figure1 to whom his patient was speaking1 standing beside her bed2 and catching up a candle1 he had rushed toward it2 but as soon as he thus illuminated the chamber1 he could no longer distinguish it4 ,the ineffective and awkward attempts of this apparition to make itself understood1 are not easily to be reconciled to our ideas of a spirit1 while1 at the same time1 that which it could do1 and that which it could not--the powers it possessed and those it wanted--tend to throw some light on its condition4 ,as regards space1 we may suppose that1 in this instance1 what ,st4 ,martin said of ghosts in general1 may be applicable3 8,je ne crois pas aux revenants1 mais je crois aux restants20 that is1 he did not believe that spirits who had once quitted the earth returned to it1 but he believed that some did not quit it1 and thus1 as the somnambule mentioned in a former chapter said to me1 8,some are waiting and some are gone on before40 ,dorrien's uneasiness and worldly care chained him to the earth1 and he was a restant--but1 being a spirit1 he was inevitably inducted into some of the inherent properties of spirit2 matter to him was no impediment1 neither doors nor walls could keep him out2 he had the intuitive perception of whom he could most easily communicate with1 or he was brought into rapport with ,oeder by the latter's seeking him2 and he could either so act on ,oeder's constructive imagination as to enable it to project his own figure1 with the short pipe and the pictures1 or he could1 by the magical power of his will1 build up these images out of the constituents of the atmosphere4 ,the last seems the most probable1 because1 had the rapport with ,oeder1 or ,oeder's receptivity1 been sufficient to enable the spirit to act potently upon him1 it would have been also able to infuse into his mind the wishes it desired to convey1 even without speech1 for speech1 as a means of communication between spirits1 must be quite unnecessary4 ,even in spite of these dense bodies of ours1 we have great difficulty in concealing our thoughts from each other2 and the somnambule reads the thoughts of not only his magnetizer1 but of others with whom he is placed in rapport4 ,in cases where speech appears to be used by a spirit1 it is frequently not audible speech1 but only this transference of thought1 which appears to be speech from the manner in which the thought is borne in and enters the mind of the receiver2 but it is not through his ears1 but through his universal supplementary sense1 that he receives it2 and it is no more like what we mean by hearing1 than is the seeing of a clairvoyant1 or a spirit1 like our seeing by means of our bodily organs4 ,in those cases where the speech is audible to other persons1 we must suppose that the magical will of the spirit can1 by means of the atmosphere1 simulate these sounds as it can simulate others1 of which ,i shall have to treat by-and-by4 ,it is remarkable that1 in some instances1 this magical power seems to extend so far as to represent to the eye of the seer a form apparently so real1 solid1 and lifelike1 that it is not recognisable from the living man2 while in other cases the production of a shadowy figure seems to be the limit of its agency1 whether limited by its own faculty or the receptivity of its subject3 but we must be quite sure that the form is1 in either instance1 equally ethereal or immaterial4 ,and it will not be out of place here to refer to the standing joke of the skeptics1 about ghosts appearing in coats and waistcoats4 ,bentham thought he had settled the question for ever by that objection2 and ,i have heard it since frequently advanced by very acute persons2 but1 properly considered1 it has not the least validity4 ,whether or not the soul on leaving its earthly tabernacle finds itself at once clothed with that spiritual body which ,st4 ,paul refers to1 is what we can not know1 though it seems highly probable2 but if it be so1 we must be sure that this body resembles in its nature that fluent1 subtle kind of matter1 called by us imponderables1 which are capable of penetrating all substances2 and unless there be no visible body at all1 but only the will of a disembodied spirit acting upon one yet in the flesh 7in which case it were as easy to impress the imagination with a clothed figure as an unclothed one71 we must conclude that this ethereal flexible form1 whether permanent or temporary1 may be held together and retain its shape by the volition of the spirit1 as our bodies are held together by the principle of life that is in them2 and we see in various instances1 where the spectator has been bold enough to try the experiment1 that though the shadowy body was pervious to any substance passed through it1 its integrity was only momentarily interrupted1 and it immediately recovered its previous shape4 ,now1 as a spirit--provided there be no especial law to the contrary1 partial or universal1 absolute or otherwise1 governing the spiritual world--must be where its thoughts and wishes are1 just as we should be at the place we intently think of1 or desire1 if our solid bodies did not impede us1 so must a spirit appear as it is1 or as it conceives of itself4 ,morally1 it can only conceive of itself as it is1 good or bad1 light or dark2 but it may conceive of itself clothed as well as unclothed2 and if it can conceive of its former body1 it can equally conceive of its former habiliments1 and so represent them by its power of will to the eye1 or present them to the constructive imagination of the seer3 and it will be able to do this with a degree of distinctness proportioned to the receptivity of the latter1 or to the intensity of the rapport which exists between them4 ,now1 considered in this way1 the appearance of a spirit 8in its habit as it lived0 is no more extraordinary than the appearance of a spirit at all1 and it adds no complexity to the phenomenon4 ,if it appears at all in a recognisable form1 it must come naked or clothed3 the former1 to say the least of it1 would be much more frightful and shocking2 and if it be clothed1 ,i do not see what right we have to expect it shall be in a fancy costume1 conformable to our ideas 7which are no ideas at all7 of the other world2 nor why1 if it be endowed with the memory of the past1 it should not be natural to suppose it would assume the external aspect it wore during its earthly pilgrimage4 ,certain it is1 whether consistent with our notions or not1 all tradition seems to show that this is the appearance they assume2 and the very fact that on the first view of the case1 and until the question is philosophically considered1 the addition of a suit of clothes to the phenomenon not only renders its acceptance much more difficult1 but throws an air of absurdity and improbability on the whole subject1 furnishes a very strong argument in favor of the persuasion that this notion has been founded on experience1 and is not the result of either fancy or gratuitous invention4 ,the idea of spirits appearing like angels1 with wings1 c41 seems to be drawn from these relations in the ,bible1 when messengers were sent from ,god to man2 but those departed spirits are not angels1 though probably destined in the course of ages to become so3 in the meantime1 their moral state continues as when they quitted the body1 and their memories and affections are with the earth--and so1 earthly they appear1 more or less4 ,we meet with some instances in which bright spirits have been seen--protecting spirits1 for example1 who have shaken off their earth entirely1 clinging to it yet but by some holy affection or mission of mercy--and these appear1 not with wings1 which whenever seen are merely symbolical1 for we can not imagine they are necessary to the motion of a spirit1 but clothed in robes of light4 ,such appearances1 however1 seem much more rare than the others4 ,it will seem to many persons very inconsistent with their ideas of the dignity of a spirit that they should appear and act in the manner ,i have described1 and shall describe further2 and ,i have heard it objected that we can not suppose ,god would permit the dead to return merely to frighten the living1 and that it is showing him little reverence to imagine he would suffer them to come on such trifling errands1 or demean themselves in so undignified a fashion4 ,but ,god permits men of all degrees of wickedness1 and of every kind of absurdity1 to exist1 and to harass and disturb the earth1 while they expose themselves to its obloquy or its ridicule4 ,now1 as ,i have observed in a former chapter1 there is nothing more perplexing to us in regarding man as a responsible being1 than the degree to which we have reason to believe his moral nature is influenced by his physical organization2 but leaving this difficult question to be decided 7if ever it can be decided in this world7 by wiser heads than mine1 there is one thing of which we may rest perfectly assured1 namely1 that let the fault of an impure1 or vicious1 or even merely sensuous life1 lie where it will--whether it be the wicked spirit within1 or the ill-organized body without1 or a tertium quid of both combined--still the soul that has been a party to this earthly career1 must be soiled and deteriorated by its familiarity with evil2 and there seems much reason to believe that the dissolution of the connection between the soul and body produces far less change in the former than has been commonly supposed4 ,people generally think--if they think on the subject at all--that as soon as they are dead1 if they have lived tolerably virtuous lives1 or indeed been free from any great crimes1 they will immediately find themselves provided with wings1 and straightway fly up to some delightful place1 which they call heaven1 forgetting how unfit they are for heavenly fellowship2 and although ,i can not help thinking that the ,almighty has mercifully permitted occasional relaxations of the boundaries that separate the dead from the living1 for the purpose of showing us our error1 we are determined not to avail ourselves of the advantage4 ,i do not mean that these spirits--these revenants or restants--are special messengers sent to warn us3 ,i only mean that their occasionally 8revisiting the glimpses of the moon0 form the exceptional cases in a great general law of nature which divides the spiritual from the material world2 and that1 in framing this law1 these exceptions may have been designed for our benefit4 ,there are several stories extant in the ,english1 and a vast number in the ,german records1 which1 supposing them to be well founded--and ,i repeat1 that for many of them we have just as good evidence as for anything else we believe as hearsay or tradition--would go to confirm the fact that the spirits of the dead are sometimes disturbed by what appear to us very trifling cares4 ,i give the following case from ,dr4 ,kerner1 who says it was related to him by a very respectable man1 on whose word he can entirely rely3-- 8,i was10 said ,mr4 ,st4 ,s----1 of ,s----1 8the son of a man who had no fortune but his business1 in which he was ultimately successful4 ,at first1 however1 his means being narrow1 he was perhaps too anxious and inclined to parsimony2 so that when my mother1 careful housewife as she was1 asked him for money1 the demand generally led to a quarrel4 ,this occasioned her great uneasiness1 and having mentioned this characteristic of her husband to her father1 the old man advised her to get a second key made to the money-chest1 unknown to her husband1 considering this expedient allowable and even preferable to the destruction of their conjugal felicity1 and feeling satisfied that she would make no ill use of the power possessed4 ,my mother followed his advice1 very much to the advantage of all parties2 and nobody suspected the existence of this second key except myself1 whom she had admitted into her confidence4 8,two-and-twenty years my parents lived happily together1 when ,i1 being at the time about eighteen hours' journey from home1 received a letter from my father informing me that she was ill--that he hoped for her speedy amendment--but that if she grew worse he would send a horse to fetch me home to see her4 ,i was extremely busy at that time1 and therefore waited for further intelligence2 and as several days elapsed without any reaching me1 ,i trusted my mother was convalescent4 ,one night1 feeling myself unwell1 ,i had lain down on the bed with my clothes on to take a little rest4 ,it was between #aa and #ab o'clock1 and ,i had not been asleep1 when some one knocked at the door1 and my mother entered1 dressed as she usually was4 ,she saluted me1 and said3 #8,we shall see each other no more in this world3 but ,i have an injunction to give you4 ,i have given that key to ,r---- 7naming a servant we then had71 and she will remit it to you4 ,keep it carefully1 or throw it into the water1 but never let your father see it--it would trouble him4 ,farewell1 and walk virtuously through life4' ,and with these words she turned and quitted the room by the door1 as she had entered it4 ,i immediately arose1 called up my people1 expressed my apprehension that my mother was dead1 and1 without further delay1 started for home4 ,as ,i approached the house1 ,r----1 the maid1 came out and informed me that my mother had expired between the hours of #aa and #ab on the preceding night4 ,as there was another person present at the moment1 she said nothing further to me1 but she took an early opportunity of remitting me the key1 saying that my mother had given it to her just before she expired1 desiring her to place it in my hands1 with an injunction that ,i should keep it carefully1 or fling it into the water1 so that my father might never know anything about it4 ,i took the key1 kept it for some years1 and at length threw it into the ,lahne40 ,i am aware that it may be objected by those who believe in wraiths1 but in no other kind of apparition1 that this phenomenon occurred before the death of the lady1 and that it was produced by her energetic anxiety with regard to the key4 ,it may be so1 or it may not2 but1 at all events1 we see in this case how a comparatively trifling uneasiness may disturb a dying person1 and how1 therefore--if memory remains to them--they may carry it with them1 and seek1 by such means as they have1 to obtain relief from it4 ,a remarkable instance of anxiety for the welfare of those left behind1 is exhibited in the following story1 which ,i received from a member of the family concerned3 ,mrs4 ,r----1 a lady very well connected1 lost her husband when in the prime of life1 and found herself with fourteen children1 unprovided for4 ,the overwhelming nature of the calamity depressed her energies to such a degree as to render her incapable of those exertions which could alone redeem them from ruin4 ,the flood of misfortune seemed too strong for her1 and she yielded to it without resistance4 ,she had thus given way to despondency some time1 when one day1 as she was sitting alone1 the door opened1 and her mother1 who had been a considerable time dead1 entered the room and addressed her1 reproving her for this weak indulgence of useless sorrow1 and bidding her exert herself for the sake of her children4 ,from that period she threw off the depression1 set actively to work to promote the fortunes of her family1 and succeeded so well that they ultimately emerged from all their difficulties4 ,i asked the gentleman who related this circumstance to me whether he believed it4 ,he answered1 that he could only assure me that she herself affirmed the fact1 and that she avowedly attributed the sudden change in her character and conduct to this cause2--for his own part1 he did not know what to say1 finding it difficult to believe in the possibility of such a visit from the dead4 ,a somewhat similar instance is related by ,dr4 ,kerner1 which he says he received from the party himself1 a man of sense and probity4 ,this gentleman1 ,mr4 ,f----1 at an early age lost his mother4 ,two-and-twenty years afterward he formed an attachment to a young person1 whose hand he resolved to ask in marriage4 ,having one evening seated himself at his desk1 for the purpose of writing his proposal1 he was amazed1 on accidentally lifting his eyes from the paper1 to see his mother1 looking exactly as if alive1 seated opposite to him1 while she1 raising her finger with a warning gesture1 said3 8,do not that thing60 ,not the least alarmed1 ,mr4 ,f---- started up to approach her1 whereupon she disappeared4 ,being very much attached to the lady1 however1 he did not feel disposed to follow her counsel2 but having read the letter to his father1 who highly approved of the match and laughed at the ghost1 he returned to his chamber to seal it2 when1 while he was adding the superscription1 she again appeared as before and reiterated her injunction4 ,but love conquered2 the letter was despatched1 the marriage ensued1 and1 after ten years of strife and unhappiness1 was dissolved by a judicial process4 ,a remarkable circumstance occurred about forty years ago1 in the family of ,dr4 ,paulus1 at ,stuttgard4 ,the wife of the head of the family having died1 they1 with some of their connections1 were sitting at table a few days afterward1 in the room adjoining that in which the corpse lay2 suddenly the door of the latter apartment opened1 and the figure of the mother clad in white robes entered1 and1 saluting them as she passed1 walked slowly and noiselessly through the room1 and then disappeared again through the door by which she had entered4 ,the whole company saw the apparition2 but the father1 who was at that time quite in health1 died eight days afterward4 ,madame ,r---- had promised an old wood-cutter--who had a particular horror of dying in the poor-house1 because he knew his body would be given to the surgeons--that she would take care to see him properly interred4 ,the old man lived some years afterward1 and she had quite lost sight of him1 and indeed forgotten the circumstance1 when she was one night awakened by the sound of some one cutting wood in her bed-chamber2 and so perfect was the imitation1 that she heard1 every log flung aside as separated4 ,she started up1 exclaiming1 8,the old man must be dead60 and so it proved1--his last anxiety having been that ,madame ,r---- should remember her promise4 ,that our interest in whatever has much concerned us in this life accompanies us beyond the grave1 seems to be proved by many stories ,i meet with1 and the following is of undoubted authenticity3 ,some years ago1 a music-master died at ,erfert at the age of seventy4 ,he was a miser1 and had never looked with very friendly eyes on ,professor ,rinck1 the composer1 who he knew was likely to succeed to his classes4 ,the old man had lived and died in an apartment adjoining the class-room2 and the first day that ,rinck entered on his office1 while the scholars were singing ,aus der tiefe ruf ich dich1 which is a paraphrase of the ,de profundis1 he thought he saw1 through a hole or bull's eye in the door1 something moving about the inner chamber4 ,as the room was void of every kind of furniture1 and nobody could possibly be in it1 ,rinck looked more fixedly1 when he distinctly saw a shadow1 whose movements were accompanied by a strange rustling sound4 ,perplexed at the circumstance1 he told his pupils that on the following day he should require them to repeat the same choral4 ,they did so2 and while they were singing1 ,rinck saw a person walking backward and forward in the next room1 who frequently approached the hole in the door4 ,very much struck with so extraordinary a circumstance1 ,rinck had the choral repeated on the ensuing day1--and this time his suspicions were fully confirmed2 the old man1 his predecessor1 approaching the door1 and gazing steadfastly into the class-room4 8,his face10 said ,rinck--in relating the story to ,dr4 ,mainzer1 who has obligingly furnished it to me as entered in his journal at the time--8was of an ashy-gray4 ,the apparition10 he added1 8never more appeared to me1 although ,i frequently had the choral repeated40 8,i am no believer in ghost-stories10 he added1 8nor in the least superstitious2 nevertheless1 ,i can not help admitting that ,i have seen this3 it is impossible for me ever to doubt or to deny that which ,i know ,i saw40 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,future ,,that ,,awaits ,,us4 ,,in all ages of the world1 and in all parts of it1 mankind have earnestly desired to learn the fate that awaited them when they had 8shuffled off this mortal coil20 and those pretending to be their instructors have built up different systems which have stood in the stead of knowledge1 and more or less satisfied the bulk of the people4 ,the interest on this subject is1 at the present period1 in the most highly civilized portions of the globe1 less than it has been at any preceding one4 ,the great proportion of us live for this world alone1 and think very little of the next3 we are in too great a hurry of pleasure or business to bestow any time on a subject of which we have such vague notions--notions so vague1 that1 in short1 we can scarcely by any effort of the imagination bring the idea home to ourselves2 and when we are about to die1 we are seldom in a situation to do more than resign ourselves to what is inevitable1 and blindly meet our fate2 while1 on the other hand1 what is generally called the religious world is so engrossed by its struggles for power and money1 or by its sectarian disputes and enmities1 and so narrowed and circumscribed by dogmatic orthodoxies1 that it has neither inclination nor liberty to turn back or look around1 and endeavor to gather up from past records and present observation such hints as are now and again dropped in our path1 to give us an intimation of what the truth may be4 ,the rationalistic age1 too1 out of which we are only just emerging1 and which succeeded one of gross superstition1 having settled1 beyond appeal1 that there never was such a thing as a ghost--that the dead never do come back to tell us the secrets of their prison-house1 and that nobody believes such idle tales but children and old women--seemed to have shut the door against the only channel through which any information could be sought4 ,revelation tells us very little on this subject--reason can tell us nothing2 and if ,nature is equally silent1 or if we are to be deterred from questioning her from the fear of ridicule1 there is certainly no resource left us but to rest contented in our ignorance1 and each wait till the awful secret is disclosed to ourselves4 ,a great many things have been pronounced untrue and absurd1 and even impossible1 by the highest authorities of the age in which they lived1 which have afterward1 and indeed within a very short period1 been found to be both possible and true4 ,i confess myself1 for one1 to have no respect whatever for these dogmatic denials and affirmations1 and ,i am quite of opinion that vulgar incredulity is a much more contemptible thing than vulgar credulity4 ,we know very little of what is1 and still less of what may be2 and till a thing has been proved1 by induction1 logically impossible1 we have no right whatever to pronounce that it is so4 ,as ,i have said before1 a priori conclusions are perfectly worthless2 and the sort of investigation that is bestowed upon subjects of the class of which ,i am treating1 something worse--inasmuch as they deceive the timid and the ignorant1 and that very numerous class which pins its faith on authority and never ventures to think for itself1 by an assumption of wisdom and knowledge1 which1 if examined and analyzed1 would very frequently prove to be nothing more respectable than obstinate prejudice and rash assertion4 ,for my own part1 ,i repeat1 ,i insist upon nothing4 ,the opinions ,i have formed1 from the evidence collected1 may be quite erroneous2 if so1 as ,i seek only the truth1 ,i shall be glad to be undeceived1 and shall be quite ready to accept a better explanation of these facts1 whenever it is offered to me3 but it is in vain to tell me that this explanation is to be found in what is called imagination1 or in a morbid state of the nerves1 or an unusual excitement of the organs of color and form1 or in imposture2 or in all these together4 ,the existence of all such sources of error and delusion ,i am far from denying1 but ,i find instances that it is quite impossible to reduce under any one of those categories1 as we at present understand them4 ,the multiplicity of these instances1 too--for1 not to mention the large number that are never made known or carefully concealed1 if ,i were to avail myself liberally of cases already recorded in various works1 many of which ,i know1 and many others ,i hear of as existing1 but which ,i can not conveniently get access to1 ,i might fill volumes 7,german literature abounds in them7--the number of the examples1 ,i repeat1 even on the supposition that they are not facts1 would of itself form the subject of a very curious physiological or psychological inquiry4 ,if so many people in respectable situations of life1 and in apparently a normal state of health1 are capable of either such gross impostures1 or the subjects of such extraordinary spectral illusions1 it would certainly be extremely satisfactory to learn something of the conditions that induce these phenomena in such abundance2 and all ,i expect from my book at present is1 to induce a suspicion that we are not quite so wise as we think ourselves2 and that it might be worth while to inquire a little seriously into reports1 which may perchance turn out to have a deeper interest for us than all those various questions1 public and private1 put together1 with which we are daily agitating ourselves4 ,i have alluded1 in an earlier part of this work1 to the belief entertained by the ancients that the souls of men1 on being disengaged from the bodies1 passed into a middle state1 called ,hades1 in which their portions seemed to be neither that of complete happiness nor of insupportable misery4 ,they retained their personality1 their human form1 their memory of the past1 and their interest in those that had been dear to them on earth4 ,communications were occasionally made by the dead to the living3 they mourned over their duties neglected and their errors committed2 many of their mortal feelings1 passions1 and propensities1 seemed to survive2 and they sometimes sought to repair1 through the instrumentality of the living1 the injuries they had formerly inflicted4 ,in short1 death was merely a transition from one condition of life to another2 but in this latter state1 although we do not see them condemned to undergo any torments1 we perceive that they are not happy4 ,there are1 indeed1 compartments in this dark region3 there is ,tartarus for the wicked1 and the ,elysian fields for the good1 but they are comparatively thinly peopled4 ,it is in the mid-region that these pale shades abound1 consistently with the fact that here on earth1 moral as well as intellectual mediocrity is the rule1 and extremes of good or evil the exceptions4 ,with regard to the opinion entertained of a future state by the ,hebrews1 the ,old ,testament gives us very little information2 but what glimpses we do obtain of it appear to exhibit notions analogous to those of the heathen nations1 inasmuch as that the personality and the form seem to be retained1 and the possibility of these departed spirits revisiting the earth and holding commune with the living is admitted4 ,the request of the rich man1 also1 that ,lazarus might be sent to warn his brethren1 yet alive1 of his own miserable condition1 testifies to the existence of these opinions2 and it is worthy of remark that the favor is denied1 not because its performance is impossible1 but because the mission would be unavailing--a prediction which1 it appears to me1 time has singularly justified4 ,altogether1 the notion that in the state entered upon after we leave this world1 the personality and form are retained1 that these shades sometimes revisit the earth1 and that the memory of the past still survives1 seems to be universal2 for it is found to exist among all people1 savage and civilized3 and if not founded on observation and experience1 it becomes difficult to account for such unanimity on a subject which ,i think1 speculatively considered1 would not have been productive of such results2 and one proof of this is1 that those who reject such testimony and tradition as we have in regard to it1 and rely only on their own understandings1 appear to be pretty uniformly led to form opposite conclusions4 ,they can not discern the mode of such a phenomenon2 it is open to all sorts of scientific objections1 and the cui bono sticks in their teeth4 ,this position being admitted1 as ,i think it must be1 we have but one resource left1 whereby to account for the universality of this persuasion--which is1 that in all periods and places1 both mankind and womankind1 as well in health as in sickness1 have been liable to a series of spectral illusions of a most extraordinary and complicated nature1 and bearing such a remarkable similarity to each other in regard to the objects supposed to be seen or heard1 that they have been universally led to the same erroneous interpretation of the phenomenon4 ,it is manifestly not impossible that this may be the case2 and if it be so1 it becomes the business of physiologists to inquire into the matter1 and give us some account of it4 ,in the meantime1 we may be permitted to take the other view of the question1 and examine what probabilities seem to be in its favor4 ,when the body is about to die1 that which can not die1 and which1 to spare words1 ,i will call ,,the ,,soul1 departs from it--whither8 ,we do not know3 but1 in the first place1 we have no reason to believe that the space destined for its habitation is far removed from the earth1 since1 knowing nothing about it1 we are equally entitled to suppose the contrary2 and1 in the next1 that which we call distance is a condition that merely regards material objects1 and of which a spirit is quite independent1 just as our thoughts are1 which can travel from here to ,china1 and back again1 in a second of time4 ,well1 then1 supposing this being to exist somewhere--and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the souls of the inhabitants of each planet continue to hover within the sphere of that planet1 to which1 for anything we can tell1 they may be attached by a magnetic attraction--supposing it to find itself in space1 free of the body1 endowed with the memory of the past1 and consequently with a consciousness of its own deserts1 able to perceive that which we do not ordinarily perceive1 namely1 those who have passed into a similar state with itself--will it not naturally seek its place among those spirits which most resemble itself1 and with whom1 therefore1 it must have the most affinity8 ,on earth1 the good seek the good1 and the wicked the wicked3 and the axiom that 8like associates with like10 we can not doubt will be as true hereafter as now4 8,in my ,father's house there are many mansions10 and our intuitive sense of what is fit and just must needs assure us that this is so4 ,there are too many degrees of moral worth and of moral unworth among mankind1 to permit of our supposing that justice could be satisfied by an abrupt division into two opposite classes4 ,on the contrary1 there must be infinite shades of desert2 and1 as we must consider that that which a spirit enters into on leaving the body is not so much a place as a condition1 so there must be as many degrees of happiness or suffering as there are individuals1 each carrying with him his own heaven or hell4 ,for it is a vulgar notion to imagine that heaven and hell are places2 they are states2 and it is in ourselves we must look for both4 ,when we leave the body1 we carry them with us3 8,as the tree falls1 so it shall lie40 ,the soul which here has wallowed in wickedness or been sunk in sensuality1 will not be suddenly purified by the death of the body3 its moral condition remains what its earthly sojourn has trained it to1 but its means of indulging its propensities are lost4 ,if it has had no godly aspirations here1 it will not be drawn to ,god there2 and if it has so bound itself to the body that it has known no happiness but that to which the body ministered1 it will be incapable of happiness when deprived of that enjoyment4 ,here we see at once what a variety of conditions must necessarily ensue--how many comparatively negative states there must be between those of positive happiness or positive misery6 ,we may thus conceive how a soul1 on entering upon this new condition1 must find its own place or state2 if its thoughts and aspirations here have been heavenward1 and its pursuits noble1 its conditions will be heavenly4 ,the contemplation of ,god's works1 seen not as by our mortal eyes1 but in their beauty and their truth and ever-glowing sentiments of love and gratitude--and1 for aught we know1 good offices to souls in need--would constitute a suitable heaven or happiness for such a being2 an incapacity for such pleasures1 and the absence of all others1 would constitute a negative state1 in which the chief suffering would consist in mournful regrets and a vague longing for something better1 which the untrained soul1 that never lifted itself from the earth1 knows not how to seek2 while malignant passions and unquenchable desires would constitute the appropriate hell of the wicked2 for we must remember1 that although a spirit is independent of those physical laws which are the conditions of matter1 the moral law1 which is indestructible1 belongs peculiarly to it--that is1 to the spirit--and is inseparable from it4 ,we must next remember1 that this earthly body we inhabit is more or less a mask1 by means of which we conceal from each other those thoughts which1 if constantly exposed1 would unfit us for living in community2 but when we die1 this mask falls away1 and the truth shows nakedly3 there is no more disguise2 we appear as we are--spirits of light1 or spirits of darkness2--and there can be no difficulty1 ,i should think1 in conceiving this1 since we know that even our present opaque and comparatively inflexible features1 in spite of all efforts to the contrary1 will be the index of the mind2 and that the expression of the face is gradually moulded to the fashion of the thoughts4 ,how much more must this be the case with the fluent and diaphanous body which we expect is to succeed the fleshly one6 ,thus1 ,i think1 we have arrived at forming some conception of the state that awaits us hereafter3 the indestructible moral law fixes our place or condition2 affinity governs our associations2 and the mask under which we conceal ourselves having fallen away1 we appear to each other as we are2--and ,i must here observe1 that in this last circumstance must be comprised one very important element of happiness or misery2 for the love of the pure spirits for each other will be for ever excited1 by simply beholding that beauty and brightness which will be the inalienable expression of their goodness2--while the reverse will be the case with the spirits of darkness2 for no one loves wickedness1 in either themselves or others1 however we may practise it4 ,we must also understand1 that the words 8dark0 and 8light0--which1 in this world of appearance1 we use metaphorically to express good and evil--must be understood literally when speaking of that other world where everything will be seen as it is4 ,goodness is truth1 and truth is light--and wickedness is falsehood1 and falsehood is darkness2 and so it will be seen to be4 ,those who have not the light of truth to guide them1 will wander darkly through this valley of the shadow of death2 those in whom the light of goodness shines will dwell in the light1 which is inherent in themselves4 ,the former will be in the kingdom of darkness--the latter in the kingdom of light4 ,all the records existing of the blessed spirits that have appeared1 ancient or modern1 exhibit them as robed in light1 while their anger or sorrow is symbolized by their darkness4 ,now1 there appears to me nothing incomprehensible in this view of the future2 on the contrary1 it is the only one which ,i ever found myself capable of conceiving or reconciling with the justice and mercy of our ,creator4 ,he does not punish us--we punish ourselves3 we have built up a heaven or a hell to our own liking1 and we carry it with us4 ,the fire that for ever burns without consuming1 is the fiery evil in which we have chosen our part2 and the heaven in which we shall dwell1 will be the heavenly peace which will dwell in us4 ,we are our own judges and our own chastisers4 ,and here ,i must say a few words on the subject of that apparently 7to us7 preternatural memory which is developed under certain circumstances1 and to which ,i alluded in a former chapter4 ,every one will have heard that persons who have been drowned and recovered1 have had--in what would have been their last moments1 if no means had been used to revive them--a strange vision of the past1 in which their whole life seemed to float before them in review2 and ,i have heard of the same phenomenon taking place1 in moments of impending death1 in other forms4 ,now1 as it is not during the struggle for life1 but immediately before insensibility ensues1 that this vision occurs1 it must be the act of a moment2 and this renders incomprehensible to us what is said by the seeress of ,prevorst1 and other somnambules of the highest order1 namely1 that the instant the soul is freed from the body1 it sees its whole earthly career in a single sign3 it knows that it is good or evil1 and pronounces its own sentence4 ,the extraordinary memory occasionally exhibited in sickness1 where the link between the soul and the body is probably loosened1 shows us an adumbration of this faculty4 ,but this self-pronounced sentence we are led to hope is not final2 nor does it seem consistent with the love and mercy of ,god that it should be so4 ,there must be few1 indeed1 who leave this earth fit for heaven2 for1 although the immediate frame of mind in which dissolution takes place is probably very important1 it is surely a pernicious error1 encouraged by jail chaplains and philanthropists1 that a late repentance and a few parting prayers can purify a soul sullied by years of wickedness4 ,would we at once receive such a one into our intimate communion and love8 ,should we not require time for the stains of vice to be washed away and habits of virtue to be formed8 ,assuredly we should6 ,and how can we imagine that the purity of heaven is to be sullied by that approximation which the purity of earth would forbid8 ,it would be cruel to say1 and irrational to think1 that this late repentance is of no avail2 it is doubtless so far of avail1 that the straining upward and the heavenly aspirations of the parting soul are carried with it1 so that when it is free1 instead of choosing the darkness it will flee to as much light as is in itself1 and be ready1 through the mercy of ,god and the ministering of brighter spirits1 to receive more4 ,but in this case1 as also in the innumerable instances of those who die in what may be called a negative state1 the advance must be progressive2 though1 wherever the desire exists1 ,i must believe that this advance is possible4 ,if not1 wherefore did ,christ1 after being 8put to death in the flesh10 go and 8preach to the spirits in prison08 ,it would have been a mockery to preach salvation to those who had no hope2 nor would they1 having no hope1 have listened to the preacher4 ,i think these views are at once cheering1 encouraging1 and beautiful2 and ,i can not but believe1 that were they more generally entertained and more intimately conceived1 they would be very beneficial in their effects4 ,as ,i have said before1 the extremely vague notions people have of a future life prevent the possibility of its exercising any great influence upon the present4 ,the picture1 on one side1 is too revolting and inconsistent with our ideas of ,divine goodness to be deliberately accepted2 while1 with regard to the other1 our feelings somewhat resemble those of a little girl ,i once knew1 who1 being told by her mother what was to be the reward of goodness if she were so happy as to reach heaven1 put her finger in her eye and began to cry1 exclaiming1 8,oh1 mamma1 how tired ,i shall be singing60 ,the question which will now naturally arise1 and which ,i am bound to answer1 is1 how have these views been formed8 and what is the authority for them8 ,and the answer ,i have to make will startle many minds when ,i say1 that they have been gathered from two sources2 first and chiefly from the state in which those spirits appear to be1 and sometimes avow themselves to be1 who1 after quitting the earth1 return to it and make themselves visible to the living2 and1 secondly1 from the revelations of numerous somnambules of the highest order1 which entirely conform in all cases1 not only with the revelations of the dead1 but with each other4 ,i do not mean to imply1 when ,i say this1 that ,i consider the question finally settled as to whether somnambules are really clear-seers or only visionaries2 nor that ,i have by any means established the fact that the dead do sometimes actually return2 but ,i am obliged to beg the question for the moment1 since1 whether these sources be pure or impure1 it is from them the information has been collected4 ,it is true that these views are extremely conformable with those entertained by ,plato and his school of philosophers1 and also with those of the mystics of a later age2 but the latter certainly1 and the former probably1 built up their systems on the same foundation2 and ,i am very far from using the term mystics in the opprobrious1 or at least contemptuous1 tone in which it has of late years been uttered in this country2 for1 although abounding in errors1 as regarded the concrete1 and although their want of an inductive methodology led them constantly astray in the region of the real1 they were sublime teachers in that of the ideal2 and they seem to have been endowed with a wonderful insight into this veiled department of our nature4 ,it may be here objected1 that we only admire their insight1 because1 being in entire ignorance of the subject of it1 we accept raving for revelation2 and that no weight can be attached to the conformity of later disclosures with theirs1 since they have no doubt been founded upon them4 ,as to the ignorance1 it is admitted2 and1 simply looking at their views1 as they stand1 they have nothing to support them but their sublimity and consistency2 but1 as regards the value of the evidence afforded by conformity1 it rests on very different grounds2 for the reporters from whom we collect our intelligence are1 with very few exceptions1 those of whom we may safely predicate1 that they were wholly unacquainted with the systems promulgated by the ,platonic philosophers1 or the mystics either1 nor1 in most instances1 had ever heard of their names2 for1 as regards that peculiar somnambulic state which is here referred to1 the subjects of it appear to be generally very young people of either sex1 and chiefly girls2 and1 as regards ghost-seeing1 although this phenomenon seems to have no connection with the age of the seer1 yet it is not usually from the learned or the cultivated that we collect our cases1 inasmuch as the apprehension of ridicule on the one hand1 and the fast hold the doctrine of spectral illusions has taken of them on the other1 prevent their believing in their own senses1 or producing any evidence they might have to furnish4 ,and here will be offered another subtle objection1 namely1 that the testimony of such witnesses as ,i have above described is perfectly worthless2 but this ,i deny4 ,the somnambulic states ,i allude to1 are such as have been developed1 not artificially1 but naturally2 and often1 under very extraordinary nervous diseases1 accompanied with catalepsy1 and various symptoms far beyond feigning4 ,such cases are rare1 and1 in this country1 seem to have been very little observed1 for doubtless they must occur1 and when they do occur they are very carefully concealed by the families of the patient1 and not followed up or investigated as a psychological phenomenon by the physician2 for it is to be observed that1 without questioning1 no revelations are made2 they are not1 as far as ,i know1 ever spontaneous4 ,i have heard of two such cases in this country1 both occurring in the higher classes1 and both patients being young ladies2 but1 although surprising phenomena were exhibited1 interrogation was not permitted1 and the particulars were never allowed to transpire4 ,no doubt there are examples of error and examples of imposture1 so there are in everything where room is to be found for them2 and ,i am quite aware of the propensity of hysterical patients to deceive1 but it is for the judicious observers to examine the genuineness of each particular instance2 and it is perfectly certain and well established by the ,german physiologists and psychologists1 who have carefully studied the subject1 that there are many above all suspicion4 ,provided1 then1 that the case be genuine1 it remains to be determined how much value is to be attached to the revelations1 for they may be quite honestly delivered1 and yet be utterly worthless--the mere ravings of a disordered brain2 and it is here that conformity becomes important1 for ,i can not admit the objection that the simple circumstance of the patients being diseased invalidates their evidence so entirely as to annul even the value of their unanimity1 because1 although it is not logically impossible that a certain state of nervous derangement should occasion all somnambules1 of the class in question1 to make similar answers1 when interrogated regarding a subject of which1 in their normal condition1 they know nothing1 and on which they have never reflected1 and that these answers should be not only consistent1 but disclosing far more elevated views than are evolved by minds of a very superior order which have reflected on it very deeply--,i say1 although this is not logically impossible1 it will assuredly be found1 by most persons1 an hypothesis of much more difficult acceptance than the one ,i propose2 namely1 that whatever be the cause of the effect1 these patients are in a state of clear-seeing1 wherein they have 8more than mortal knowledge20 that is1 more knowledge than mortals possess in their normal condition3 and it must not be forgotten1 that we have some facts confessed by all experienced physicians and physiologists1 even in this country1 proving that there are states of disease in which preternatural faculties have been developed1 such as no theory has yet satisfactorily accounted for4 ,but ,dr4 ,passavent1 who has written a very philosophical work on the subject of vital magnetism and clear-seeing1 asserts1 that it is an error to imagine that the ecstatic condition is merely the product of disease4 ,he says1 that it has sometimes exhibited itself in persons of very vigorous constitutions1 instancing ,joan of ,arc1 a woman1 whom historians have little understood1 and whose memory ,voltaire's detestable poem has ridiculed and degraded1 but who was1 nevertheless1 a great psychological phenomenon4 ,the circumstance1 too1 that phenomena of this kind are more frequently developed in women than in men1 and that they are merely the consequence of her greater nervous irritability1 has been made another objection to them--an objection1 however1 which ,dr4 ,passavent considers founded on ignorance of the essential difference between the sexes1 which is not merely a physical but a psychological one4 ,man is more productive than receptive4 ,in a state of perfectibility1 both attributes would be equally developed in him2 but in this terrestrial life1 only imperfect phases of the entire sum of the soul's faculties are so4 ,mankind are but children1 male or female1 young or old2 of man1 in his totality1 we have but faint adumbrations1 here and there4 ,thus the ecstatic woman will be more frequently a seer1 instinctive and intuitive2 man1 a doer and a worker2 and as all genius is a degree of ecstasy or clear-seeing1 we perceive the reason wherefore in man it is more productive than in woman1 and that our greatest poets and artists1 in all kinds1 are of the former sex1 and even the most remarkable women produce but little in science or art2 while on the other hand1 the feminine instinct1 and tact1 and intuitive seeing of truth1 are frequently more sure than the ripe and deliberate judgment of man2 and it is hence that solitude and such conditions as develop the passive or receptive at the expense of the active1 tend to produce this state1 and to assimilate the man more to the nature of the woman2 while in her they intensify these distinguishing characteristics2 and this is also the reason that simple and child-like people and races are the most frequent subjects of these phenomena4 ,it is only necessary to read ,mozart's account of his own moments of inspiration1 to comprehend not only the similarity1 but the positive identity1 of the ecstatic state with the state of genius in activity4 8,when all goes well with me10 he says--8when ,i am in a carriage1 or walking1 or when ,i can not sleep at night1 the thoughts come streaming in upon me most fluently3 whence1 or how1 is more than ,i can tell4 ,what comes1 ,i hum to myself as it proceeds4 ,then follow the counterpoint and the clang of the different instruments2 and1 if ,i am not disturbed1 my soul is fixed1 and the thing grows greater1 and broader1 and clearer2 and ,i have it all in my head1 even when the piece is a long one2 and ,i see it like a beautiful picture--not hearing the different parts in succession as they must be played1 but the whole at once4 ,that is the delight6 ,the composing and the making is like a beautiful and vivid dream2 but this hearing of it is the best of all40 ,what is this but clear-seeing1 backward and forward1 the past and the future8 ,the one faculty is not a whit more surprising and incomprehensible than the other1 to those who possess neither2 only we see the material product of one1 and therefore believe in it4 ,but1 as ,passavent justly observes1 these coruscations belong not to genius exclusively--they are latent in all men4 ,in the highly-gifted this divine spark becomes a flame to light the world withal2 but even in the coarsest and least-developed organizations1 it may and does momentarily break forth4 ,the germ of the highest spiritual life is in the rudest1 according to its degree1 as well as in the highest form of man we have yet seen2--he is but a more imperfect type of the race1 in whom this spiritual germ has not unfolded itself4 ,then1 with respect to our second source of information1 ,i am quite aware that it is equally difficult to establish its validity2 but there are a few arguments in our favor here1 too4 ,in the first place1 as ,dr4 ,johnson says1 though all reason is against us1 all tradition is for us2 and this conformity of tradition is surely of some weight1 since ,i think it would be difficult to find any parallel instance of a universal tradition that was entirely without a foundation in truth2 for with respect to witchcraft1 the belief in which is equally universal1 we now know that the phenomena were generally facts1 although the interpretations put upon them were fables4 ,it may certainly be objected that this universal belief in ghosts only arises from the universal prevalence of spectral illusions2 but if so1 as ,i have before observed1 these spectral illusions become a subject of very curious inquiry2 for1 in the first place1 they frequently occur under circumstances the least likely to induce them1 and to people whom we should least expect to find the victims of them2 and1 in the second1 there is a most remarkable conformity here1 too1 not only between the individual cases occurring among all classes of persons1 who had never exhibited the slightest tendency to nervous derangement or somnambulism1 but also between these and the revelations of the somnambules4 ,in short1 it seems to me that life is reduced to a mere phantasmagoria1 if spectral illusions are so prevalent1 so complicated in their nature1 and so delusive as they must be if all the instances of ghost-seeing that come before us are to be referred to that theory4 ,how numerous these are1 ,i confess myself not to have had the least idea1 till my attention was directed to the inquiry2 and that these instances have been equally frequent in all periods and places we can not doubt1 from the variety of persons that have given in their adhesion1 or at least that have admitted1 as ,addison did1 that he could not refuse the universal testimony in favor of the reappearance of the dead1 strengthened by that of many credible persons with whom he was acquainted4 ,indeed1 the testimony in favor of the facts has been at all periods too strong to be wholly rejected2 so that even the materialists1 like ,lucretius and the elder ,pliny1 find themselves obliged to acknowledge them2 while1 on the other hand1 the extravagant admissions that are demanded of us by those who endeavor to explain them away1 prove that their disbelief rests on no more solid foundation than their own prejudices4 ,i acknowledge all the difficulty of establishing the facts--such difficulties as indeed encompass few other branches of inquiry2 but ,i maintain that the position of the opponents is still worse1 although1 by their high tone and contemptuous laugh1 they assume to have taken up one that1 being fortified by reason1 is quite impregnable1 forgetting that the wisdom of man is pre-eminently 8foolishness before ,god10 when it wanders into this region of unknown things2--forgetting1 also1 that they are just serving this branch of inquiry1 as their predecessors1 whom they laughed at1 did physiology2 concocting their systems out of their own brains1 instead of the responses of nature--and with still more rashness and presumption1 this department of her kingdom being more inaccessible1 more incapable of demonstration1 and more entirely beyond our control2 for these spirits will not 8come when we do call them20--and ,i confess it often surprises me to hear the very shallow nonsense that very clever men talk upon the subject1 and the inefficient arguments they use to disprove what they know nothing about4 ,i am quite conscious that the facts ,i shall adduce are open to controversy3 ,i can bring forward no evidence that will satisfy a scientific mind2 but neither are my opponents a whit better fortified4 ,all ,i do hope to establish is1 not a proof1 but a presumption2 and the conviction ,i desire to awaken in people's minds is1 not that these things are so1 but that they may be so1 and that it is well worth our while to inquire whether they are or not4 ,it will be seen that these views of a future state are extremely similar to those of ,isaac ,taylor1 as suggested in his physical theory of another life--at least1 as far as he has entered upon the subject2--and it is natural that they should be so1 because he seems also to have been a convert to the opinion that 8the dead do sometimes break through the boundaries that hem in the ethereal crowds2 and if so1 as if by trespass1 may in single instances infringe upon the ground of common corporeal life40 ,let us now fancy this dispossessed soul entering on its new career1 amazed1 and no more able than when it was in the body to accommodate itself at once to conditions of existence for which it was unprepared4 ,if its aspirations had previously been heavenward1 these conditions would not be altogether new1 and it would speedily find itself at home in a sphere in which it had dwelt before2 for1 as ,i have formerly said1 a spirit must be where its thoughts and affections are1 and the soul1 whose thoughts and affections had been directed to heaven1 would only awaken after death into a more perfect and unclouded heaven4 ,but imagine the contrary of all this4 ,conceive what this awakening must be to an earth-bound spirit--to one altogether unprepared for its new home--carrying no light within it--floating in the dim obscure--clinging to the earth1 where all its affections were garnered up3 for where its treasure is1 there shall it be also4 ,it will find its condition evil1 more or less1 according to the degree of its moral light or darkness1 and in proportion to the amount of the darkness will be its incapacity to seek for light4 ,now1 there seems nothing offensive to our notions of the ,divine goodness in this conception of what awaits us when the body dies4 ,it appears to me1 on the contrary1 to offer a more comprehensible and coherent view than any other that has been presented to me2 yet the state ,i have depicted is very much the hades of the ,greeks and ,romans4 ,it is the middle state1 on which all souls enter--a state in which there are many mansions2 that is1 there are innumerable states--probably not permanent1 but ever progressive or retrograde2 for we can not conceive of any moral state being permanent1 since we know perfectly well that ours is never so2 it is always advancing or retroceding4 ,when we are not improving1 we are deteriorating2 and so it must necessarily be with us hereafter4 ,now1 if we admit the probability of this middle state1 we have removed one of the great objections which are made to the belief in the reappearance of the dead3 namely1 that the blest are too happy to return to the earth1 and that the wicked have it not in their power to do so4 ,this difficulty arises1 however1 very much from the material ideas entertained of heaven and hell--the notion that they are places instead of states4 ,i am told that the ,greek word hades is derived from ides1 invisible2 and that the ,hebrew word schel1 which has the same signification1 also implies a state1 not a place1 since it may be interpreted into desiring1 longing1 asking1 praying4 ,these words in the ,septuagint are translated grave1 death1 and hell2 but previously to the ,reformation they seem to have borne their original meaning--that is1 the state into which the soul entered at the death of the body4 ,it was probably to get rid of the purgatory of the ,roman ,church1 which had doubtless become the source of many absurd notions and corrupt practices1 that the doctrine of a middle state or hades was set aside3 besides which1 the honest desire for reformation1 in all reforming churches1 being alloyed by the odium theologicum1 the purifying besom is apt to take too discursive a sweep1 exercising less modesty and discrimination than might be desirable1 and thus not uncommonly wiping away truth and falsehood together4 ,dismissing the idea1 therefore1 that heaven and hell are places in which the soul is imprisoned1 whether in bliss or woe1 and supposing that1 by a magnetic relation1 it may remain connected with the sphere to which it previously belonged1 we may easily conceive that1 if it have the memory of the past1 the more entirely sensuous its life in the body may have been1 the closer it will cling to the scene of its former joys2 or even if its sojourn on earth were not a period of joy1 but the contrary1 still1 if it have no heavenward aspirations1 it will find itself1 if not in actual wo1 yet aimless1 objectless1 and out of a congenial element4 ,it has no longer the organs whereby it perceived1 communicated with1 and enjoyed1 the material world and its pleasures4 ,the joys of heaven are not its joys2 we might as well expect a hardened prisoner in ,newgate1 associating with others as hardened as himself1 to melt into ecstatic delight at the idea of that which he can not apprehend6 ,how helpless and inefficient such a condition seems6 and how natural it is to us to imagine that1 under such circumstances1 there might be awakened a considerable desire to manifest itself to those yet living in the flesh1 if such a manifestation be possible6 ,and what right have we1 in direct contradiction to all tradition1 to assert that it is not8 ,we may raise up a variety of objections from physical science1 but we can not be sure that these are applicable to the case2 and of the laws of spirit we know very little1 since we are only acquainted with it as circumscribed1 confined1 and impeded1 in its operations1 by the body2 and whenever such abnormal states occur as enable it to act with any degree of independence1 man1 under the dominion of his all-sufficient reason1 denies and disowns the facts4 ,that the manifestation of a spirit to the living1 whether seen or heard1 is an exception1 and not the rule1 is evident2 for1 supposing the desire to exist at all1 it must exist in millions and millions of instances which never take effect4 ,the circumstances must therefore no doubt be very peculiar1 as regards both parties in which such a manifestation is possible4 ,what these are1 we have very little means of knowing2 but1 as far as we do know1 we are led to conclude that a certain magnetic rapport or polarity constitutes this condition1 while1 at the same time1 as regards the seer1 there must be what the prophet called the 8opening of the eye10 which may perhaps signify the seeing of the spirit without the aid of the bodily organ--a condition which may temporarily occur to any one under we know not what influence1 but which seems1 to a certain degree1 hereditary in some families4 ,the following passage is quoted from ,sir ,william ,hamilton's edition of ,dr4 ,reid's works1 published in #ahdf3-- 8,no man can show it to be impossible to the ,supreme ,being to have given us the power of perceiving external objects1 without any such organs0--that is1 our organs of sense4 8,we have reason to believe that when we put off these bodies1 and all the organs belonging to them1 our perceptive powers shall rather be improved than destroyed or impaired4 ,we have reason to believe that the ,supreme ,being perceives everything in a much more perfect manner than we do1 without bodily organs4 ,we have reason to believe that there are other created beings endowed with powers of perception more perfect and more extensive than ours1 without any such organs as we find necessary20 and ,sir ,william ,hamilton adds the following note3-- 8,however astonishing1 it is now proved beyond all rational doubt that in certain abnormal states of the nervous organism1 perceptions are possible through other than the ordinary channels of the sense40 ,of the existence of this faculty in nature1 any one1 who chooses1 may satisfy himself by a very moderate degree of trouble1 provided he undertake the investigation honestly2 and this being granted1 another objection1 if not altogether removed1 is considerably weakened4 ,i allude to the fact that1 in numerous reported cases of ghost-seeing1 the forms were visible to only one person1 even though others were present1 which1 of course1 rendered them undistinguishable from cases of spectral illusion1 and indeed unless some additional evidence be afforded1 they must remain so still1 only we have gained thus much1 that this objection is no longer unanswerable2 for whether the phenomenon is to be referred to a mutual rapport1 or to the opening of the spiritual eye1 we comprehend how one may see what others do not4 ,but really1 if the seeing depended upon ordinary vision1 ,i can not perceive that the difficulty is insurmountable2 for we perfectly well know that some people are endowed with an acuteness of sense1 or power of perception1 which is utterly incomprehensible to others2 for1 without entering into the disputed region of clear-seeing1 everybody must have met with instances of those strange antipathies to certain objects1 accompanied by an extraordinary capacity for perceiving their presence1 which remain utterly unexplained4 ,not to speak of cats and hares1 where some electrical effects might be conceived1 ,i lately heard of a gentleman who fainted if he were introduced into a room where there was a raspberry tart2 and that there have been persons endowed with a faculty for discovering the proximity of water and metals1 even without the aid of the divining rod--which latter marvel seems to be now clearly established as an electrical phenomenon--will scarcely admit of further doubt4 ,a very eminent person1 with whom ,i am acquainted1 possessing extremely acute olfactory powers1 is the subject of one single exception4 ,he is insensible to the odor of a beanfield1 however potent3 but it would surely be very absurd in him to deny that the beanfield emits an odor1 and the evidence of the majority against him is too strong to admit of his doing so4 ,now1 we have only the evidence of a minority with regard to the existence of certain faculties not generally developed1 but surely it argues great presumption to dispute their possibility4 ,we might1 ,i think1 with more appearance of reason1 insist upon it that my friend must be mistaken1 and that he does smell the beanfield1 for we have the majority against him there most decidedly4 ,the difference is1 that nobody cares whether the odor of the beanfield is perceptible or not3 but if the same gentleman asserted that he had seen a ghost1 beyond all doubt his word would be disputed4 ,though we do not know what the conditions are that develop the faculty of what ,st4 ,paul calls the discerning of spirits1 there is reason to believe that the approach of death is one4 ,i have heard of too many instances of this kind1 where the departing person has been in the entire possession of his or her faculties1 to doubt that in our last moments we are frequently visited by those who have gone before us2 and it being admitted by all physiologists that preternatural faculties are sometimes exhibited at this period1 we can have no right to say that 8the discerning of spirits0 is not one of them4 ,there is an interesting story recorded by ,beaumont1 in his 8,world of ,spirits10 and quoted by ,dr4 ,hibbert with the remark that no reasonable doubt can be placed on the authenticity of the narrative1 as it was drawn up by the bishop of ,gloucester from the recital of the young lady's father2 and ,i mention it here1 not for any singularity attending it1 but first1 because its authenticity is admitted1 and next1 on account of the manner in which--so much being granted--the fact is attempted to be explained away3-- 8,sir ,charles ,lee1 by his first lady1 had only one daughter1 of which she died in childbirth2 and when she was dead1 her sister1 the ,lady ,everard1 desired to have the education of the child1 and she was very well educated till she was marriageable1 and a match was concluded for her with ,sir ,w4 ,parkins1 but was then prevented in an extraordinary manner4 ,upon a ,thursday night1 she thinking she saw a light in her chamber after she was in bed1 knocked for her maid1 who presently came to her1 and she asked why she left a candle burning in her room4 ,the maid answered that she had left none1 and that there was none but what she had brought with her at that time4 #8,then1' she said1 #8it must be the fire2' but that1 her maid told her1 was quite out1 adding she believed it was only a dream1 whereupon ,miss ,lee answered that it might be so1 and composed herself again to sleep4 ,but1 about two of the clock1 she was awakened again1 and saw the apparition of a little woman between her curtains and her pillow1 who told her she was her mother1 that she was happy1 and that1 by twelve of the clock that day1 she should be with her4 ,whereupon1 she knocked again for her maid1 called for her clothes1 and when she was dressed1 went into her closet1 and came not out again till nine1 and then brought out with her a letter1 sealed1 to her father1 carried it to her aunt1 the ,lady ,everard1 told her what had happened1 and desired that as soon as she was dead it might be sent to him4 ,the lady thought she was suddenly fallen mad1 and therefore sent presently away to ,chelmsford for a physician and surgeon1 who both came immediately1 but the physician could discern no indication of what the lady imagined1 or of any indisposition of her body2 notwithstanding1 the lady would needs have her let blood1 which was done accordingly2 and when the young woman had patiently let them do what they would with her1 she desired that the chaplain might be called to read prayers2 and when the prayers were ended1 she took her guitar and psalm-book1 and sat down upon a chair without arms1 and played and sung so melodiously and admirably1 that her music-master1 who was then there1 admired at it4 ,and near the stroke of twelve1 she rose and sat herself down in a great chair with arms1 and presently fetching a strong breathing or two1 she immediately expired1 and was so suddenly cold as was much wondered at by the physician and surgeon4 ,she died at ,waltham1 in ,essex1 three miles from ,chelmsford1 and the letter was sent to ,sir ,charles1 at his house in ,warwickshire2 but he was so afflicted at the death of his daughter1 that he came not till she was buried2 but when he came1 he caused her to be taken up1 and to be buried with her mother1 at ,edmonton1 as she desired in her letter40 ,this circumstance occurred in the year #affb1 and is1 as ,dr4 ,hibbert observes1 8one of the most interesting ghost-stories on record20 yet he insists on placing it under the category of spectral illusions1 upon the plea that1 let the physician 7whose skill he arraigns7 say what he would1 her death within so short a period proves that she must have been indisposed at the time she saw the vision1 and that probably 8the languishing female herself might have unintentionally contributed to the more strict verification of the ghost's prediction10 concluding with these words3 8,all that can be said of it is1 that the coincidence was a fortunate one2 for1 without it1 the story would probably never have met with a recorder10 c41 c4 ,now1 ,i ask if this is a fair way of treating any fact1 transmitted to us on authority which the objector himself admits to be perfectly satisfactory--more especially as the assistants on the occasion appear to have been quite as unwilling to believe in the supernatural interpretation of it as ,dr4 ,hibbert could have been himself1 had he been present2 for what more could he have done than conclude the young lady to be mad1 and bled her8--a line of practice which is precisely what would be followed at the present time1 and which proves that they were very well aware of the sensuous illusions produced by a disordered state of the nervous system2 and with respect to his conclusion that the 8languishing female0 contributed to the verification of the prediction1 we are entitled to ask1 where is the proof that she was languishing8 ,a very clever watchmaker once told me that a watch may go perfectly well for years1 and at length stop suddenly1 in consequence of an organic defect in its construction1 which only becomes perceptible1 even to the eye of a watchmaker1 when this effect takes place2 and we do know that many persons have suddenly fallen dead immediately after declaring themselves in the best possible health3 and we have therefore no right to dispute what the narrator implies1 namely1 that there were no sensible indications of the impending catastrophe4 ,there was either some organic defect or derangement in this lady's physical economy1 which rendered her death inevitable at the hour of noon1 on that particular ,thursday1 or there was not4 ,if there was1 and her certain death was impending at that hour1 how came she acquainted with the fact8 ,surely it is a monstrous assumption to say that it was 8a fortunate coincidence10 when no reason whatever is given us for concluding that she felt otherwise than perfectly well6 ,if1 on the contrary1 we are to take refuge in the supposition that there was no death impending1 and that she only died of the fright1 how came she--feeling perfectly well1 and1 in this case1 we have a right to conclude being perfectly well--to be the subject of such an extraordinary spectral illusion8 ,and if such spectral illusions can occur to people in a good normal state of health1 does it not become very desirable to give us some clearer theory of them than we have at present8 ,but there is a third presumption to which the skeptical may have recourse1 in order to get rid of this well-established1 and therefore very troublesome fact1 namely1 that ,miss ,lee was ill1 although unconscious of it herself1 and indicating no symptoms that could guide her physician to an enlightened diagnosis2 and that the proof of this is to be found in the occurrence of the spectral illusion2 and that this spectral illusion so impressed her that it occasioned the precise fulfilment of the imaginary prediction--an hypothesis which appears to me to be pressing very hard on the spectral illusion2 for it is first called upon to establish the fact of an existing indisposition of no slight character1 of which neither patient nor physician was aware1 and it is next required to kill the lady with unerring certainty1 at the hour appointed1 she being1 according to the only authority we have for the story1 in a perfectly calm and composed state of mind6 for there is nothing to be discerned in the description of her demeanor but an entire and willing submission to the announced decree1 accompanied by that pleasing exaltation1 which appears to me perfectly natural under the circumstances2 and ,i do not think that anything we know of human vitality can justify us in believing that life can be so easily extinguished4 ,but to such straits people are reduced1 who write with a predetermination to place their facts on a ,procrustean bed till they have fitted them into their own cherished theory4 ,in the above-recorded case of ,miss ,lee1 the motive for the visit is a sufficient one2 but one of the commonest objections to such narrations1 is the insignificance of the motive when any communication is made1 or there being apparently no motive at all1 when none is made4 ,where any previous attachment has subsisted1 we need seek no further for an impelling cause2 but in other cases this impelling cause must probably be sought in the earthly rapport still subsisting and the urgent desire of the spirit to manifest itself and establish a communication where its thoughts and affections still reside2 and we must consider that1 provided there be no law of ,god prohibiting its revisiting the earth1 which law would of course supersede all other laws1 then1 as ,i have before observed1 where its thoughts and affections are it must be also4 ,what is it but our heavy material bodies that prevents us from being where our thoughts are8 ,but the being near us1 and the manifesting itself to us1 are two very different things1 the latter evidently depending on conditions we do not yet understand4 ,as ,i am not writing a book on vital magnetism1 and there are so many already accessible to everybody who chooses to be informed on it1 ,i shall not here enter into the subject of magnetic rapport1 it being1 ,i believe1 now generally admitted1 except by the most obstinate skeptics1 that such a relation can be established between two human beings4 ,in what this relation consists1 is a more difficult question1 but the most rational view appears to be that of a magnetic polarity1 which is attempted to be explained by two theories--the dynamical and the ethereal1 the one viewing the phenomena as simply the result of the transmission of forces1 the other hypothetizing an ether which pervades all space and penetrates all substance1 maintaining the connection between body and soul1 and between matter and spirit4 ,to most minds this latter hypothesis will be the most comprehensible2 on which account1 since the result would be the same in either case1 we may adopt for the moment2 and there will then be less difficulty in conceiving that the influence or ether of every being or thing1 animate or inanimate1 must extend beyond the periphery of its own terminations3 and that this must be eminently the case where there is animal life1 the nerves forming the readiest conductors for this supposed imponderable4 ,the proofs of the existence of this ether are said to be manifold1 and more especially to be found in the circumstances that every created thing sheds an atmosphere around it1 after its kind2 this atmosphere becoming1 under certain conditions1 perceptible or even visible1 as in the instances of electric fish1 c41 the fascinations of serpents1 the influence of human beings upon plants1 and vice versa2 and finally1 the phenomena of animal magnetism1 and the undoubted fact1 to which ,i myself can bear witness1 that the most ignorant girls1 when in a state of somnambulism1 have been known to declare that they saw their magnetiser surrounded by a halo of light2 and it is doubtless this halo of light1 that1 from their being strongly magnetic men1 has frequently been observed to surround the heads of saints and eminently holy persons3 the temperament that produced the internal fervor1 causing the visible manifestation of it4 ,by means of this ether1 or force1 a never-ceasing motion and an inter-communication are sustained between all created things1 and between created things and their ,creator1 who sustains them and creates them ever anew1 by the constant exertion of his ,divine will1 of which this is the messenger and the agent as it is between our will and our own bodies2 and without this sustaining will1 so exerted1 the whole would fall away1 dissolve1 and die2 for it is the life of the universe4 ,that all inanimate objects emit an influence1 greater or less1 extending beyond their own peripheries1 is established by their effects on various susceptible individuals1 as well as on somnambules2 and thus there exist a universal polarity and rapport1 which are however stronger between certain organisms2 and every being stands in a varying relation of positive and negative to every other4 ,with regard to these theories1 however1 where there is so much obscurity even in the language1 ,i do not wish to insist2 more especially as ,i am fully aware that this subject may be discussed in a manner much more congruous with the dynamical spirit of the philosophy of this century3 but1 in the meanwhile1 as either of the causes alluded to is capable of producing the effects1 we adopt the hypothesis of an all-pervading ether as the one most easily conceived4 ,admitting this1 then1 to be the case1 we begin to have some notion of the modus operandi by which a spirit may manifest itself to us1 whether to our internal universal sense1 or even to our sensuous organs2 and we also find one stumbling-block removed out of our way1 namely1 that it shall be visible or even audible to one person and not to another1 or at one time and not at another2 for by means of this ether1 or force1 we are in communication with all spirit1 as well as with all matter2 and since it is the vehicle of will1 a strong exertion of will may reinforce its influence to a degree far beyond our ordinary conceptions3 but man is not acquainted with his own power1 and has1 consequently1 no faith in his own will3 nor is it probably the design of ,providence1 in ordinary cases1 that he should4 ,he can not therefore exert it2 if he could1 he 8might remove mountains40 ,even as it is1 we know something of the power of will in its effect on other organisms1 as exhibited by certain strong-willed individuals2 also in popular movements2 and more manifestly in the influence and far-working of the magnetizer on his patient4 ,the power of will1 like the seeing of the spirit1 is latent in our nature1 to be developed in ,god's own time2 but meanwhile1 slight examples are found1 shooting up here and there1 to keep alive in man the consciousness that he is a spirit1 and give evidence of his ,divine origin4 ,what especial laws may appertain to this supersensuous domain of nature1 of course we can not know1 and it is therefore impossible for us to pronounce how far a spirit is free1 or not free1 at all times to manifest itself2 and we can1 therefore1 at present1 advance no reason for these manifestations not being the rule instead of the exception4 ,the law which restrains more frequent intercourse may1 for anything we know to the contrary1 have its relaxations and its limitations1 founded in nature2 and a rapport with1 or the power of acting on1 particular individuals1 may arise from causes of which we are equally ignorant4 ,undoubtedly1 the receptivity of the corporeal being is one of the necessary conditions1 while1 on the part of the incorporeal1 the will is at once the cause and the agent that produces the effect2 while attachment1 whether to individuals or to the lost joys of this world1 is the motive4 ,the happy spirits in whom this latter impulse is weak1 and who would float away into the glorious light of the pure moral law1 would have little temptation to return1 and at least would only be brought back by their holy affections1 or desire to serve mankind4 ,the less happy1 clinging to their dear corporeal life1 would hover nearer to the earth2 and ,i do question much whether the often-ridiculed idea of the mystics1 that there is a moral weight1 as well as a moral darkness1 be not founded in truth4 ,we know very well that even these substantial bodies of ours are1 to our own sensations 7and1 very possibly1 if the thing could be tested1 would prove to be in fact71 lighter or heavier1 according to the lightness or heaviness of the spirit--terms used figuratively1 but perhaps capable of a literal interpretation2 and thus the common idea of up and down1 as applied to heaven or hell1 is founded in truth1 though not mathematically correct1 we familiarly using the words up and down to express farther or nearer1 as regards the planet on which we live4 ,experience seems to justify this view of the case2 for1 supposing the phenomena ,i am treating of to be facts1 and not spectral illusions1 all tradition shows that the spirits most frequently manifested to man have been evidently not in a state of bliss2 while1 when bright ones appeared it has been to serve him2 and hence the old persuasion1 that they were chiefly the wicked that haunted the earth1 and hence1 also1 the foundation for the belief that not only the murderer but the murdered returned to vex the living1 and the just view1 that in taking away life the injury is not confined to the body1 but extends to the surprised and angry soul1 which is-- 8,cut off1 even in the blossom of its sin1 ,unhouselled1 disappointed1 unaneled2 ,no reckoning made1 but sent to its account ,with all its imperfections on its head40 ,it seems also to be gathered from experience1 that those whose lives have been rendered wretched1 8rest not in their graves20 at least1 several accounts ,i have met with1 as well as tradition1 countenance this view2 and this may originate in the fact that cruelty and ill-usage frequently produce very pernicious effects on the mind of the sufferer1 in many instances inspiring1 not resignation or a pious desire for death1 but resentment1 and an eager longing for a fair share of earthly enjoyment4 ,supposing1 also1 the feelings and prejudices of the earthly life to accompany this dispossessed soul--for1 though the liberation from the body inducts it into certain privileges inherent in spirit1 its moral qualities remain as they were 78as the tree falls1 so it shall lie07--supposing1 therefore1 that these feelings1 and prejudices1 and recollections1 of its past life1 are carried with it1 we see at once why the discontented spirits of the heathen world could not rest till their bodies had obtained sepulture1 why the buried money should torment the soul of the miser1 and why the religious opinions1 whatever they may have been1 believed in the flesh1 seem to survive with the spirit4 ,there are two remarkable exceptions1 however1 and these are precisely such as might be expected4 ,those who1 during their corporeal life1 have not believed in a future state1 return to warn their friends against the same error4 8,there is another world60 said the brother of the young lady who appeared to her in the cathedral of ,york1 on the day he was drowned2 and there are several similar instances recorded4 ,the belief that this life 8is the be-all and the end-all here10 is a mistake that death must instantly rectify4 ,the other exception ,i allude to is1 that that toleration1 of which1 unfortunately1 we see much less than is desirable in this world1 seems happily to prevail in the next2 for1 among the numerous narrations ,i meet with1 in which the dead have returned to ask the prayers or the services of the living1 they do not seem1 as will be seen by-and-by1 to apply by any means exclusively to members of their own church4 ,the attrait which seems to guide their selection of individuals is evidently not of a polemical nature4 ,the pure worship of ,god1 and the inexorable moral law1 are what seem to prevail in the other world1 and not the dogmatic theology which makes so much of the misery of this4 ,there is a fundamental truth in all religions3 the real end of all is morality1 however the means may be mistaken1 and however corrupt1 selfish1 ambitious1 and sectarian1 the mass of their teachers may and generally do become2 while the effect of prayer--in whatever form1 or to whatever ideal of the ,deity it may be offered1 provided that offering be honestly and earnestly made--is precisely the same to the supplicant and in its results4 ,i have reserved the following story1 which is not a fiction1 but the relation of an undoubted and well-attested fact1 till the present chapter1 as being particularly applicable to this branch of my subject3-- ,some ninety years ago1 there flourished in ,glasgow a club of young men1 which1 from the extreme profligacy of its members1 and the licentiousness of their orgies1 was commonly called the 8,hell-,club60 ,besides their nightly or weekly meetings1 they held one grand annual saturnalia1 in which each tried to excel the other in drunkenness and blasphemy2 and on these occasions there was no star among them whose lurid light was more conspicuous than that of young ,mr4 ,archibald ,b----1 who1 endowed with brilliant talents and a handsome person1 had held out great promise in his boyhood1 and raised hopes1 which had been completely frustrated by his subsequent reckless dissipations4 ,one morning1 after returning from this annual festival1 ,mr4 ,archibald ,b---- having retired to bed1 dreamed the following dream3-- ,he fancied that he himself was mounted on a favorite black horse1 that he always rode1 and that he was proceeding toward his own house--then a country-seat embowered by trees1 and situated upon a hill1 now entirely built over1 and forming part of the city--when a stranger1 whom the darkness of night prevented his distinctly discerning1 suddenly seized his horse's rein1 saying1 8,you must go with me60 8,and who are you80 exclaimed the young man1 with a volley of oaths1 while he struggled to free himself4 8,that you will see by-and-by60 returned the other1 in a tone that excited unaccountable terror in the youth1 who1 plunging his spurs into his horse1 attempted to fly4 ,but in vain3 however fast the animal flew1 the stranger was still beside him1 till at length1 in his desperate efforts to escape1 the rider was thrown2 but instead of being dashed to the earth1 as he expected1 he found himself falling--falling--falling still1 as if sinking into the bowels of the earth4 ,at length1 a period being put to this mysterious descent1 he found breath to inquire of his companion1 who was still beside him1 whither they were going3 8,where am ,i8 where are you taking me80 he exclaimed4 8,to hell60 replied the stranger1 and immediately interminable echoes repeated the fearful sound1 8,to hell6--to hell6--to hell60 ,at length a light appeared1 which soon increased to a blaze2 but1 instead of the cries1 and groans1 and lamentings1 which the terrified traveller expected1 nothing met his ear but sounds of music1 mirth1 and jollity2 and he found himself at the entrance of a superb building1 far exceeding any he had seen constructed by human hands4 ,within1 too1 what a scene6 ,no amusement1 employment1 or pursuit of man on earth1 but was here being carried on with a vehemence that excited his unutterable amazement4 8,there the young and lovely still swam through the mazes of the giddy dance6 ,there the panting steed still bore his brutal rider through the excitements of the goaded race6 ,there1 over the midnight bowl1 the intemperate still drawled out the wanton song or maudlin blasphemy6 ,the gambler plied for ever his endless game1 and the slaves of ,mammon toiled through eternity their bitter task2 while all the magnificence of earth paled before that which now met his view60 ,he soon perceived that he was among old acquaintances1 whom he knew to be dead1 and each he observed was pursuing the object1 whatever it was1 that had formerly engrossed him2 when1 finding himself relieved of the presence of his unwelcome conductor1 he ventured to address his former friend ,mrs4 ,d----1 whom he saw sitting1 as had been her wont on earth1 absorbed at loo1 requesting her to rest from the game1 and introduce him to the pleasures of the place1 which appeared to him to be very unlike what he had expected1 and1 indeed1 an extremely agreeable one4 ,but1 with a cry of agony1 she answered that there was no rest in hell2 that they must ever toil on at those very pleasures3 and innumerable voices echoed through the interminable vaults1 8,there is no rest in hell60--while1 throwing open their vests1 each disclosed in his bosom an ever-burning flame6 ,these1 they said1 were the pleasures of hell3 their choice on earth was now their inevitable doom6 ,in the midst of the horror this scene inspired1 his conductor returned1 and at his earnest entreaty1 restored him again to earth2 but1 as he quitted him1 he said1 8,remember6--in a year and a day we meet again60 ,at this crisis of his dream1 the sleeper awoke1 feverish and ill2 and1 whether from the effect of his dream1 or of his preceding orgies1 he was so unwell as to be obliged to keep his bed for several days1 during which period he had time for many serious reflections1 which terminated in a resolution to abandon the club and his licentious companions altogether4 ,he was no sooner well1 however1 than they flocked around him1 bent on recovering so valuable a member of their society2 and having wrung from him a confession of the cause of his defection1 which1 as may be supposed1 appeared to them eminently ridiculous1 they soon contrived to make him ashamed of his good resolutions4 ,he joined them again1 resumed his former course of life1 and when the annual saturnalia came round1 he found himself with his glass in his hand at the table--when the president1 rising to make the accustomed speech1 began with saying1 8,gentlemen1 this being leap-year1 it is a year and a day since our last anniversary10 c41 c4 ,the words struck upon the young man's ear like a knell2 but1 ashamed to expose his weakness to the jeers of his companions1 he sat out the feast1 plying himself with wine even more liberally than usual1 in order to drown his intrusive thoughts2 till1 in the gloom of a winter's morning1 he mounted his horse to ride home4 ,some hours afterward1 the horse was found1 with his saddle and bridle on1 quietly grazing by the roadside1 about half way between the city and ,mr4 ,b----'s house2 while1 a few yards off1 lay the corpse of his master6 ,now1 as ,i have said in introducing this story1 it is no fiction3 the circumstance happened as here related4 ,an account of it was published at the time1 but the copies were bought up by the family4 ,two or three1 however1 were preserved1 and the narrative has been reprinted4 ,the dream is evidently of a symbolical character1 and accords in a very remarkable degree with the conclusions to be drawn from the sources ,i have above indicated4 ,the interpretation seems to be1 that the evil passions and criminal pursuits which have been indulged in here1 become our curse hereafter4 ,i do not mean to imply that the ordinary amusements of life are criminal--far from it4 ,there is no harm in dancing1 nor in playing at loo either2 but if people make these things the whole business of their lives1 and think of nothing else1 cultivating no higher tastes1 nor forming no higher aspirations1 what sort of preparation are they making for another world8 ,i can hardly imagine that anybody would wish to be doing these things to all eternity1 the more especially that it is most frequently ennui that drives their votaries into excesses1 even here2 but if they have allowed their minds to be entirely absorbed in such frivolities and trivialities1 surely they can not expect that ,god will1 by a miracle1 suddenly obliterate these tastes and inclinations1 and inspire them with others better suited to their new condition6 ,it was their business to do that for themselves1 while here2 and such a process of preparation is not in the slightest degree inconsistent with the enjoyment of all manner of harmless pleasures2 on the contrary1 it gives the greatest zest to them2 for a life1 in which there is nothing serious--in which all is play and diversion--is1 beyond doubt1 next to a life of active1 persevering wickedness1 the saddest thing under the sun6 ,but let everybody remember that we see in nature no violent transitions2 everything advances by almost insensible steps--at least everything that is to endure3 and therefore to expect that because they have quitted their fleshly bodies1 which they always knew were but a temporary appurtenance1 doomed to perish and decay1 they themselves are to undergo a sudden and miraculous conversion and purification1 which is to elevate them into fit companions for the angels of heaven1 and the blessed that have passed away1 is surely one of the most inconsistent1 unreasonable1 and pernicious errors1 that mankind ever indulged in6 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,will4 ,,the power1 be it what it may1 whether of dressing up an ethereal visible form1 or of acting on the constructive imagination of the seer1 which would enable a spirit to appear 8in his habit as he lived10 would also enable him to present any other object to the eye of the seer1 or himself in any shape1 or fulfilling any function he willed2 and we thus find in various instances1 especially those recorded in the ,seeress of ,prevorst1 that this is the case4 ,we not only see changes of dress1 but we see books1 pens1 writing materials1 c41 in their hands2 and we find a great variety of sounds imitated--which sounds are frequently heard1 not only by those who have the faculty of 8discerning of spirits10 as ,st4 ,paul says1 but also by every other person on the spot1 for the hearing these sounds does not seem to depend on any particular faculty on the part of the auditor1 except it be in the case of speech4 ,the hearing the speech of a spirit1 on the contrary1 appears in most instances to be dependent on the same conditions as the seeing it1 which may possibly arise from there being1 in fact1 no audible voice at all1 but the same sort of spiritual communication which exists between a magnetizer and his patient1 wherein the sense is conveyed without words4 ,this imitating of sounds ,i shall give several instances of in a future chapter4 ,it is one way in which a death is frequently indicated4 ,i could quote a number of examples of this description1 but shall confine myself to two or three4 ,mrs4 ,d----1 being one night in her kitchen1 preparing to go to bed1 after the house was shut up and the rest of the family retired1 was startled by hearing a foot coming along the passage1 which she recognised distinctly to be that of her father1 who she was quite certain was not in the house4 ,it advanced to the kitchen-door1 and she waited with alarm to see if the door was to open2 but it did not1 and she heard nothing more4 ,on the following day1 she found that her father had died at that time2 and it was from her niece ,i heard the circumstance4 ,a ,mr4 ,j---- ,s----1 belonging to a highly respectable family1 with whom ,i am acquainted1 having been for some time in declining health1 was sent abroad for change of air4 ,during his absence1 one of his sisters1 having been lately confined1 an old servant of the family was sitting half asleep in an arm-chair1 in a room adjoining that in which the lady slept1 when she was startled by hearing the foot of ,mr4 ,j---- ,s---- ascending the stairs4 ,it was easily recognisable1 for1 owing to his constant confinement to the house1 in consequence of his infirm health1 his shoes were always so dry that their creaking was heard from one end of the house to the other4 ,so far surprised out of her recollection as to forget he was not in the country1 the good woman started up1 and1 rushing out with her candle in her hand1 to light him1 she followed the steps up to ,mr4 ,j---- ,s----'s own bed-chamber1 never discovering that he was not preceding her till she reached the door4 ,she then returned1 quite amazed1 and having mentioned the occurrence to her mistress1 they noted the date2 and it was afterward ascertained that the young man had died at ,lisbon on that night4 ,mrs4 ,f---- tells me that1 being one morning1 at eleven o'clock1 engaged in her bed-room1 she suddenly heard a strange1 indescribable1 sweet1 but unearthly sound1 which apparently proceeded from a large open box which stood near her4 ,she was seized with an awe and a horror which there seemed nothing to justify1 and fled up stairs to mention the circumstance1 which she could not banish from her mind4 ,at that precise day and hour1 eleven o'clock1 her brother was drowned4 ,the news reached her two days afterward4 ,instances of this kind are so well known that it is unnecessary to multiply them further4 ,with respect to the mode of producing these sounds1 however1 ,i should be glad to say something more definite if ,i could2 but1 from the circumstance of their being heard not only by one person1 who might be supposed to be en rapport1 or whose constructive imagination might be acted upon1 but by any one who happens to be within hearing1 we are led to conclude that the sounds are really reverberating through the atmosphere4 ,in the strange cases recorded in 8,the ,seeress of ,prevorst10 although the apparitions were visible only to certain persons1 the sounds they made were audible to all2 and the seeress says they are produced by means of the nerve-spirit1 which ,i conclude is the spiritual body of ,st4 ,paul and the atmosphere1 as we produce sound by means of our material body and the atmosphere4 ,in this plastic power of the spirit to present to the eye of the seer whatever object it wills1 we find the explanation of such stories as the famous one of ,ficinus and ,mercatus1 related by ,baronius in his annals4 ,these two illustrious friends1 ,michael ,mercatus and ,marcellinus ,ficinus1 after a long discourse on the nature of the soul1 had agreed that1 if possible1 whichever died first should return to visit the other4 ,some time afterward1 while ,mercatus was engaged in study at an early hour in the morning1 he suddenly heard the noise of a horse galloping in the street1 which presently stopped at his door1 and the voice of his friend ,ficinus exclaimed3 8,oh1 ,michael6 oh1 ,michael6 vera sunt illa6--those things are true60 ,whereupon ,mercatus hastily opened his window and espied his friend ,ficinus on a white steed4 ,he called after him1 but he galloped away out of his sight4 ,on sending to ,florence to inquire for ,ficinus1 he learned that he had died about that hour he called to him4 ,from this period to that of his death1 ,mercatus abandoned all profane studies1 and addicted himself wholly to divinity4 ,baronius lived in the sixteenth century2 and even ,dr4 ,ferrier and the spectral illusionists admit that the authenticity of this story can not be disputed1 although they still claim it for their own4 ,not very many years ago1 ,mr4 ,c----1 a staid citizen of ,edinburgh--whose son told me the story--was one day riding gently up ,corstorphine hill1 in the neighborhood of the city1 when he observed an intimate friend of his own1 on horseback also1 immediately behind him2 so he slackened his pace to give him an opportunity of joining company4 ,finding he did not come up so quickly as he should1 he looked round again1 and was astonished at no longer seeing him1 since there was no side road into which he could have disappeared4 ,he returned home1 perplexed at the oddness of the circumstance1 when the first thing he learned was that during his absence this friend had been killed1 by his horse falling1 in ,candlemaker's row4 ,i have heard of another circumstance1 which occurred some years ago in ,yorkshire1 where1 ,i think1 a farmer's wife was seen to ride into a farm-yard on horseback1 but could not be afterward found1 or the thing accounted for1 till it was ascertained that she had died at that period4 ,there are very extraordinary stories extant in all countries1 of persons being annoyed by appearances in the shape of different animals1 which one would certainly be much disposed to give over altogether to the illusionists2 though1 at the same time1 it is very difficult to reduce some of the circumstances under that theory--especially one mentioned page #cjg of my 8,translation of the ,seeress of ,prevorst40 ,if they are not illusions1 they are phenomena1 to be attributed either to this plastic power1 or to that magico-magnetic influence in which the belief in lycanthropy and other strange transformations have originated4 ,the multitudes of unaccountable stories of this description recorded in the witch-trials1 have long furnished a subject of perplexity to everybody who was sufficiently just to human nature to conclude1 that there must have been some strange mystery at the bottom of an infatuation that prevailed so universally1 and in which so many sensible1 honest1 and well-meaning persons were involved4 ,till of late years1 when some of the arcana of animal or vital magnetism have been disclosed to us1 it was impossible for us to conceive by what means such strange conceptions could prevail2 but since we now know1 and many of us have witnessed1 that all the senses of a patient are frequently in such subjection to his magnetiser1 that they may be made to convey any impressions to the brain that magnetiser wills1 we can without much difficulty conceive how this belief in the power of transformation took its rise2 and we also know how a magician could render himself visible or invisible at pleasure4 ,i have seen the sight or hearing of a patient taken away1 and restored by ,mr4 ,spencer ,hall in a manner that could leave no doubt on the mind of the beholder--the evident paralysis of the eye of the patient testifying to the fact4 ,monsieur ,eusbe ,salverte1 the most determined of rationalistic skeptics1 admits that we have numerous testimonies to the existence of an art1 which he confesses himself at some loss to explain1 although the opposite quarters from which the accounts of it reach us1 render it difficult to imagine that the historians have copied each other4 ,the various transformations of the gods into eagles1 bulls1 c41 have been set down as mere mythological fables2 but they appear to have been founded on an art1 known in all quarters of the world1 which enabled the magician to take on a form that was not his own1 so as to deceive his nearest and dearest friends4 ,in the history of ,gengis ,khan1 there is mention of a city which he conquered--8in which dwelt10 says ,suidas1 8certain men1 who possessed the secret of surrounding themselves with deceptive appearances1 insomuch that they were able to represent themselves to the eyes of people quite different to what they really were40 ,saxo ,grammaticus1 in speaking of the traditions connected with the religion of ,odin1 says that 8the magi were very expert in the art of deceiving the eyes1 being able to assume1 and even to enable others to assume1 the forms of various objects1 and to conceal their real aspects under the most attractive appearances40 ,john of ,salisbury1 who seems to have drawn his information from sources now lost1 says that ,mercury1 the most expert of magicians1 had the art of fascinating the eyes of men to such a degree as to render people invisible1 or make them appear in forms quite different to what they really bore4 ,we also learn from an eye-witness that ,simon1 the magician1 possessed the secret of making another person resemble him so perfectly that every eye was deceived4 ,pomponius ,mela affirms that the druidesses of the island of ,sena could transform themselves into any animal they chose1 and ,proteus has become a proverb by his numerous metamorphoses4 ,then1 to turn to another age and another hemisphere1 we find ,joseph ,acosta1 who resided a long time in ,peru1 assuring us that there existed at that period magicians who had the power of assuming any form they chose4 ,he relates that the predecessor of ,montezuma1 having sent to arrest a certain chief1 the latter successively transformed himself into an eagle1 a tiger1 and an immense serpent2 and so eluded the envoys1 till1 having consented to obey the king's mandate1 he was carried to court and instantly executed4 ,the same perplexing exploits are confidently attributed to the magicians of the ,west ,indies2 and there were two men eminent among the natives1 the one called ,gomez and the other ,gonzalez1 who possessed this art in an eminent degree2 but both fell victims to the practice of it1 being shot during the period of their apparent transformations4 ,it is also recorded that ,nanuk1 the founder of the ,sikhs--who are not properly a nation1 but a religious sect--was violently opposed by the ,hindoo zealots2 and at one period of his career1 when he visited ,vatala1 the ,yogiswaras--who were recluses1 that1 by means of corporeal mortifications1 were supposed to have acquired command over the powers of nature--were so enraged against him1 that they strove to terrify him by their enchantments1 assuming the shapes of tigers and serpents4 ,but they could not succeed1 for ,nanuk appears to have been a real philosopher1 who taught a pure theism1 and inculcated universal peace and toleration4 ,his tenets1 like the tenets of the founders of all religions1 have been since corrupted by his followers4 ,we can scarcely avoid concluding that the power by which these feats were performed is of the same nature as that by which a magnetiser persuades his patient that the water he drinks is beer1 or the beer wine2 and the analogy between it and that by which ,i have supposed a spirit to present himself1 with such accompaniments as he desires1 to the eye of a spectator1 is evident4 ,in those instances where female figures are seen with children in their arm1 the appearance of the child we must suppose to be produced in this manner4 ,spirits of darkness1 however1 can not1 as ,i have before observed1 appear as spirits of light2 the moral nature can not be disguised4 ,on one occasion1 when ,frederica ,hauffe asked a spirit if he could appear in what form he pleased1 he answered 8,no0--that if he had lived as a brute1 he should appear as a brute3 8as our dispositions are1 so we appear to you40 ,this plastic power is exhibited in those instances ,i have related1 where the figure appeared dripping with water1 indicating the kind of death that had been suffered2 and also in such cases as that of ,sir ,robert ,h4 ,e----1 where the apparition showed a wound in his breast4 ,there are a vast number of similar ones on record in all countries2--but ,i will here mention one which ,i received from the lips of a member of the family concerned1 wherein one of the trivial actions of life was curiously represented4 ,miss ,l---- lived in the country with her three brothers1 to whom she was much attached1 as they were to her4 ,these young men1 who amused themselves all the morning with their out-door pursuits1 were in the habit of coming to her apartment most days before dinner1 and conversing with her till they were summoned to the dining-room4 ,one day1 when two of them had joined her as usual1 and they were chatting cheerfully over the fire1 the door opened1 and the third came in1 crossed the room1 entered an adjoining one1 took off his boots1 and then1 instead of sitting down beside them as usual1 passed again through the room1 went out1 leaving the door open1 and they saw him ascend the stairs toward his own chamber1 whither they concluded he was gone to change his dress4 ,these proceedings had been observed by the whole party3 they saw him enter--saw him take off his boots--saw him ascend the stairs1--continuing the conversation1 without the slightest suspicion of anything extraordinary4 ,presently afterward the dinner was announced2 and as this young man did not make his appearance1 the servant was desired to let him know they were waiting for him4 ,the servant answered that he had not come in yet2 but1 being told that he would find him in his bed-room1 he went up stairs to call him4 ,he was1 however1 not there nor in the house2 nor were his boots to be found where he had been seen to take them off4 ,while they were yet wondering what could have become of him1 a neighbor arrived to break the news to the family that their beloved brother had been killed while hunting1 and that the only wish he expressed was that he could live to see his sister once more4 ,i observed in a former chapter1 while speaking of wraiths1 now very desirable it would be to ascertain whether the phenomenon takes place before or after the dissolution of the bond between soul and body3 ,i have since received the most entire satisfaction on that head1 so far as the establishing the fact that it does sometimes occur after the dissolution4 ,three cases have been presented to me1 from the most undoubted authority1 in which the wraith was seen at intervals varying from one to three days after the decease of the person whose image it was2 very much complicating the difficulty of that theory which considers these phenomena the result of an interaction1 wherein the vital principle of one person is able to influence another within its sphere1 and thus make the organs of that other the subjects of its will--a magical power1 by the way1 which far exceeds that which we possess over our own organs4 ,there is here1 however1 where death has taken place1 no living organism to produce the effect1 and the phenomenon becomes1 therefore1 purely subjective--a mere spectral illusion1 attended by a coincidence1 or else the influence is that of the disembodied spirit2 and those who will take the trouble of investigating this subject will find that the number of these coincidences would violate any theory of probabilities1 to a degree that precludes the acceptance of that explanation4 ,i do not see1 therefore1 on what we are to fall back1 except it be the willing agency of the released spirit1 unless we suppose that the operation of the will of the dying person travelled so slowly1 that it did not take effect till a day or two after it was exerted--an hypothesis too extravagant to be admitted4 ,dr4 ,passavent1 whose very philosophical work on this occult department of nature is well worth attention1 considers the fact of these appearances far too well established to be disputed2 and he enters into some curious disquisitions with regard to what the ,germans call far-working1 or the power of acting on bodies at a distance without any sensible conductor1 instancing the case of a gymnotus1 which was kept alive for four months in ,stockholm1 and which1 when urged by hunger1 could kill fish at a distance without contact1 adding that it rarely miscalculated the amount of the shock necessary to its purpose4 ,these and all such effects are attributed by this school of physiologists to the supposed imponderable--the nervous ether ,i have elsewhere mentioned--which ,dr4 ,passavent conceives1 in cases of somnambulism1 certain sicknesses1 and the approach of death1 to be less closely united to its material conductors1 the nerves1 and therefore capable of being more or less detached1 and acting at a distance1 especially on those with whom relationship1 friendship1 or love1 establishes a rapport1 or polarity2 and he observes that intervening substances or distance can no more impede this agency than they do the agency of mineral magnetism4 ,and he considers that we must here seek for the explanation of those curious so-called coincidences of pictures falling1 and clocks and watches stopping1 at the moment of a death1 which we frequently find recorded4 ,with respect to the wraiths1 he observes that the more the ether is freed1 as by trance or the immediate approach of death1 the more easily the soul sets itself in rapport with distant persons2 and that thus it either acts magically1 so that the seer perceives the real actual body of the person that is acting upon him1 or else that he sees the ethereal body1 which presents the perfect form of the fleshly one1 and which1 while the organic life proceeds1 can be momentarily detached and appear elsewhere2 and this ethereal body he holds to be the fundamental form1 of which the external body is only the copy1 or husk4 ,i confess1 ,i much prefer this theory of ,dr4 ,passavent's1 which seems to me to go very much to the root of the matter4 ,we have here the 8spiritual body0 of ,st4 ,paul1 and the 8nerve-spirit0 of the somnambulists1 and their magical effects are scarcely more extraordinary1 if properly considered1 than their agency on our own material bodies4 ,it is this ethereal body which obeys the intelligent spirit within1 and which is the intermediate agent between the spirit and the fleshly body4 ,we here find the explanation of wraiths1 while persons are in trance1 or deep sleep1 or comatose1 this ethereal body can be detached and appear elsewhere2 and ,i think there can be no great difficulty for those who can follow us so far1 to go a little further1 and admit that this ethereal body must be indestructible1 and survive the death of the material one2 and that it may1 therefore1 not only become visible to us under given circumstances1 but that it may1 also1 produce effects bearing some similarity to those it was formerly capable of1 since1 in acting on our bodies during life1 it is already acting on a material substance in a manner so incomprehensible to us1 that we might well apply the word magical when speaking of it1 were it not that custom has familiarized us to the marvel4 ,it is to be observed1 that this idea of a spiritual body is one that pervaded all ,christendom in the earlier and purer ages of ,christianity1 before priestcraft--and by priestcraft ,i mean the priestcraft of all denominations--had overshadowed and obscured1 by its various sectarian heresies1 the pure teaching of ,jesus ,christ4 ,dr4 ,ennemoser mentions a curious instance of this actio in distans1 or far-working4 ,it appears that ,van ,helmont having asserted that it was possible for a man to extinguish the life of an animal by the eye alone 7oculis intentis71 ,rousseau1 the naturalist1 repeated the experiment1 when in the ,east1 and in this manner killed several toads2 but on a subsequent occasion1 while trying the same experiment at ,lyons1 the animal1 on finding it could not escape1 fixed its eyes immovably on him1 so that he fell into a fainting fit1 and was thought to be dead4 ,he was restored by means of theriacum and viper powder--a truly homeopathic remedy6 ,however1 we here probably see the origin of the universal popular persuasion1 that there is some mysterious property in the eye of a toad2 and also of the so called1 superstition of the evil eye4 ,a very remarkable circumstance occurred some years ago1 at ,kirkaldy1 when a person1 for whose truth and respectability ,i can vouch1 was living in the family of a ,colonel ,m----1 at that place4 ,the house they inhabited was at one extremity of the town1 and stood in a sort of paddock4 ,one evening when ,colonel ,m---- had dined out1 and there was nobody at home but ,mrs4 ,m----1 her son 7a boy about twelve years old71 and ,ann the maid 7my informant71 ,mrs4 ,m---- called the latter1 and directed her attention to a soldier1 who was walking backward and forward in the drying ground1 behind the house1 where some linen was hanging on the lines4 ,she said she wondered what he could be doing there1 and bade ,ann fetch in the linen1 lest he should purloin any of it4 ,the girl1 fearing he might be some ill-disposed person1 felt afraid2 ,mrs4 ,m----1 however1 promising to watch from the window1 that nothing happened to her1 she went2 but still apprehensive of the man's intentions1 she turned her back toward him1 and hastily pulling down the linen1 she carried it into the house2 he continuing his walk the while1 as before1 taking no notice of her whatever4 ,ere long the colonel returned1 and ,mrs4 ,m---- lost no time in taking him to the window to look at the man1 saying she could not conceive what he could mean by walking backward and forward there all that time2 whereupon ,ann added1 jestingly1 8,i think it's a ghost1 for my part60 ,colonel ,m---- said 8he would soon see that10 and calling a large dog that was lying in the room1 and accompanied by the little boy1 who begged to be permitted to go also1 he stepped out and approached the stranger2 when1 to his surprise1 the dog1 which was an animal of high courage1 instantly flew back1 and sprung through the glass-door1 which the colonel had closed behind him1 shivering the panes all around4 ,the colonel1 meantime1 advanced and challenged the man1 repeatedly1 without obtaining any answer or notice whatever1 till1 at length1 getting irritated1 he raised a weapon with which he had armed himself1 telling him he 8must speak or take the consequences10 when1 just as he was preparing to strike1 lo6 there was nobody there6 ,the soldier had disappeared1 and the child sunk senseless to the ground4 ,colonel ,m---- lifted the boy in his arms1 and as he brought him into the house1 he said to the girl1 8,you are right1 ,ann2 it was a ghost60 ,he was exceedingly impressed with this circumstance1 and much regretted his own behavior1 and also the having taken the child with him1 which he thought had probably prevented some communication that was intended4 ,in order to repair1 if possible1 these errors1 he went out every night1 and walked on that spot for some time1 in hopes the apparition would return4 ,at length he said that he had seen and conversed with it2 but the purport of the conversation he would never communicate to any human being1 not even to his wife4 ,the effect of this occurrence on his own character was perceptible to everybody that knew him4 ,he became grave and thoughtful1 and appeared like one who had passed through some strange experience4 ,the above-named ,ann ,h----1 from whom ,i have the account1 is now a middle-aged woman4 ,when the circumstance occurred1 she was about twenty years of age4 ,she belongs to a highly-respectable family1 and is1 and always has been1 a person of unimpeachable character and veracity4 ,in this instance1 as in several others ,i meet with1 the animal had a consciousness of the nature of the appearance1 while the persons around him had no suspicion of anything unusual4 ,in the following singular case we must conclude that attachment counteracted this instinctive apprehension4 ,a farmer in ,argyleshire lost his wife1 and a few weeks after her decease1 as he and his son were crossing a moor1 they saw her sitting on a stone1 with their house-dog lying at her feet1 exactly as he used to do when she was alive4 ,as they approached the spot the woman vanished1 and supposing the dog must be equally visionary1 they expected to see him vanish1 also2 when1 to their surprise1 he rose and joined them1 and they found it was actually the very animal of flesh and blood4 ,as the place was at least three miles from any house1 they could not conceive what could have taken him there4 ,it was1 probably1 the influence of her will4 ,the power of will is a phenomenon that has been observed in all ages of the world1 though of late years much less than at an earlier period2 and1 as it was then more frequently exerted for evil than good1 it was looked upon as a branch of the art of black magic1 while the philosophy of it being unknown1 the devil was supposed to be the real agent1 and the witch1 or wizard1 only his instrument4 ,the profound belief in the existence of this art is testified by the twelve tables of ,rome1 as well as by the books of ,moses1 and those of ,plato1 c4 ,it is extremely absurd to suppose that all these statutes were enacted to suppress a crime which never existed3 and1 with regard to these witches and wizards1 we must remember1 as ,dr4 ,ennemoser justly remarks1 that the force of will has no relation to the strength or weakness of the body3 witness the extraordinary feats occasionally performed by feeble persons under excitement1 c42 and1 although these witches and wizards were frequently weak1 decrepit people1 they either believed in their own arts1 or else that they had a friend or coadjutor in the devil1 who was able and willing to aid them4 ,they1 therefore1 did not doubt their own power1 and they had the one great requisite1 faith4 ,to will and to believe1 was the explanation given by the ,marquis de ,puysgur of the cures he performed2 and this unconsciously becomes the recipe of all such men as ,greatrix1 the ,shepherd of ,dresden1 and many other wonder-workers1 and hence we see why it is usually the humble1 the simple and the child-like1 the solitary1 the recluse1 nay1 the ignorant1 who exhibit traces of these occult faculties2 for he who can not believe can not will1 and the skepticism of the intellect disables the magician2 and hence we say1 also1 wherefore1 in certain parts of the world and in certain periods of its history1 these powers and practices have prevailed4 ,they were believed in because they existed2 and they existed because they were believed in4 ,there was a continued interaction of cause and effect--of faith and works4 ,people who look superficially at these things1 delight in saying that the more the witches were persecuted the more they abounded2 and that when the persecution ceased we heard no more of them4 ,naturally1 the more they were persecuted the more they believed in witchcraft and in themselves2 when persecution ceased1 and men in authority declared that there was no such thing as witchcraft or witches1 they lost their faith1 and with it that little sovereignty over nature that that faith had conquered4 ,here we also see an explanation of the power attributed to blessings and curses4 ,the ,word of ,god is creative1 and man is the child of ,god1 made in his image2 who never outgrows his childhood1 and is often most a child when he thinks himself the wisest1 for 8the wisdom of this world10 we can not too often repeat1 8is foolishness before ,god0--and being a child1 his faculties are feeble in proportion2 but though limited in amount1 they are divine in kind1 and are latent in all of us2 still shooting up here and there1 to amaze and perplex the wise1 and make merry the foolish1 who have nearly all alike forgotten their origin1 and disowned their birthright4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,troubled ,,spirits4 ,a ,,very curious circumstance1 illustrative of the power of will1 was lately narrated to me by a ,greek gentleman1 to whose uncle it occurred4 ,his uncle1 ,mr4 ,m----1 was some years ago travelling in ,magnesia with a friend1 when they arrived one evening at a caravanserai1 where they found themselves unprovided with anything to eat4 ,it was therefore agreed that one should go forth and endeavor to procure food2 and the friend offering to undertake the office1 ,mr4 ,m---- stretched himself on the floor to repose4 ,some time had elapsed1 and his friend had not yet returned1 when his attention was attracted by a whispering in the room4 ,he looked up1 but saw nobody1 though still the whispering continued1 seeming to go round by the wall4 ,at length it approached him2 but though he felt a burning sensation on his cheek1 and heard the whispering distinctly1 he could not catch the words4 ,presently he heard the footsteps of his friend1 and thought he was returning2 but though they appeared to come quite close to him1 and it was perfectly light1 he still saw nobody4 ,then he felt a strange sensation--an irresistible impulse to rise3 he felt himself drawn up1 across the room1 out of the door1 down the stairs--he must go1 he could not help it--to the gate of the caravanserai1 a little farther2 and there he found the dead body of his friend1 who had been suddenly assailed and cut down by robbers1 unhappily too plenty in the neighborhood at that period4 ,we here see the desire of the spirit to communicate his fate to the survivor2 the imperfection of the rapport1 or the receptivity1 which prevented a more direct intercourse2 and the exertion of a magnetic influence1 which ,mr4 ,m---- could not resist1 precisely similar to that of a living magnetizer over his patient4 ,there is a story extant in various ,english collections1 the circumstances of which are said to have occurred about the middle of the last century1 and which ,i shall here mention1 on account of its similarity to the one that follows it4 ,dr4 ,bretton1 who was1 late in life1 appointed rector of ,ludgate1 lived previously in ,herefordshire1 where he married the daughter of ,dr4 ,santer1 a woman of great piety and virtue4 ,this lady died2 and one day1 as a former servant of hers--to whom she had been attached1 and who had since married--was nursing her child in her own cottage1 the door opened1 and a lady entered so exactly resembling the late ,mrs4 ,bretton in dress and appearance1 that she exclaimed3 8,if my mistress were not dead1 ,i should think you were she60 ,whereupon the apparition told her that she was1 and requested her to go with her1 as she had business of importance to communicate4 ,alice objected1 being very much frightened1 and entreated her to address herself rather to ,dr4 ,bretton2 but ,mrs4 ,b4 answered that she had endeavored to do so1 and had been several times in his room for that purpose1 but he was still asleep1 and she had no power to do more toward awakening him than once uncover his feet4 ,alice then pleaded that she had nobody to leave with her child2 but ,mrs4 ,b4 promising that the child should sleep till her return1 she at length obeyed the summons2 and having accompanied the apparition into a large field1 the latter bade her observe how much she measured off with her feet1 and1 having taken a considerable compass1 she bade her go and tell her brother that all that portion had been wrongfully taken from the poor by their father1 and that he must restore it to them1 adding that she was the more concerned about it1 since her name had been used in the transaction4 ,alice then asking how she should satisfy the gentleman of the truth of her mission1 ,mrs4 ,b4 mentioned to her some circumstance known only to herself and this brother2 she then entered into much discourse with the woman1 and gave her a great deal of good advice1 remaining till1 hearing the sound of horse-bells1 she said3 8,alice1 ,i must be seen by none but yourself10 and then disappeared4 ,whereupon ,alice proceeded to ,dr4 ,bretton1 who admitted that he had actually heard some one walking about his room1 in a way he could not account for4 ,on mentioning the thing to the brother1 he laughed heartily1 till ,alice communicated the secret which constituted her credentials1 upon which he changed his tone1 and declared himself ready to make the required restitution4 ,dr4 ,bretton seems to have made no secret of this story1 but to have related it to various persons2 and ,i think it is somewhat in its favor1 that it exhibits a remarkable instance of the various degrees of receptivity of different individuals1 where there was no suspicion of the cause1 nor any attempt made to explain why ,mrs4 ,bretton could not communicate her wishes to her husband as easily as to ,alice4 ,the promising that the child should sleep1 was promising no more than many a magnetiser could fulfil4 ,there are several curious stories extant1 of lame and suffering persons suddenly recovering1 who attributed their restoration to the visit of an apparition which had stroked their limbs1 c42 and these are the more curious from the fact that they occurred before ,mesmer's time1 when people in general knew nothing of vital magnetism4 ,dr4 ,binns quotes the case of a person named ,jacob ,olaffson1 a resident in some small island subject to ,denmark1 who1 after lying very ill for a fortnight1 was found quite well1 which he accounted for by saying that a person in shining clothes had come to him in the night and stroked him with his hand1 whereupon he was presently healed4 ,but the stroking is not always necessary1 since we know that the eye and the will can produce the same effect4 ,the other case to which ,i alluded1 as similar to that of ,mrs4 ,bretton1 occurred in ,germany1 and is related by ,dr4 ,kerner4 ,the late ,mr4 ,l---- ,st4 ----1 he says1 quitted this world with an excellent reputation1 being at the time superintendent of an institution for the relief of the poor in ,b----4 ,his son inherited his property1 and1 in acknowledgment of the faithful services of his father's old housekeeper1 he took her into his family and established her in a country-house1 a few miles from ,b----1 which formed part of his inheritance4 ,she had been settled there but a short time1 when she was awakened in the night1 she knew not how1 and saw a tall1 haggard-looking man in her room1 who was rendered visible to her by a light that seemed to issue from himself4 ,she drew the bed-clothes over her head2 but1 as this apparition appeared to her repeatedly1 she became so much alarmed that she mentioned it to her master1 begging permission to resign her situation4 ,he however laughed at her--told her it must be all imagination--and promised to sleep in the adjoining apartment1 in order that she might call him whenever this terror seized her4 ,he did so2 but1 when the spectre returned1 she was so much oppressed with horror that she found it impossible to raise her voice4 ,her master then advised her to inquire the motive of its visits4 ,this she did3 whereupon1 it beckoned her to follow1 which1 after some struggles1 she summoned resolution to do4 ,it then led the way down some steps to a passage1 where it pointed out to her a concealed closet1 which it signified to her1 by signs1 she should open4 ,she represented that she had no key3 whereupon1 it described to her1 in sufficiently articulate words1 where she would find one4 ,she procured the key1 and1 on opening the closet1 found a small parcel1 which the spirit desired her to remit to the governor of the institution for the poor1 at ,b----1 with the injunction that the contents should be applied to the benefit of the inmates1--this restitution being the only means whereby he could obtain rest and peace in the other world4 ,having mentioned these circumstances to her master1 who bade her do what she had been desired1 she took the parcel to the governor and delivered it1 without communicating by what means it had come into her hands4 ,her name was entered in their books and she was dismissed2 but1 after she was gone1 they discovered to their surprise that the packet contained an order for thirty thousand florins1 of which the late ,mr4 ,st4 ---- had defrauded the institution and converted to his own use4 ,mr4 ,st4 ----1 jr41 was now called upon to pay the money1 which he refusing to do1 the affair was at length referred to the authorities2 and the housekeeper being arrested1 he and she were confronted in the court1 where she detailed the circumstances by which the parcel had come into her possession4 ,mr4 ,st4 ---- denied the possibility of the thing1 declaring the whole must be1 for some purpose or other1 an invention of her own4 ,suddenly1 while making this defence1 he felt a blow upon his shoulder1 which caused him to start and look round1 and at the same moment the housekeeper exclaimed3 8,see6 there he stands1 now--there is the ghost60 ,none perceived the figure excepting the woman herself and ,mr4 ,st4 ----2 but everybody present heard the following words3 8,my son1 repair the injustice ,i have committed1 that ,i may be at peace60 ,the money was paid2 and ,mr4 ,st4 ---- was so much affected by this painful event1 that he was seized with a severe illness1 from which he with difficulty recovered4 ,dr4 ,kerner says that these circumstances occurred in the year #ahaf1 and created a considerable sensation at the time1 though1 at the earnest request of the family of ,mr4 ,st4 ----1 there was an attempt made to hush them up2 adding1 that in the month of ,october1 #ahai1 he was himself assured by a very respectable citizen of ,b----1 that it was universally known in the town that the ghost of the late superintendent had appeared to the housekeeper1 and pointed out to her where she would find the packet2 that she had consulted the minister of her parish1 who bade her deliver it as directed2 that she had been subsequently arrested1 and the affair brought before the authorities1 where1 while making his defence1 ,mr4 ,st4 ---- had received a blow from an invisible hand2 and that ,mr4 ,st4 ---- was so much affected by these circumstances1 which got abroad in spite of the efforts to suppress them1 that he did not long survive the event4 ,grose1 the antiquary1 makes himself very merry with the observation that ghosts do not go about their business like other people2 and that in cases of murder1 instead of going to the nearest justice of peace1 or to the nearest relation of the deceased1 a ghost addresses itself to somebody who had nothing to do with the matter1 or hovers about the grave where its body is deposited4 8,the same circuitous mode is pursued10 he says1 8with respect to redressing injured orphans or widows2 where it seems as if the shortest and most certain way would be to go and haunt the person guilty of the injustice1 till he were terrified into restitution40 ,we find the same sort of strictures made on the story of the ghost of ,sir ,george ,villiers1 which--instead of going directly to his son1 the duke of ,buckingham1 to warn him of his danger--addressed himself to an inferior person2 while the warning was1 after all1 inefficacious1 as the duke would not take counsel2--but surely such strictures are as absurd as the conduct of the ghost3 at least ,i think there can be nothing more absurd than pretending to prescribe laws to nature1 and judging of what we know so little about4 ,the proceedings of the ghost in the following case will doubtless be equally displeasing to the critics4 ,the account is extracted verbatim from a work published by the ,bannatyne ,club1 and is entitled1 8,authentic ,account of the ,appearance of a ,ghost in ,queen ,ann's ,county1 ,maryland1 ,united ,states of ,north ,america1 proved in the following remarkable trial1 from attested notes taken in court at the time by one of the counsel40 ,it appears that ,thomas ,harris had made some alteration in the disposal of his property1 immediately previous to his death2 and that the family disputed the will and raised up difficulties likely to be injurious to his children4 8,william ,brigs said1 that he was forty-three years of age2 that ,thomas ,harris died in ,september1 in the year #agij4 ,in the ,march following he was riding near the place where ,thomas ,harris was buried1 on a horse formerly belonging to ,thomas ,harris4 ,after crossing a small branch1 his horse began to walk on very fast4 ,it was between the hours of eight and nine o'clock in the morning4 ,he was alone3 it was a clear day4 ,he entered a lane adjoining to the field where ,thomas ,harris was buried4 ,his horse suddenly wheeled in a panel of the fence1 looked over the fence into the field where ,thomas ,harris was buried1 and neighed very loud4 ,witness then saw ,thomas ,harris coming toward him1 in the same apparel he had last seen him in in his lifetime2 he had on a sky-blue coat4 ,just before he came to the fence1 he varied to the right and vanished2 his horse immediately took the road4 ,thomas ,harris came within two panels of the fence to him2 he did not see his features1 nor speak to him4 ,he was acquainted with ,thomas ,harris when a boy1 and there had always been a great intimacy between them4 ,he thinks the horse knew ,thomas ,harris1 because of his neighing1 pricking up his ears1 and looking over the fence4 8,about the first of ,june following1 he was ploughing in his own field1 about three miles from where ,thomas ,harris was buried4 ,about dusk ,thomas ,harris came alongside of him1 and walked with him about two hundred yards4 ,he was dressed as when first seen4 ,he made a halt about two steps from him4 ,j4 ,bailey who was ploughing along with him1 came driving up1 and he lost sight of the ghost4 ,he was much alarmed3 not a word was spoken4 ,the young man ,bailey did not see him2 he did not tell ,bailey of it4 ,there was no motion of any particular part3 he vanished4 ,it preyed upon his mind so as to affect his health4 ,he was with ,thomas ,harris when he died1 but had no particular conversation with him4 ,some time after1 he was lying in bed1 about eleven and twelve o'clock at night1 when he heard ,thomas ,harris groan2 it was like the groan he gave a few minutes before he expired3 ,mrs4 ,brigs1 his wife1 heard the groan4 ,she got up and searched the house3 he did not1 because he knew the groan to be from ,thomas ,harris4 ,some time after1 when in bed1 and a great fire-light in the room1 he saw a shadow on the wall1 and at the same time he felt a great weight upon him4 ,some time after1 when in bed and asleep1 he felt a stroke between his eyes1 which blackened them both3 his wife was in bed with him1 and two young men were in the room4 ,the blow awaked him1 and all in the room were asleep2 is certain no one in the room struck him3 the blow swelled his nose4 ,about the middle of ,august he was alone1 coming from ,hickey ,collins's1 after dark1 about one hour in the night1 when ,thomas ,harris appeared1 dressed as he had seen him when going down to the meeting-house branch1 three miles and a half from the graveyard of ,thomas ,harris4 ,it was starlight4 ,he extended his arms over his shoulders4 ,does not know how long he remained in this situation4 ,he was much alarmed4 ,thomas ,harris disappeared4 ,nothing was said4 ,he felt no weight on his shoulders4 ,he went back to ,collins's1 and got a young man to go with him4 ,after he got home he mentioned it to the young man4 ,he had1 before this1 told ,james ,harris he had seen his brother's ghost4 8,in ,october1 about twilight in the morning1 he saw ,thomas ,harris about one hundred yards from the house of the witness2 his head was leaned to one side2 same apparel as before2 his face was toward him2 he walked fast and disappeared3 there was nothing between them to obstruct the view2 he was about fifty yards from him1 and alone2 he had no conception why ,thomas ,harris appeared to him4 ,on the same day1 about eight o'clock in the morning1 he was handing up blades to ,john ,bailey1 who was stacking them2 he saw ,thomas ,harris come along the garden fence1 dressed as before2 he vanished1 and always to the east2 was within fifteen feet of him2 ,bailey did not see him4 ,an hour and a half afterward1 in the same place1 he again appeared1 coming as before2 came up to the fence2 leaned on it within ten feet of the witness1 who called to ,bailey to look there 7pointing toward ,thomas ,harris74 ,bailey asked what was there4 ,don't you see ,harris8 ,does not recollect what ,bailey said4 ,witness advanced toward ,harris4 ,one or the other spoke as witness got over the fence on the same panel that ,thomas ,harris was leaning on4 ,they walked off together about five hundred yards2 a conversation took place as they walked2 he has not the conversation on his memory4 ,he could not understand ,thomas ,harris1 his voice was so low4 ,he asked ,thomas ,harris a question1 and he forbid him4 ,witness then asked1 #8,why not go to your brother1 instead of me8' ,thomas ,harris said1 #8,ask me no questions4' ,witness told him his will was doubted4 ,thomas ,harris told him to ask his brother if he did not remember the conversation which passed between them on the east side of the wheat-stacks1 the day he was taken with his death-sickness2 that he then declared that he wished all his property kept together by ,james ,harris1 until his children arrived at age1 then the whole should be sold and divided among his children2 and1 should it be immediately sold1 as expressed in his will1 that the property would be most wanting to his children while minors1 therefore he had changed his will1 and said that witness should see him again4 ,he then told witness to turn1 and disappeared4 ,he did not speak to him with the same voice as in his lifetime4 ,he was not daunted while with ,thomas ,harris1 but much afterward4 ,witness then went to ,james ,harris and told him that he had seen his brother three times that day4 ,related the conversation he had with him4 ,asked ,james ,harris if he remembered the conversation between him and his brother1 at the wheat-stack2 he said he did2 then told him what had passed4 ,said he would fulfil his brother's will4 ,he was satisfied that witness had seen his brother1 for that no other person knew the conversation4 ,on the same evening1 returning home about an hour before sunset1 ,thomas ,harris appeared to him1 and came alongside of him4 ,witness told him that his brother said he would fulfil his will4 ,no more conversation on this subject4 ,he disappeared4 ,he had further conversation with ,thomas ,harris1 but not on this subject4 ,he was always dressed in the same manner4 ,he had never related to any person the last conversation1 and never would4 8,bailey1 who was sworn in the cause1 declared that as he and ,brigs were stacking blades1 as related by ,brigs1 he called to witness and said1 #8,look there6 ,do you not see ,thomas ,harris8' ,witness said1 #8,no4' ,brigs got over the fence1 and walked some distance--appeared by his action to be in deep conversation with some person4 ,witness saw no one4 8,the counsel was extremely anxious to hear from ,mr4 ,brigs the whole of the conversation of the ghost1 and on his cross-examination took every means1 without effect1 to obtain it4 ,they represented to him1 as a religious man1 he was bound to disclose the whole truth4 ,he appeared agitated when applied to1 declaring nothing short of life should make him reveal the whole conversation1 and1 claiming the protection of the court1 that he had declared all he knew relative to the case4 8,the court overruled the question of the counsel4 ,hon4 ,james ,tilgman1 judge4 8,his excellency ,robert ,wright1 late governor of ,maryland1 and the ,hon4 ,joseph ,h4 ,nicholson1 afterward judge of one of the courts in ,maryland1 were the counsel for the plaintiff4 8,john ,scott and ,richard ,t4 ,earl1 ,esqs41 were counsel for the defendant40 ,here1 as in the case of ,col4 ,m----1 mentioned in a former chapter1 and some others ,i have met with1 we find disclosures made that were held sacred4 ,dr4 ,kerner relates the following singular story1 which he declares himself to have received from the most satisfactory authority4 ,agnes ,b----1 being at the time eighteen years of age1 was living as servant in a small inn at ,undenheim1 her native place4 ,the host and hostess were quiet old people1 who generally went to bed about eight o'clock1 while she and the boy1 the only other servant1 were expected to sit up till ten1 when they had to shut up the house and retire to bed also4 ,one evening1 as the host was sitting on a bench before the door1 there came a beggar1 requesting a night's lodging4 ,the host1 however1 refused1 and bade him seek what he wanted in the village2 whereon the man went away4 ,at the usual hour the old people went to bed2 and the two servants1 having closed the shutters1 and indulged in a little gossip with the watchman1 were about to follow their example1 when the beggar came round the corner of the neighboring street1 and earnestly entreated them to give him a lodging for the night1 since he could find nobody that would take him in4 ,at first the young people refused1 saying they dared not1 without their master's leave2 but at length the entreaties of the man prevailed1 and they consented to let him sleep in the barn1 on condition that1 when they called him in the morning1 he would immediately depart4 ,at three o'clock they rose1 and when the boy entered the barn1 to his dismay1 he found that the old man had expired in the night4 ,they were now much perplexed with the apprehension of their master's displeasure2 so1 after some consultation1 they agreed that the lad should convey the body out of the barn1 and lay it in a dry ditch that was near at hand1 where it would be found by the laborers1 and excite no question1 as they would naturally conclude he had laid himself down there to die4 ,this was done1 the man was discovered and buried1 and they thought themselves well rid of the whole affair2 but1 on the following night1 the girl was awakened by the beggar1 whom she saw standing at her bedside4 ,he looked at her1 and then quitted the room by the door4 8,glad was ,i10 she says1 8when the day broke2 but ,i was scarcely out of my room when the boy came to me1 trembling and pale1 and1 before ,i could say a word to him of what ,i had seen1 he told me that the beggar had been to his room in the night1 had looked at him1 and then gone away4 ,he said he was dressed as when we had seen him alive1 only he looked blacker1 which ,i also had observed40 ,still afraid of incurring blame1 they told nobody1 although the apparition returned to them every night2 and although they found removing to the other bed-chambers did not relieve them from his visits4 ,but the effects of this persecution became so visible on both1 that much curiosity was awakened in the village with respect to the cause of the alteration observed in them2 and at length the boy's mother went to the minister1 requesting him to interrogate her son1 and endeavor to discover what was preying on his mind4 ,to him the boy disclosed their secret2 and this minister1 who was a protestant1 having listened with attention to the story1 advised him1 when next he went to ,mayence1 to market1 to call on ,father ,joseph1 of the ,franciscan convent1 and relate the circumstance to him4 ,this advice was followed2 and ,father ,joseph1 assuring the lad that the ghost could do him no harm1 recommended him to ask him1 in the name of ,god1 what he desired4 ,the boy did so2 whereupon the apparition answered1 8,ye are children of mercy1 but ,i am a child of evil2 in the barn1 under the straw1 you will find my money4 ,take it2 it is yours40 ,in the morning1 the boy found the money accordingly1 in an old stocking hid under the straw2 but having a natural horror of it1 they took it to their minister1 who advised them to divide it into three parts1 giving one to the ,franciscan convent at ,mayence1 another to the reformed church in the village1 and the other third to that to which they themselves belonged1 which was of the ,lutheran persuasion4 ,this they did1 and were no more troubled with the beggar4 ,with respect to the minister who gave them this good advice1 ,i can only say1 all honor be to him6 ,i wish there were many more such6 ,the circumstance occurred in the year #agej1 and is related by the daughter of ,agnes ,b----1 who declared that she had frequently heard it from her mother4 ,the circumstance of this apparition looking darker than the man had done when alive1 is significant of his condition1 and confirms what ,i have said above1 namely1 that the moral state of the disembodied soul can no longer be concealed as it was in the flesh1 but that as he is1 he must necessarily appear4 ,there is an old saying1 that we should never lie down to rest at enmity with any human being2 and the story of the ghost of the ,princess ,anna of ,saxony1 who appeared to ,duke ,christian of ,saxe-,eisenburg1 is strongly confirmatory of the wisdom of this axiom4 ,duke ,christian was sitting one morning in his study1 when he was surprised by a knock at his door--an unusual circumstance1 since the guards as well as the people in waiting were always in the ante-room4 ,he1 however1 cried1 8,come in60 when there entered1 to his amazement1 a lady in an ancient costume1 who1 in answer to his inquiries1 told him that she was no evil spirit1 and would do him no harm2 but that she was one of his ancestors1 and had been the wife of ,duke ,john ,casimer1 of ,saxe-,coburg4 ,she then related that she and her husband had not been on good terms at the period of their deaths1 and that1 although she had sought a reconciliation1 he had been inexorable2 pursuing her with unmitigated hatred1 and injuring her by unjust suspicions2 and that1 consequently1 although she was happy1 he was still wandering in cold and darkness1 between time and eternity4 ,she had1 however1 long known that one of their descendants was destined to effect this reconciliation for them1 and they were rejoiced to find the time for it had at length arrived4 ,she then gave the duke eight days to consider if he were willing to perform this good office1 and disappeared2 whereupon he consulted a clergyman1 in whom he had great confidence1 who1 after finding the ghost's communication verified1 by a reference to the annals of the family1 advised him to comply with her request4 ,as the duke had yet some difficulty in believing it was really a ghost he had seen1 he took care to have his door well watched2 she1 however1 entered at the appointed time1 unseen by the attendants1 and1 having received the duke's promise1 she told him she would return with her husband on the following night2 for that1 though she could come by day1 he could not2 that then1 having heard the circumstances1 the duke must arbitrate between them1 and then unite their hands1 and bless them4 ,the door was still watched1 but nevertheless the apparitions both came1 the ,duke ,casimer in full royal costume1 but of a livid paleness2 and when the wife had told her story1 he told his4 ,duke ,christian decided for the lady1 in which judgment ,duke ,casimer fully acquiesced4 ,christian then took the ice-cold hand of ,casimer and laid it in that of his wife1 which felt of a natural heat4 ,they then prayed and sang together1 and the apparitions disappeared1 having foretold that ,duke ,christian would ere long be with them4 ,the family records showed that these people had lived about one hundred years before ,duke ,christian's time1 who himself died in #agjg1 two years after these visits of his ancestors4 ,he desired to be buried in quicklime--it is supposed from an idea that it might prevent his ghost walking the earth4 ,the costume in which they appeared was precisely that they had worn when alive1 as was ascertained by a reference to their portraits4 ,the expression that her husband was wandering in cold and darkness1 between time and eternity1 is here very worthy of observation1 as are the circumstances that his hand was cold1 while hers was warm2 and also1 the greater privilege she seemed to enjoy4 ,the hands of the unhappy spirits appear1 ,i think1 invariably to communicate a sensation of cold4 ,i have heard of three instances of persons now alive1 who declare that they hold continual intercourse with their deceased partners4 ,one of these is a naval officer1 whom the author of a book lately published1 called 8,the ,unseen ,world10 appears to be acquainted with4 ,the second is a professor in a college in ,america1 a man of eminence and learning1 and full of activity and energy--yet he assured a friend of mine that he receives constant visits from his departed wife1 which afford him great satisfaction4 ,the third example is a lady in this country4 ,she is united to a second husband1 has been extremely happy in both marriages1 and declares that she receives frequent visits from her first4 ,oberlin1 the good pastor of ,ban de la ,roche1 asserted the same thing of himself4 ,his wife came to him frequently after her death2 was seen by the rest of his household1 as well as himself2 and warned him beforehand of many events that occurred4 ,mrs4 ,mathews relates in the memoirs of her husband1 that he was one night in bed and unable to sleep1 from the excitement that continues some time after acting1 when1 hearing a rustling by the side of the bed1 he looked out1 and saw his first wife1 who was then dead1 standing by the bedside1 dressed as when alive4 ,she smiled1 and bent forward as if to take his hand2 but in his alarm he threw himself out on the floor to avoid the contact1 and was found by the landlord in a fit4 ,on the same night1 and at the same hour1 the present ,mrs4 ,mathews1 who was far away from him1 received a similar visit from her predecessor1 whom she had known when alive4 ,she was quite awake1 and in her terror seized the bell-rope to summon assistance1 which gave way1 and she fell with it in her hand to the ground4 ,professor ,barthe1 who visited ,oberlin in #ahbd1 says1 that while he spoke of his intercourse with the spiritual world as familiarly as of the daily visits of his parishioners1 he was at the same time perfectly free from fanaticism1 and eagerly alive to all the concerns of this earthly existence4 ,he asserted1 what ,i find many somnambules and deceased persons also assert1 that everything on earth is but a copy1 of which the antitype is to be found in the other4 ,he said to his visiter1 that he might as well attempt to persuade him that that was not a table before them1 as that he did not hold communication with the other world4 8,i give you credit for being honest when you assure me that you never saw anything of the kind10 said he2 8give me the same credit when ,i assure you that ,i do40 ,with respect to the faculty of ghost-seeing1 he said1 it depends on several circumstances1 external and internal4 ,people who live in the bustle and glare of the world seldom see them1 while those who live in still1 solitary1 thinly-inhabited places1 like the mountainous districts of various countries1 do4 ,so if ,i go into the forest by night1 ,i see the phosphoric light of a piece of rotten wood2 but if ,i go by day ,i can not see it2 yet it is still there4 ,again1 there must be a rapport4 ,a tender mother is awakened by the faintest cry of her infant1 while the maid slumbers on and never hears it2 and if ,i thrust a needle among a parcel of wood-shavings1 and hold a magnet over them1 the needle is stirred while the shavings are quite unmoved4 ,there must be a particular aptitude2 what it consists in ,i do not know2 for of my people1 many of whom are ghost-seers1 some are weak and sickly1 others vigorous and strong4 ,here are several pieces of flint3 ,i can see no difference in them2 yet some have so much iron in them that they easily become magnetic2 others have little or none4 ,so it is with the faculty of ghost-seeing4 ,people may laugh as they will1 but the thing is a fact1 nevertheless4 ,the visits of his wife continued for nine years after her death1 and then ceased4 ,at length she sent him a message1 through another deceased person1 to say that she was now elevated to a higher state1 and could therefore no longer revisit the earth4 ,never was there a purer spirit1 nor a more beloved human being1 than ,oberlin4 ,when first he was appointed to the cur of ,ban de la ,roche1 and found his people talking so familiarly of the reappearance of the dead1 he reproved them and preached against the superstition2 nor was he convinced1 till after the death of his wife4 ,she had1 however1 previously received a visit from her deceased sister1 the wife of ,professor ,oberlin1 of ,strasburg1 who had warned her of her approaching death1 for which she immediately set about preparing1 making extra clothing for her children1 and even laying in provision for the funeral feast4 ,she then took leave of her husband and family1 and went quietly to bed4 ,on the following morning she died2 and ,oberlin never heard of the warning she had received1 till she disclosed it to him in her spectral visitations4 ,in narrating the following story1 ,i am not permitted to give the names of the place or parties1 nor the number of the regiment1 with all of which1 however1 ,i am acquainted4 ,the account was taken down by one of the officers1 with whose family ,i am also acquainted2 and the circumstance occurred within the last ten years4 8,about the month of ,august10 says ,captain ,e----1 8my attention was requested by the schoolmaster-sergeant1 a man of considerable worth1 and highly esteemed by the whole corps1 to an event which had occurred in the garrison hospital4 ,having heard his recital1 which1 from the serious earnestness with which he made it1 challenged attention1 ,i resolved to investigate the matter2 and1 having communicated the circumstances to a friend1 we both repaired to the hospital for the purpose of inquiry4 8,there were two patients to be examined--both men of good character1 and neither of them suffering from any disorder affecting the brain2 the one was under treatment for consumptive symptoms1 and the other for an ulcerated leg3 and they were both in the prime of life4 8,having received a confirmation of the schoolmaster's statement from the hospital-sergeant1 also a very respectable and trustworthy man1 ,i sent for the patient principally concerned1 and desired him to state what he had seen and heard1 warning him1 at the same time1 that it was my intention to take down his deposition1 and that it behooved him to be very careful1 as possibly serious steps might be taken for the purpose of discovering whether an imposition had been practised in the wards of the hospital--a crime for which1 he was well aware1 a very severe penalty would be inflicted4 ,he then proceeded to relate the circumstances1 which ,i took down in the presence of ,mr4 ,b---- and the hospital-sergeant1 as follows3-- 8#8,it was last ,tuesday night1 somewhere between eleven and twelve1 when all of us were in bed1 and all lights out except the rush-light that was allowed for the man with the fever1 when ,i was awoke by feeling a weight upon my feet1 and at the same moment1 as ,i was drawing up my legs1 ,private ,w----1 who lies in the cot opposite mine1 called out1 8,i say1 ,q----1 there's somebody sitting upon your legs60--and as ,i looked to the bottom of my bed1 ,i saw some one get up from it1 and then come round and stand over me1 in the passage between my cot and the next4 ,i felt somewhat alarmed1 for the last few nights the ward had been disturbed by sounds as of a heavy foot walking up and down2 and as nobody could be seen1 it was beginning to be supposed among us that it was haunted1 and fancying this that came up to my bed's head might be the ghost1 ,i called out1 8,who are you1 and what do you want80 8#8,the figure then1 leaning with one hand on the wall1 over my head1 and stooping down1 said1 in my ear1 8,i am ,mrs4 ,m----20 and ,i could then distinguish that she was dressed in a flannel gown1 edged with black riband1 exactly similar to a set of grave-clothes in which ,i had assisted to clothe her corpse1 when her death took place a year previously4 8#8,the voice1 however1 was not like ,mrs4 ,m----'s1 nor like anybody else's1 yet it was very distinct1 and seemed somehow to sing through my head4 ,i could see nothing of a face beyond a darkish color about the head1 and it appeared to me that ,i could see through her body against the window-glasses4 8#8,although ,i felt very uncomfortable1 ,i asked her what she wanted4 ,she replied1 8,i am ,mrs4 ,m----1 and ,i wish you to write to him that was my husband1 and tell him444440 8#8,i am not1 sir1' said ,corporal ,q----1 #8at liberty to mention to anybody what she told me1 except to her husband4 ,he is at the dpt in ,ireland1 and ,i have written and told him4 ,she made me promise not to tell any one else4 ,after ,i had promised secrecy1 she told me something of a matter that convinced me ,i was talking to a spirit1 for it related to what only ,i and ,mrs4 ,m---- knew1 and no one living could know anything whatever of the matter2 and if ,i was now speaking my last words on earth1 ,i say solemnly that it was ,mrs4 ,m----'s spirit that spoke to me then1 and no one else4 ,after promising that if ,i complied with her request1 she would not trouble me or the ward again1 she went from my bed toward the fireplace1 and with her hands she kept feeling about the wall over the mantel-piece4 ,after a while1 she came toward me again2 and while my eyes were upon her1 she somehow disappeared from my sight altogether1 and ,i was left alone4 8#8,it was then that ,i felt faint-like1 and a cold sweat broke out over me2 but ,i did not faint1 and after a time ,i got better1 and gradually ,i went off to sleep4 8#8,the men in the ward said1 next day1 that ,mrs4 ,m---- had come to speak to me about purgatory1 because she had been a ,roman catholic1 and we had often had arguments on religion3 but what she told me had no reference to such subjects1 but to a matter only she and ,i knew of4' 8,after closely cross-questioning ,corporal ,q----1 and endeavoring without success to reason him out of his belief in the ghostly character of his visiter1 ,i read over to him what ,i had written1 and then1 dismissing him1 sent for the other patient4 8,after cautioning him1 as ,i had done the first1 ,i proceeded to take down his statement1 which was made with every appearance of good faith and sincerity3-- 8#8,i was lying awake1' said he1 #8last ,tuesday night1 when ,i saw some one sitting on ,corporal ,q----'s bed4 ,there was so little light in the ward1 that ,i could not make out who it was1 and the figure looked so strange that ,i got alarmed1 and felt quite sick4 ,i called out to ,corporal ,q---- that there was somebody sitting upon his bed1 and then the figure got up2 and as ,i did not know but it might be coming to me1 ,i got so much alarmed1 that being but weakly' 7this was the consumptive man71 #8,i fell back1 and ,i believe ,i fainted away4 ,when ,i got round again1 ,i saw the figure standing and apparently talking to the corporal1 placing one hand against the wall and stooping down4 ,i could not1 however1 hear any voice2 and being still much alarmed1 ,i put my head under the clothes for a considerable time4 ,when ,i looked up again ,i could only see ,corporal ,q----1 sitting up in bed alone1 and he said he had seen a ghost2 and ,i told him ,i had also seen it4 ,after a time he got up and gave me a drink of water1 for ,i was very faint4 ,some of the other patients being disturbed by our talking1 they bade us be quiet1 and after some time ,i got to sleep4 ,the ward has not been disturbed since4' 8,the man was then cross-questioned2 but his testimony remaining quite unshaken1 he was dismissed1 and the hospital-sergeant was interrogated with regard to the possibility of a trick having been practised4 ,he asserted1 however1 that this was impossible2 and1 certainly1 from my own knowledge of the hospital regulations1 and the habits of the patients1 ,i should say that a practical joke of this nature was too serious a thing to have been attempted by anybody1 especially as there were patients in the ward very ill at the time1 and one very near his end4 ,the punishment would have been extremely severe1 and discovery almost certain1 since everybody would have been adverse to the delinquent4 8,the investigation that ensued was a very brief one1 it being found that there was nothing more to be elicited2 and the affair terminated with the supposition that the two men had been dreaming4 ,nevertheless1 six months afterward1 on being interrogated1 their evidence and their conviction were as clear as at first1 and they declared themselves ready at any time to repeat their statement upon oath40 ,supposing this case to be as the men believed it1 there are several things worthy of observation4 ,in the first place1 the ghost is guilty of that inconsistency so offensive to ,francis ,grose and many others4 ,instead of telling her secret to her husband1 she commissions the corporal to tell it him1 and it is not till a year after her departure from this life that she does even that2 and she is heard in the ward two or three nights before she is visible4 ,we are therefore constrained to suppose that1 like ,mrs4 ,bretton1 she could not communicate with her husband1 and that1 till that ,tuesday night1 the necessary conditions for attaining her object1 as regarded the corporal1 were wanting4 ,it is also remarkable that1 although the latter heard her speak distinctly1 and spoke to her1 the other man heard no voice1 which renders it probable that she had at length been able to produce that impression upon him which a magnetizer does on his somnambule1 enabling each to understand the other by a transference of thought1 which was undistinguishable to the corporal from speech1 as it is frequently to the somnambule4 ,the imitating the actions of life by leaning against the wall and feeling about the mantel-piece1 are very unlike what a person would have done who was endeavoring to impose on the man2 and equally unlike what they would have reported1 had the thing been an invention of their own4 ,among the established jests on the subject of ghosts1 their sudden vanishing is a very fruitful one2 but1 ,i think1 if we examine this question1 we shall find that there is nothing comical in the matter except the ignorance or want of reflection of the jesters4 ,in the first place1 as ,i have before observed1 a spirit must be where its thoughts and affections are1 for they are itself2 our spirits are where our thoughts and affections are1 although our solid bodies remain stationary3 and no one will suppose that walls or doors1 or material obstacles of any kind1 could exclude a spirit any more than they can exclude our thoughts4 ,but1 then1 there is the visible body of the spirit--what is that1 and how does it retain its shape8--for we know that there is a law 7discovered by ,dalton7 that two masses of gaseous matter can not remain in contact1 but they will immediately proceed to diffuse themselves into one another2 and accordingly1 it may be advanced that a gaseous corporeity in the atmosphere is an impossibility1 because it could not retain its form1 but would inevitably be dissolved away1 and blend with the surrounding air4 ,but precisely the same objection might be made by a chemist to the possibility of our fleshly bodies retaining their integrity and compactness3 for the human body1 taken as a whole1 is known to be an impossible chemical compound1 except for the vitality which upholds it2 and no sooner is life withdrawn from it1 than it crumbles into putrescence2 and it is undeniable that the aeriform body would be an impossible mechanical phenomenon1 but for the vitality which1 we are entitled to suppose1 may uphold it4 ,but1 just as the state or condition of organization protects the fleshly body from the natural reactions which would destroy it1 so may an analogous condition of organization protect a spiritual ethereal body from the destructive influence of the mutual interdiffusion of gases4 ,thus1 supposing this aeriform body to be a permanent appurtenance of the spirit1 we see how it may subsist and retain its integrity2 and it would be as reasonable to hope to exclude the electric fluid by walls or doors as to exclude by them this subtle1 fluent form4 ,if1 on the contrary1 the shape be only one constructed out of the atmosphere by an act of will1 the same act of will1 which is a vital force1 will preserve it entire1 until1 the will being withdrawn1 it dissolves away4 ,in either case1 the moment the will or thought of the spirit is elsewhere1 it is gone--it has vanished4 ,for those who prefer the other hypothesis--namely1 that there is no outstanding shape at all1 but that the will of the spirit1 acting on the constructive imagination of the seer1 enables him to conceive the form1 as the spirit itself conceives of it--there can be no difficulty in understanding that the becoming invisible will depend merely on a similar act of will4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,haunted ,,houses4 ,,everybody has heard of haunted houses2 and there is no country1 and scarcely any place1 in which something of the sort is not known or talked of2 and ,i suppose there is no one who1 in the course of their travels1 has not seen very respectable1 good-looking houses shut up and uninhabited1 because they had this evil reputation assigned to them4 ,i have seen several such1 for my own part2 and it is remarkable that this mala fama does not always1 by any means1 attach itself to buildings one would imagine most obnoxious to such a suspicion4 ,for example1 ,i never heard of a ghost being seen or heard in ,haddon hall1 the most ghostly of houses2 nor in many other antique1 mysterious-looking buildings1 where one might expect them1 while sometimes a house of a very prosaic aspect remains uninhabited1 and is ultimately allowed to fall to ruin1 for no other reason1 we are told1 than that nobody can live in it4 ,i remember1 in my childhood1 such a house in ,kent--,i think it was on the road between ,maidstone and ,tunbridge--which had this reputation4 ,there was nothing dismal about it3 it was neither large nor old1 and it stood on the borders of a well-frequented road2 yet ,i was assured it had stood empty for years2 and as long as ,i lived in that part of the country it never had an inhabitant1 and ,i believe was finally pulled down--and all for no other reason than that it was haunted1 and nobody could live in it4 ,i have frequently heard of people1 while travelling on the continent1 getting into houses at a rent so low as to surprise them1 and ,i have1 moreover1 frequently heard of very strange things occurring while they were there4 ,i remember1 for instance1 a family of the name of ,s---- ,s----1 who obtained a very handsome house at a most agreeably cheap rate1 somewhere on the coast of ,italy--,i think it was at ,mola de ,gaeta4 ,they lived very comfortably in it till one day1 while ,mrs4 ,s---- ,s---- was sitting in the drawing-room1 which opened into a balcony overhanging the sea1 she saw a lady dressed in white pass along before the windows1 which were all closed4 ,concluding it was one of her daughters1 who had been accidentally shut out1 she arose and opened the window1 to allow her to enter2 but on looking out1 to her amazement there was nobody there1 although there was no possible escape from the balcony unless by jumping into the sea6 ,on mentioning this circumstance to somebody in the neighborhood1 they were told that 8that was the reason they had the house so cheap3 nobody liked to live in it40 ,i have heard of several houses1 even in populous cities1 to which some strange circumstance of this sort is attached--some in ,london even1 and some in this city and neighborhood2 and1 what is more1 unaccountable things actually do happen to those who inhabit them4 ,doors are strangely opened and shut1 a rustling of silk1 and sometimes a whispering1 and frequently footsteps1 are heard4 ,there is a house in ,ayrshire to which this sort of thing has been attached for years1 insomuch that it was finally abandoned to an old man and woman1 who said that they were so used to it that they did not mind it4 ,a distinguished authoress told me that some time ago she passed a night at the house of an acquaintance1 in one of the midland counties of ,england4 ,she and her sister occupied the same room1 and in the night they heard some one ascending the stairs4 ,the foot came distinctly to the door1 then turned away1 ascended the next flight1 and they heard it overhead4 ,in the morning1 on being asked if they had slept well1 they mentioned this circumstance4 8,that is what everybody hears who sleeps in that room10 said the lady of the house4 8,many a time ,i have1 when sleeping there1 drawn up the night-bolt1 persuaded that the nurse was bringing the baby to me2 but there was nobody to be seen4 ,we have taken every pains to ascertain what it is1 but in vain2 and are now so used to it1 that we have ceased to care about the matter40 ,i know of two or three other houses in this city1 and one in the neighborhood1 in which circumstances of this nature are transpiring1 or have transpired very lately2 but people hush them up1 from the fear of being laughed at1 and also from an apprehension of injuring the character of a house2 on which account1 ,i do not dwell on the particulars4 ,but there was1 some time since1 a fama of this kind attached to a house in ,st4 ,j---- street1 some of the details of which became very public4 ,it had stood empty a long time1 in consequence of the annoyances to which the inhabitants had been subjected4 ,there was one room1 particularly1 which nobody could occupy without disturbance4 ,on one occasion1 a youth who had been abroad a considerable time1 either in the army or navy1 was put there to sleep on his arrival1 since1 knowing nothing of these reports1 it was hoped his rest might not be interrupted4 ,in the morning1 however1 he complained of the dreadful time he had had1 with people looking in at him between the curtains of his bed all night--avowing his resolution to terminate his visit that same day1 as he would not sleep there any more4 ,after this period1 the house stood empty again for a considerable time1 but was at length taken and workmen sent in to repair it4 ,one day1 when the men were away at dinner1 the master tradesman took the key and went to inspect progress1 and1 having examined the lower rooms1 he was ascending the stairs1 when he heard a man's foot behind him4 ,he looked round1 but there was nobody there1 and he moved on again2 still there was somebody following1 and he stopped and looked over the rails2 but there was no one to be seen4 ,so1 although feeling rather queer1 he advanced into the drawing-room1 where a fire had been lighted2 and1 wishing to combat the uncomfortable sensation that was creeping over him1 he took hold of a chair1 and drawing it resolutely along the floor1 he slammed it down upon the hearth with some force and seated himself in it2 when1 to his amazement1 the action1 in all its particulars of sound1 was immediately repeated by his unseen companion1 who seemed to seat himself beside him on a chair as invisible as himself4 ,horror-struck1 the worthy builder started up and rushed out of the house4 ,there is a house in ,s---- street1 in ,london1 which1 having stood empty a good while1 was at length taken by ,lord ,b----4 ,the family were annoyed by several unpleasant occurrences1 and by the sound of footsteps1 which were often audible1 especially in ,lady ,b----'s bed-room--who1 though she could not see the form1 was occasionally conscious of its immediate proximity4 ,some time since1 a gentleman having established himself in a lodging in ,london1 felt1 the first night he slept there1 that the clothes were being dragged off his bed4 ,he fancied he had done it himself in his sleep1 and pulled them on again2--but it happens repeatedly3 he gets out of bed each time--can find nobody1 no string1 no possible explanation--nor can obtain any from the people of the house1 who only seem distressed and annoyed4 ,on mentioning it to some one in the neighborhood1 he is informed that the same thing has occurred to several preceding occupants of the lodging1 which1 of course1 he left4 ,the circumstances that happened at ,new ,house1 in ,hampshire--as detailed by ,mr4 ,barham in the third volume of the 8,ingoldsby ,legends0--are known to be perfectly authentic2 as are the following1 the account of which ,i have received from a highly respectable servant1 residing in a family with whom ,i am well acquainted3 she informs me that she was1 not very long since1 living with a ,colonel and ,mrs4 ,w----1 who1 being at ,carlisle1 engaged a furnished house1 which they obtained at an exceedingly cheap rate1 because nobody liked to live in it4 ,this family1 however1 met with no annoyance1 and attached no importance to the rumor which had kept the house empty4 ,there were1 however1 two rooms in it wholly unfurnished2 and as the house was large1 they were dispensed with till the recurrence of the race week1 when1 expecting company1 these two rooms were temporarily fitted up for the use of the nurses and children4 ,there were heavy ,venetian blinds to the windows2 and1 in the middle of the night1 the person who related the circumstance to me1 was awakened by the distinct sound of these blinds being pulled up and down with violence1 perhaps as many as twenty times4 ,the fire had fallen low1 and she could not see whether they were actually moved or not1 but lay trembling in indescribable terror4 ,presently feet were heard in the room1 and a stamping as if several men were moving about without stockings4 ,while lying in this state of agony1 she was comforted by hearing the voice of a nurse1 who slept in another bed in the same chamber1 exclaiming3 8,the ,lord have mercy upon us60 ,this second woman then asked the first if she had courage to get out of bed and stir up the fire1 so that they might be able to see2 which by a great effort she did1 the chimney being near her bed4 ,there was1 however1 nothing to be discovered1 everything being precisely as when they went to bed4 ,on another occasion1 when they were sitting in the evening at work1 they distinctly heard some one counting money1 and the chink of the pieces as they were laid down4 ,the sound proceeded from the inner room of the two1 but there was nobody there4 ,this family left the house1 and though a large and commodious one1 she understood it remained unoccupied1 as before4 ,a respectable citizen of ,edinburgh1 not long ago1 went to ,america to visit his son1 who had married and settled there4 ,the morning after his arrival1 he declared his determination to return immediately to ,philadelphia1 from which the house was at a considerable distance2 and1 on being interrogated as to the cause of this sudden departure1 he said that in the previous night he had heard a man walking about his room1 who had approached the bed1 drawn back the curtains1 and bent over him4 ,thinking it was somebody who had concealed himself there with ill intentions1 he had struck out violently at the figure1 when1 to his horror1 his arm passed unimpeded through it4 ,other extraordinary things happened in that house1 which had the reputation of being haunted1 although the son had not believed it1 and had therefore not mentioned the report to the father4 ,one day the children said they had been running after 8such a queer thing in the cellar2 it was like a goat1 and not like a goat2 but it seemed to be like a shadow40 ,a few years ago1 some friends of mine were taking a house in this city1 when the servants of the people who were leaving advised them not to have anything to do with it1 for that there was a ghost in it that screamed dreadfully1 and that they never could keep a stitch of clothes on them at night--the bed-coverings were always pulled off4 ,my friends laughed heartily and took the house2 but the cries and groans all over it were so frequent1 that they at length got quite used to them4 ,it is to be observed that the house was a flat1 or floor1 shut in2 so that there could be no draughts of air nor access for tricks4 ,besides1 it was a woman's voice1 sometimes close to their ears1 sometimes in a closet1 sometimes behind their beds--in short1 in all directions4 ,everybody heard it that went to the house4 ,the tenant that succeeded them1 however1 has never been troubled with it4 ,the story of the ,brown ,lady at the ,marquis of ,t----'s1 in ,norfolk1 is known to many4 ,the ,hon4 ,h4 ,w---- told me that a friend of his1 while staying there1 had often seen her1 and had one day inquired of his host1 8,who was the lady in brown that he had met frequently on the stairs80 ,two gentlemen1 whose names were mentioned to me1 resolved to watch for her and intercept her4 ,they at length saw her but she eluded them by turning down a staircase1 and when they looked over she had disappeared4 ,many persons have seen her4 ,there is a ,scotch family of distinction1 who1 ,i am told1 are accompanied by an unseen attendant1 whom they call 8,spinning ,jenny40 ,she is heard spinning in their house in the country1 and when they come into town she spins here2 servants and all hear the sound of her wheel4 ,i believe she accompanies them no further than to their own residences1 not to those of other people4 ,jenny is supposed to be a former housemaid of the family1 who was a great spinner1 and they are so accustomed to her presence as to feel it no annoyance4 ,the following very singular circumstance was related to me by the daughter of the celebrated ,mrs4 ,s----3 ,mrs4 ,s---- and her husband were travelling into ,wales1 and had occasion to stop on their way1 some days1 at ,oswestry4 ,there they established themselves in a lodging1 to reach the door of which they had to go down a sort of close1 or passage4 ,the only inhabitants of the house were the mistress1 a very handsome woman1 and two maids4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,s----1 however1 very soon had occasion to complain of the neglected state of the rooms1 which were apparently never cleaned or dusted2 though1 strange to say1 to judge by their own ears1 the servants were doing nothing else all night1 their sleep being constantly disturbed by the noise of rubbing1 sweeping1 and the moving of furniture4 ,when they complained to these servants of the noise in the night1 and the dirt of the rooms1 they answered that the noise was not made by them1 and that it was impossible for them to do their work1 exhausted as they were by sitting up all night with their mistress1 who could not bear to be alone when she was in bed4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,s---- afterward discovered that she had her room lighted up every night2 and one day1 as they were returning from a walk1 and she happened to be going down the close before them1 they heard her saying1 as she turned her head sharply from side to side1 8,are you there again8 ,what1 the devil6 ,go away1 ,i tell you60 c41 c4 ,on applying to the neighbors for an explanation of these mysteries1 the good people only shook their heads1 and gave mysterious answers4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,s---- afterward learned that she was believed to have murdered a girl who formerly lived in her service4 ,there is nothing in the conduct of this unhappy woman which may not be perfectly well accounted for1 by the supposition of a guilty conscience2 but the noises heard by ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,s---- at night1 are curiously in accordance with a variety of similar stories1 wherein this strange visionary repetition of the trivial actions of daily life1 or of some particular incident1 has been observed4 ,the affair of ,lord ,st4 ,vincent's was of this nature2 and there is somewhere extant1 an account of the ghost of ,peter the ,great1 of ,russia1 having appeared to ,doctor ,doppelio1 complaining to him of the sufferings he endured from having to act over again his former cruelties2 a circumstance which exhibits a remarkable coincidence with the ,glasgow dream1 mentioned in a preceding chapter4 ,we must1 of course1 attach a symbolical meaning to these phenomena1 and conclude that these reactings are somewhat of the nature of our dreams4 ,certainly1 there would need no stronger motive to induce us to spend the period allotted to us on earth1 in those pure and innocent pleasures and occupations1 which never weary or sicken the soul1 than the belief that such a future awaits us6 ,a family in one of the ,english counties1 was a few years ago terribly troubled by an unseen inmate who chiefly seemed to inhabit a large cellar1 into which there was no entrance except the door which was kept locked4 ,here there would be a loud knocking--sometimes a voice crying--heavy feet walking1 c41 c4 ,at first1 the old trustworthy butler would summon his accolytes1 and descend1 armed with sword and blunderbuss2 but no one was to be seen4 ,they could often hear the feet following them up stairs from this cellar2 and once1 when the family had determined to watch1 they found themselves accompanied up stairs not only by the sound of the feet1 but by a visible shadowy companion6 ,they rushed up1 flew to their chamber1 and shut the door1 when instantly they felt and saw the handle turned in their hand by a hand outside4 ,windows and doors were opened in spite of locks and keys2 but notwithstanding the most persevering investigations1 the only clew to the mystery was the appearance of that spectral figure4 ,the knockings and sounds of people at work1 asserted to be heard in mines1 is a fact maintained by many very sensible men1 overseers1 and superintendents1 c41 as well as by the workmen themselves2 and there is a strong persuasion1 ,i know1 among the miners of ,cornwall1 and those of ,mendip1 that these visionary workmen are sometimes heard among them2 on which occasions the horses evince their apprehensions by trembling and sweating2 but as ,i have no means of verifying these reports1 ,i do not dwell upon them further4 ,when the mother of ,george ,canning1 then ,mrs4 ,hunn1 was an actress in the provinces1 she went1 among other places1 to ,plymouth1 having previously requested her friend1 ,mr4 ,bernard1 of the theatre1 to procure her a lodging4 ,on her arrival ,mr4 ,b4 told her that if she was not afraid of a ghost1 she might have a comfortable residence at a very low rate1 8,for there is10 said he1 8a house belonging to our carpenter1 that is reported to be haunted1 and nobody will live in it4 ,if you like to have it1 you may1 and for nothing1 ,i believe1 for he is so anxious to get a tenant2 only you must not let it be known that you do not pay rent for it40 ,mrs4 ,hunn1 alluding to the theatrical apparitions1 said it would not be the first time she had had to do with a ghost1 and that she was very willing to encounter this one2 so she had her luggage taken to the house in question1 and the bed prepared4 ,at her usual hour1 she sent her maid and her children to bed1 and1 curious to see if there was any foundation for the rumor she had heard1 she seated herself1 with a couple of candles and a book1 to watch the event4 ,beneath the room she occupied was the carpenter's workshop1 which had two doors4 ,the one which opened into the street was barred and bolted within2 the other1 a smaller one1 opening into the passage1 was only on the latch2 and the house was1 of course1 closed for the night4 ,she had read something more than half an hour1 when she perceived a noise issuing from this lower apartment1 which sounded very much like the sawing of wood4 ,presently other such noises as usually proceed from a carpenter's workshop were added1 till by-and-by1 there was a regular concert of knocking and hammering1 and sawing and planing1 c42 the whole sounding like half a dozen busy men in full employment4 ,being a woman of considerable courage1 ,mrs4 ,hunn resolved1 if possible1 to penetrate the mystery2 so taking off her shoes1 that her approach might not be heard1 with her candle in her hand1 she very softly opened her door and descended the stairs1 the noise continuing as loud as ever1 and evidently proceeding from the workshop1 till she opened the door1 when instantly all was silent--all was still--not a mouse was stirring2 and the tools and the wood1 and everything else1 lay as they had been left by the workmen when they went away4 ,having examined every part of the place1 and satisfied herself that there was nobody there1 and that nobody could get into it1 ,mrs4 ,hunn ascended to her room again1 beginning almost to doubt her own senses1 and question with herself whether she had really heard the noise or not1 when it recommenced and continued1 without intermission1 for about half an hour4 ,she however went to bed1 and the next day told nobody what had occurred1 having determined to watch another night before mentioning the affair to any one4 ,as1 however1 this strange scene was acted over again1 without her being able to discover the cause of it1 she now mentioned the circumstance to the owner of the house and to her friend ,bernard2 and the former1 who would not believe it1 agreed to watch with her1 which he did4 ,the noise began as before1 and he was so horror-struck that1 instead of entering the workshop as she wished him to do1 he rushed into the street4 ,mrs4 ,hunn continued to inhabit the house the whole summer2 and1 when referring afterward to the adventure1 she observed that use was second nature1 and that she was sure if any night these ghostly carpenters had not pursued their visionary labors1 she should have been quite frightened1 lest they should pay her a visit up stairs4 ,from many recorded cases1 ,i find the vulgar belief1 that buried money is frequently the cause of these disturbances1 is strongly borne out by facts4 ,this certainly does seem to us very strange1 and can only be explained by the hypothesis suggested1 that the soul awakes in the other world in exactly the same state in which it quitted this4 ,in the abovementioned instances1 of what are called haunted houses1 there is generally nothing seen2 but those are equally abundant where the ghostly visiter is visible4 ,two young ladies were passing the night in a house in the north1 when the youngest1 then a child1 awoke and saw an old man1 in a ,kilmarnock nightcap1 walking about their bed-room4 ,she said1 when telling the story in after-life1 that she was not the least frightened--she was only surprised6 but she found that her sister1 who was several years older than herself1 was in a state of great terror4 ,he continued some time moving about1 and at last went to a chest of drawers1 where there lay a parcel of buttons1 belonging to a travelling tailor who had been at work in the house4 ,whether the old man threw them down or not1 she could not say2 but1 just then1 they all fell rattling off the drawers to the floor1 whereupon he disappeared4 ,the next morning1 when they mentioned the circumstance1 she observed that the family looked at each other in a significant manner2 but it was not till she was older she learned that the house was said to be haunted by this old man4 8,it never occurred to me10 she said1 8that it was a ghost4 ,who could have thought of a ghost in a ,kilmarnock nightcap60 ,at the ,leipsic fair1 lodgings are often very scarce1 and on one occasion a stranger1 who had arrived late in the evening1 had some difficulty in finding a bed4 ,at length he found a vacant chamber in the house of a citizen4 ,it was one they made no use of1 but they said he was welcome to it2 and1 weary and sleepy1 he gladly accepted the offer4 ,fatigued as he was1 however1 he was disturbed by some unaccountable noises1 of which he complained to his hosts in the morning4 ,they pacified him by some excuses2 but the next night1 not long after he had gone to bed1 he came down stairs in great haste1 with his portmanteau on his shoulder1 declaring he would not stay there another hour for the world2 for that a lady1 in a strange old-fashioned dress1 had come into the room with a dagger in her hand1 and made threatening gestures at him4 ,he accordingly went away1 and the room was shut up again2 but some time afterward1 a servant-girl in the family of this citizen1 being taken ill1 they were obliged to put her into that room1 in order to separate her from the rest of the family4 ,here she recovered her health rapidly2 and as she had never complained of any annoyance1 she was asked1 when she was quite well1 whether anything particular had happened while she inhabited that chamber4 8,oh1 yes10 she answered2 8every night there came a strange lady into the room1 who sat herself on the bed and stroked me with her hand1 and ,i believe it is to her ,i owe my speedy recovery2 but ,i could never get her to speak to me--she only sighs and weeps40 ,not very long since1 a gentleman set out1 one fine midsummer's evening1 when it is light all night in ,scotland1 to walk from ,montrose to ,brechin4 ,as he approached a place called ,dunn1 he observed a lady walking on before1 which1 from the lateness of the hour1 somewhat surprised him4 ,sometime afterward1 he was found by the early laborers lying on the ground1 near the churchyard1 in a state of insensibility4 ,all he could tell them was1 that he had followed this lady till she had turned her head and looked round at him1 when1 seized with horror1 he had fainted4 8,oh10 said they1 8you have seen the lady of ,dunn40 ,what is the legend attached to this lady of ,dunn1 ,i do not know4 ,monsieur ,de ,s4 had been violently in love with ,hippolyte ,clairon1 the celebrated ,french actress1 but she rejected his suit1 in so peremptory a manner1 that even when he was at the point of death1 she refused his earnest entreaties1 that she would visit him4 ,indignant at her cruelty1 he declared that he would haunt her1 and he certainly kept his word4 ,i believe she never saw his ghost1 but he appears to have been always near her2 at least1 on several occasions when other people doubted the fact1 he signalized his presence at her bidding1 by various sounds1 and this1 wherever she happened to be at the moment4 ,sometimes it was a cry1 at others1 a shot1 and at others1 a clapping of hands or music4 ,she seems to have been slow to believe in the extra-natural character of these noises2 and even when she was ultimately convinced1 to have been divided between horror on the one hand1 and diversion1 at the oddness of the circumstance1 on the other4 ,the sounds were heard by everybody in her vicinity2 and ,i am informed by ,mr4 ,charles ,kirkpatrick ,sharpe1 that the margrave of ,anspach1 who was subsequently her lover1 and ,mr4 ,keppel ,craven1 were perfectly well acquainted with the circumstances of this haunting1 and entertained no doubt of the facts above alluded to4 ,the ghost known by the designation of 8the ,white ,lady10 which is frequently seen in different castles or palaces belonging to the royal family of ,prussia1 has been mentioned in another publication1 ,i think4 ,she was long supposed to be a ,countess ,agnes1 of ,orlamunde2 but a picture of a princess called ,bertha1 or ,perchta von ,rosenberg1 discovered some time since1 was thought so exceedingly to resemble the apparition1 that it is now a disputed point which of the two ladies it is1 or whether it is or is not the same apparition that is seen at different places4 ,neither of these ladies appears to have been very happy in their lives3 but the opinion of its being the ,princess ,bertha1 who lived in the fifteenth century1 was somewhat countenanced by the circumstance1 that at a period when1 in consequence of the war1 an annual benefit which she had bequeathed to the poor was neglected1 the apparition seemed to be unusually disturbed1 and was seen more frequently4 ,she is often observed before a death2 and one of the ,fredericks said1 shortly before his decease1 that he should 8not live long1 for he had met the ,white ,lady40 ,she wears a widow's band and veil1 but it is sufficiently transparent to show her features1 which do not express happiness1 but placidity4 ,she has only been twice heard to speak4 ,in ,december1 #afbh1 she appeared in the palace at ,berlin1 and was heard to say1 8,veni1 judica vivos et mortuos6 ,judicium mihi adhuc superest40--8,come1 judge the quick and the dead6 ,i wait for judgment40 ,on the other occasion1 which is more recent1 one of the princesses at the castle of ,neuhaus1 in ,bohemia1 was standing before a mirror1 trying on a new head-dress1 when1 on asking her waiting-maid what the hour was1 the white lady suddenly stepped from behind a screen and said3 8,zehn uhr ist es ihr liebden60--8,it is ten o'clock1 your love60 which is the mode in which the sovereign princes address each other1 instead of 8your highness40 ,the princess was much alarmed1 soon fell sick1 and died in a few weeks4 ,she has frequently evinced displeasure at the exhibition of impiety or vice2 and there are many records of her different appearances to be found in the works of ,balbinus and of ,erasmus ,francisci2 and in a publication called 8,the ,iris10 published in ,frankfort in #ahai1 the editor1 ,george ,doring1 who is said to have been a man of great integrity1 gives the following account of one of her later appearances1 which he declares he received just as he gives it1 from the lips of his own mother1 on whose word and judgment he could perfectly rely2 and shortly before his death1 an inquiry being addressed to him with regard to the correctness of the narration1 he vouched for its authenticity4 ,it seems that the elder sister of his mother was companion to one of the ladies of the court1 and that the younger ones were in the habit of visiting her frequently4 ,two of these 7,doring's mother and another71 aged fourteen and fifteen1 were once spending a week with her1 when she being out and they alone with their needlework1 chattering about the court diversions1 they suddenly heard the sound of a stringed instrument1 like a harp1 which seemed to proceed from behind a large stove that occupied one corner of the room4 ,half in fear and half in fun1 one of the girls took a yard measure that lay beside them1 and struck the spot1 whereupon the music ceased1 but the stick was wrested from her hand4 ,she became alarmed2 but the other1 named ,christina1 laughed and said she must have fancied it1 adding that the music doubtless proceeded from the street1 though they could not descry any musicians4 ,to get over her fright1 of which she was half ashamed1 the former now ran out of the room to visit a neighbor for a few minutes2 but when she returned1 she found ,christina lying on the floor in a swoon1 who1 on being revived with the aid of the attendants who had heard a scream1 related1 that no sooner had her sister left her than the sound was repeated1 close to the stove1 and a white figure had appeared and advanced toward her1 whereupon she had screamed and fainted4 ,the lady who owned the apartments flattered herself that this apparition betokened that a treasure was hidden under the stove1 and1 imposing silence on the girls1 she sent for a carpenter and had the planks lifted4 ,the floor was found to be double1 and below was a vault1 from which issued a very unwholesome vapor1 but no treasure was found1 nor anything but a quantity of quicklime4 ,the circumstance being now made known to the king1 he expressed no surprise2 he said that the apparition was doubtless that of a countess of ,orlamunde1 who had been buried alive in that vault4 ,she was the mistress of a margrave of ,brandenburg1 by whom she had two sons4 ,when the prince became a widower1 she expected he would marry her2 but he urged as an objection that he feared1 in that case1 her sons might hereafter dispute the succession with the lawful heirs4 ,in order to remove this obstacle out of her way1 she poisoned the children2 and the margrave1 disgusted and alarmed1 had her walled up in that vault for her pains4 ,he added that she was usually seen every seven years1 and was preceded by the sound of a harp1 on which instrument she had been a proficient2 and also that she more frequently appeared to children than to adults1--as if the love she had denied her own offspring in life was now her torment1 and that she sought a reconciliation with childhood in general4 ,i know from the best authority that the fact of these appearances is not doubted by those who have the fullest opportunities of inquiry and investigation2 and ,i remember seeing in the ,english papers1 a few years since1 a paragraph copied from the foreign journals1 to the effect that the ,white ,lady had been seen again1 ,i think at ,berlin4 ,the following very curious relation ,i have received from the gentleman to whom the circumstance occurred1 who is a professional man residing in ,london3-- 8,i was brought up by a grandfather and four aunts1 all ghost-seers and believers in supernatural appearances4 ,the former had been a sailor1 and was one of the crew that sailed round the world with ,lord ,anson4 ,i remember1 when ,i was about eight years old1 that ,i was awakened by the screams of one of these ladies1 with whom ,i was sleeping1 which summoned all the family about her to inquire the cause of the disturbance4 ,she said that she had #8seen ,nancy by the side of the bed1 and that she was slipping into it4' ,we had scarcely got down stairs in the morning1 before intelligence arrived that that lady had died1 precisely at the moment my aunt said she saw her4 ,nancy was her brother's wife4 ,another of my aunts1 who was married and had a large family1 foretold my grandfather's death1 at a time that we had no reason to apprehend it4 ,he1 also1 had appeared at her bedside2 he was then alive and well1 but he died a fortnight afterward4 ,but it would be tedious were ,i to enumerate half the instances ,i could recall of a similar description2 and ,i will therefore proceed to the relation of what happened to myself4 8,i was1 some few years since1 invited to pass a day and night at the house of a friend in ,hertfordshire1 with whom ,i was intimately acquainted4 ,his name was ,b----1 and he had formerly been in business as a saddler1 in ,oxford street1 where he realized a handsome fortune1 and had now retired to enjoy his otium cum dignitate1 in the rural and beautiful village of ,sarratt4 8,it was a gloomy ,sunday1 in the month of ,november1 when ,i mounted my horse for the journey1 and there was so much appearance of rain1 that ,i should certainly have selected some other mode of conveyance1 had ,i not been desirous of leaving the animal in ,mr4 ,e----'s straw-yard for the winter4 ,before ,i got as far as ,st4 ,john's wood1 the threatening clouds broke1 and by the time ,i reached ,watford ,i was completely soaked4 ,however1 ,i proceeded1 and arrived at ,sarratt before my friend and his wife had returned from church4 ,the moment they did so1 they furnished me with dry clothes1 and ,i was informed that we were to dine at the house of ,mr4 ,d----1 a very agreeable neighbor4 ,i felt some little hesitation about presenting myself in such a costume1 for ,i was decked out in a full suit of ,mr4 ,b----'s1 who was a stout man1 of six feet in height1 while ,i am rather of the diminutive order2 but my objections were overruled2 we went1 and my appearance added not a little to the hilarity of the party4 ,at ten o'clock we separated1 and ,i returned with ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,b---- to their house1 where ,i was shortly afterward conducted to a very comfortable bed-room4 8,fatigued with my day's ride1 ,i was soon in bed1 and soon asleep1 but ,i do not think ,i could have slept long before ,i was awakened by the violent barking of dogs4 ,i found that the noise had disturbed others as well as myself1 for ,i heard ,mr4 ,b----1 who was lodged in the adjoining room1 open his window and call to them to be quiet4 ,they were obedient to his voice1 and as soon as quietness ensued ,i dropped asleep again2 but ,i was again awakened by an extraordinary pressure upon my feet2 that ,i was perfectly awake1 ,i declare2 the light that stood in the chimney-corner shone strongly across the foot of the bed1 and ,i saw the figure of a well-dressed man in the act of stooping1 and supporting himself in so doing by the bed-clothes4 ,he had on a blue coat1 with bright gilt buttons1 but ,i saw no head2 the curtains at the foot of the bed1 which were partly looped back1 just hung so as to conceal that part of his person4 ,at first ,i thought it was my host1 and as ,i had dropped my clothes1 as is my habit1 on the floor at the foot of the bed1 ,i supposed he was come to look after them1 which rather surprised me3 but1 just as ,i had raised myself upright in bed1 and was about to inquire into the occasion of his visit1 the figure passed on4 ,i then recollected that ,i had locked the door2 and1 becoming somewhat puzzled1 ,i jumped out of bed2 but ,i could see nobody2 and on examining the room ,i found no means of ingress but the door through which ,i had entered1 and one other2 both of which were locked on the inside4 ,amazed and puzzled ,i got into bed again1 and sat some time ruminating on the extraordinary circumstance1 when it occurred to me that ,i had not looked under the bed2 so ,i got out again1 fully expecting to find my visiter1 whoever he was1 there2 but ,i was disappointed4 ,so1 after looking at my watch1 and ascertaining that it was ten minutes past two1 ,i stepped into bed again1 hoping now to get some rest4 ,but1 alas6 sleep was banished for that night2 and after turning from side to side1 and making vain endeavors at forgetfulness1 ,i gave up the point1 and lay till the clocks struck seven1 perplexing my brain with the question of who my midnight visiter could be1 and also how he had got in and how he had got out of my room4 ,about eight o'clock ,i met my host and his wife at the breakfast-table1 when1 in answer to their hospitable inquiries of how ,i had passed the night1 ,i mentioned1 first1 that ,i had been awaked by the barking of some dogs1 and that ,i had heard ,mr4 ,b---- open his window and call to them4 ,he answered that two strange dogs had got into the yard and had disturbed the others4 ,i then mentioned my midnight visiter1 expecting that they would either explain the circumstance1 or else laugh at me and declare ,i must have dreamed it4 ,but1 to my surprise1 my story was listened to with grave attention1 and they related to me the tradition with which this spectre1 for such ,i found they deemed it to be1 was supposed to be connected4 ,this was to the effect1 that many years ago a gentleman so attired had been murdered there1 under some frightful circumstances1 and that his head had been cut off4 ,on perceiving that ,i was very unwilling to accept this explanation of the mystery1 for1 in spite of my family peculiarity1 ,i had always been an entire disbeliever in supernatural appearances1 they begged me to prolong my visit for a day or two1 when they would introduce me to the rector of the parish1 who could furnish me with such evidence with regard to circumstances of a similar nature1 as would leave no doubt on my mind as to the possibility of their occurrence4 ,but ,i had made an engagement to dine at ,watford1 on my way back1 and ,i confess1 moreover1 that after what ,i had heard ,i did not feel disposed to encounter the chance of another visit from the mysterious stranger2 so ,i declined the proffered hospitality1 and took my leave4 8,some time after this1 ,i happened to be dining at ,c---- street1 in company with some ladies resident in the same county1 when1 chancing to allude to my visit to ,sarratt1 ,i added1 that ,i had met with a very extraordinary adventure there1 which ,i had never been able to account for1 when one of these ladies immediately said that she hoped ,i had not had a visit from the headless gentleman1 in a blue coat and gilt buttons1 who was said to have been seen by many people in that house4 8,such is the conclusion of this marvellous tale as regards myself2 and ,i can only assure you that ,i have related facts as they occurred1 and that ,i had never heard a word about this apparition in my life1 till ,mr4 ,b---- related to me the tradition above alluded to4 ,still1 as ,i am no believer1 in supernatural appearances1 ,i am constrained to suppose that the whole affair was the product of my imagination4 8,i must add1 that ,mr4 ,b---- mentioned some strange circumstances connected with another house in the county1 inhabited by a ,mr4 ,m----1 which were corroborated by the ladies above alluded to4 ,both parties agreed that1 from the unaccountable noises1 c41 c41 which were heard there1 that gentleman had the greatest difficulty in persuading any servants to remain with him4 8,a---- ,w---- ,m----4 8,c---- street1 #eth ,september1 #ahdf40 ,this is one of those curious instances of determined skepticism that fully justify the patriarch's prediction4 ,the following interesting letter1 written by a member of a very distinguished ,english family1 will furnish its own explanation3-- 8,as you express a wish to know what degree of credit is to be attached to a garbled tale which has been sent forth1 after a lapse of between thirty and forty years1 as an #8accredited ghost-story1' ,i will state the facts as they were recalled to my mind last year by a daughter of ,sir ,william ,a4 ,c----1 who sent the book to me1 requesting me to tell her if there was any foundation for the story1 which she could scarcely believe1 since she had never heard my mother allude to it4 ,i read the narrative with surprise1 it being evidently not furnished by any of the family1 nor indeed by any one who was with us at the time6 yet1 though full of mistakes in names1 c41 c41 some particulars come so near the truth as to puzzle me4 ,the facts are as follows3-- 8,sir ,james1 my mother1 with myself and my brother ,charles1 went abroad toward the end of the year #aghf4 ,after trying several different places1 we determined to settle at ,lille1 where we found the masters particularly good1 and where we had also letters of introduction to several of the best ,french families4 ,there ,sir ,james left us1 and1 after passing a few days in an uncomfortable lodging1 we engaged a nice1 large family house1 which we liked very much1 and which we obtained at a very low rent1 even for that part of the world4 8,about three weeks after we were established in our new residence1 ,i walked one day with my mother to the bankers1 for the purpose of delivering our letter of credit from ,sir ,robert ,herries1 and drawing some money1 which1 being paid in heavy five-franc pieces1 we found we could not carry1 and therefore requested the banker to send1 saying1 #8,we live in the ,place du ,lion ,d'or4' ,whereupon he looked surprised1 and observed that he knew of no house there fit for us1 #8except1 indeed1' he added1 #8the one that has been long uninhabited1 on account of the revenant that walks about it4' ,he said this quite seriously1 and in a natural tone of voice1 in spite of which we laughed1 and were quite entertained at the idea of a ghost2 but at the same time we begged him not to mention the thing to our servants1 lest they should take any fancies into their heads2 and my mother and ,i resolved to say nothing about the matter to any one4 #8,i suppose it is the ghost1' said my mother1 laughing1 #8that wakes us so often by walking over our heads4' ,we had1 in fact1 been awakened several nights by a heavy foot1 which we supposed to be that of one of the men-servants1 of whom we had three ,english and four ,french2 of women-servants we had five ,english1 and all the rest were ,french4 ,the ,english ones1 men and women1 every one of them1 returned ultimately to ,england with us4 8,a night or two afterward1 being again awakened by the step1 my mother asked ,creswell1 #8,who slept in the room above us8' #8,no one1 my lady1' she replied--#8it is a large1 empty garret4' 8,about a week or ten days after this1 ,creswell came to my mother1 one morning1 and told her that all the ,french servants talked of going away1 because there was a revenant in the house2 adding that there seemed to be a strange story attached to the place1 which was said1 together with some other property1 to have belonged to a young man1 whose guardian1 who was also his uncle1 had treated him cruelly and confined him in an iron cage2 and as he had subsequently disappeared1 it was conjectured he had been murdered4 ,this uncle1 after inheriting the property1 had suddenly quitted the house and sold it to the father of the man of whom we had hired it4 ,since that period1 though it had been several times let1 nobody had ever stayed in it above a week or two1 and for a considerable time past it had had no tenant at all4 8#8,and do you really believe all this nonsense1 ,creswell8' said my mother4 8#8,well1 ,i don't know1 my lady1' answered she2 #8but there's the iron cage in the garret over your bed-room1 where you may see it1 if you please4' 8,of course we rose to go2 and as just at that moment an old officer1 with his ,croix de ,st4 ,louis1 called on us1 we invited him to accompany us and we ascended together4 ,we found1 as ,creswell had said1 a large empty garret with bare brick walls2 and in the further corner of it stood an iron cage1 such as wild beasts are kept in1 only higher2 it was about four feet square1 and eight in height1 and there was an iron ring in the wall at the back1 to which was attached an old rusty chain with a collar fixed to the end of it4 ,i confess it made my blood creep when ,i thought of the possibility of any human being having inhabited it6 ,and our old friend expressed as much horror as ourselves1 assuring us that it must certainly have been constructed for some such dreadful purpose4 ,as1 however1 we were no believers in ghosts1 we all agreed that the noises must proceed from somebody who had an interest in keeping the house empty2 and since it was very disagreeable to imagine that there were secret means of entering it at night1 we resolved1 as soon as possible1 to look out for another residence1 and in the meantime to say nothing about the matter to anybody4 ,about ten days after this determination1 my mother1 observing one morning that ,creswell1 when she came to dress her1 looked exceedingly pale and ill1 inquired if anything was the matter with her4 #8,indeed1 my lady1' she answered1 #8we have been frightened to death1 and neither ,i nor ,mrs4 ,marsh can sleep again in the room we are now in4' 8#8,well1' returned my mother1 #8you shall both come and sleep in the little spare room next us2 but what has alarmed you8' 8#8,some one1 my lady1 went through our room in the night2 we both saw the figure1 but we covered our heads with the bed-clothes1 and lay in a dreadful fright till morning4' 8,on hearing this1 ,i could not help laughing1 upon which ,creswell burst into tears2 and seeing how nervous she was1 we comforted her by saying we had heard of a good house1 and that we should very soon abandon our present habitation4 8,a few nights afterward1 my mother requested me and ,charles to go to her bed-room and fetch her frame1 that she might prepare her work for the next day4 ,it was after supper1 and we were ascending the stairs by the light of a lamp which was always kept burning1 when we saw going up before us a tall1 thin figure1 with hair flowing down his back1 and wearing a loose powdering gown4 ,we both at once concluded it was my sister ,hannah1 and called out3 #8,it won't do1 ,hannah--you can not frighten us6' ,upon which the figure turned into a recess in the wall2 but1 as there was nobody there when we passed1 we concluded that ,hannah had contrived1 somehow or other1 to slip away and make her escape by the back stairs4 ,on telling this to my mother1 she said3 #8,it is very odd1 for ,hannah went to bed with a headache before you came in from your walk2' and sure enough1 on going to her room1 there we found her fast asleep2 and ,alice1 who was at work there1 assured us that she had been so for more than an hour4 ,on mentioning this circumstance to ,creswell1 she turned quite pale and exclaimed that that was precisely the figure she and ,marsh had seen in their bed-room4 8,about this time1 my brother ,harry came to spend a few days with us1 and we gave him a room up another pair of stairs1 at the opposite end of the house4 ,a morning or two after his arrival1 when he came down to breakfast1 he asked my mother angrily whether she thought he went to bed drunk and could not put out his own candle1 that she sent those ,french rascals to watch him4 ,my mother assured him that she never thought of doing such a thing2 but he persisted in the accusation1 adding3 #8,last night ,i jumped up and opened the door1 and1 by the light of the moon through the skylight1 ,i saw the fellow in his loose gown at the bottom of the stairs4 ,if ,i had not been in my shirt1 ,i would have gone after him and made him remember coming to watch me4' 8,we were now preparing to quit the house1 having secured another1 belonging to a gentleman who was going to spend some time in ,italy2 but1 a few days before our removal1 it happened that ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,atkyns1 some ,english friends of ours1 called1 to whom we mentioned these circumstances1 observing how extremely unpleasant it was to live in a house that somebody found means of getting into1 though how they contrived it we could not discover1 nor what their motive could be except it was to frighten us2 adding1 that nobody could sleep in the room ,marsh and ,creswell had been obliged to give up4 ,upon this ,mrs4 ,atkyns laughed heartily1 and said she should like1 of all things1 to sleep there1 if my mother would allow her1 adding1 that with her little terrier she should not be afraid of any ghost that ever appeared4 ,as my mother had1 of course1 no objection to this fancy of hers1 she requested ,mrs4 ,atkyns to ride home with the groom1 in order that the latter might bring her night-things before the gates of the town would be shut1 as they were then residing a little way in the country4 ,mr4 ,atkyns smiled and said she was very bold2 but he made no difficulties1 and sent the things1--and his wife retired with her dog to her room when we retired to ours1 apparently without the least apprehension4 8,when she came down in the morning1 we were immediately struck at seeing her look very ill2 and on inquiring if she too had been frightened1 she said she had been awakened in the night by something moving in her room1 and that1 by the light of the night-lamp1 she saw most distinctly a figure1 and that the dog1 which was spirited and flew at everything1 never stirred1 although she had endeavored to make him4 ,we saw clearly that she had been very much alarmed2 and when ,mr4 ,atkyns came1 and endeavored to dissipate the feeling by persuading her that she might have dreamed it1 she got quite angry4 ,we could not help thinking that she had actually seen something2 and my mother said1 after she was gone1 that though she could not bring herself to believe it was really a ghost1 still she earnestly hoped that she might get out of the house without seeing this figure1 which frightened people so much4 8,we were now within three days of the one fixed for our removal4 ,i had been taking a long ride1 and1 being tired1 had fallen asleep the moment ,i lay down2 but1 in the middle of the night1 ,i was suddenly awakened--,i can not tell by what1 for the steps over our heads we had become so used to that it no longer disturbed us4 ,well1 ,i awoke4 ,i had been lying with my face toward my mother1 who was asleep beside me1 and1 as one usually does on awaking1 ,i turned to the other side1 where1 the weather being warm1 the curtain of the bed was undrawn1 as it was1 also1 at the foot2 and ,i saw standing by a chest of drawers1 which were betwixt me and the window1 a thin1 tall figure1 in a loose powdering gown1 one arm resting on the drawers1 and the face turned toward me4 ,i saw it quite distinctly by the night-light1 which burned clearly4 ,it was a long1 thin1 pale1 young face1 with1 oh1 such a melancholy expression as can never be effaced from my memory6 ,i was1 certainly1 very much frightened2 but my great horror was1 lest my mother should awake and see the figure4 ,i turned my head gently toward her1 and heard her breathing high in a sound sleep4 ,just then the clock on the stairs struck four4 ,i dare say it was nearly an hour before ,i ventured to look again1 and when ,i did take courage to turn my eyes toward the drawers1 there was nothing2 yet ,i had not heard the slightest sound1 though ,i had been listening with the greatest intensity4 8,as you may suppose1 ,i never closed my eyes again2 and glad ,i was when ,creswell knocked at the door1 as she did every morning1 for we always locked it1 and it was my business to get out of bed and let her in2 but on this occasion1 instead of doing so1 ,i called out1 #8,come in2 the door is not fastened2' upon which she answered that it was1 and ,i was obliged to get out of bed and admit her as usual4 8,when ,i told my mother what had happened1 she was very grateful to me for not waking her1 and commended me much for my resolution2 but as she was always my first object1 that was not to be wondered at4 ,she however resolved not to risk another night in the house2 and we got out of it that very day1 after instituting1 with the aid of the servants1 a thorough search1 with a view to ascertain if there was any possible means of getting into the rooms except by the usual modes of ingress2 but our search was vain--none could be discovered4 8,i think1 from the errors in the names1 c41 that the publisher of the #8,accredited ,ghost-,stories' must have obtained his account from the inhabitants of ,lille40 ,considering the number of people that were in the house1 the fearlessness of the family1 and their disinclination to believe in what is called the supernatural1 together with the great interest the owner of this large and handsome residence must have had in discovering the trick1 if there had been one1 ,i think it is difficult to find any other explanation of this strange story1 than that the sad and disappointed spirit of this poor1 injured1 and probably murdered boy1 had never been disengaged from its earthly relations1 to which regret for its frustrated hopes and violated rights still held it attached4 ,there is a story told by ,pliny the younger1 of a house at ,athens1 in which nobody could live1 from its being haunted4 ,at length the philosopher ,athenadorus took it2 and the first night he was there1 he seems to have comported himself very much as the courageous ,mrs4 ,canning did1 on a similar occasion1 at ,plymouth4 ,he sent his servants to bed1 and set himself seriously to work with his writing materials1 determined that fancy should not be left free to play him false4 ,for some time all was still1 and his mind was wholly engaged in his labors1 when he heard a sound like the rattling of chains--which was the sound that had frightened everybody out of the house2 but ,athenadorus closed his ears1 kept his thoughts collected1 and wrote on1 without lifting up his eyes4 ,the noise1 however1 increased2 it approached the door2 it entered the room2 then he looked round1 and beheld the figure of an old man1 lean1 haggard1 and dirty1 with dishevelled hair1 and a long beard1 who held up his finger and beckoned him4 ,athenadorus made a gesture with his own hand in return1 signifying that he should wait1 and went on with his writing4 ,then the figure advanced and shook his chains over the philosopher's head1 who1 on looking up1 saw him beckoning as before2 whereupon he arose and followed him4 ,the apparition walked slowly1 as if obstructed by his chains2 and having conducted him to a certain spot in the court1 which separated the two divisions of an ancient ,greek house1 he suddenly disappeared4 ,athenadorus gathered together some grass and leaves1 in order to mark the place2 and the next day he recommended the authorities to dig there1 which they did1 and found the skeleton of a human being encircled with chains4 ,it being taken up1 and the rights of sepulture duly performed1 the house was no longer disturbed4 ,this was1 probably1 some poor prisoner also2 and in his desire to direct notice to his body1 we see the prejudices of his age and country surviving dissolution4 ,grose1 the antiquary1 who is1 as ,i have before observed1 very facetious on the subject of ghosts1 remarks that 8,dragging chains is not the custom of ,english ghosts1 chains and black vestments being chiefly the accoutrements of foreign spectres1 seen in arbitrary governments40 ,now1 this is a very striking observation4 ,grose's studies had1 doubtless1 introduced him to many histories of this description2 and the different characteristics of these apparitions1 under different governments1 is a circumstance in remarkable conformity with the views of those who have been led to take a much more serious view of the subject4 ,they appear as they lived1 and as they conceive of themselves2 and when rapport or receptivity enable them to see1 and to render themselves visible to those yet living in the flesh1 it is by so appearing that they tell their story1 and ask for sympathy and assistance4 ,i say enable them to see1 because there seem many reasons for concluding that they do not1 under ordinary circumstances1 see us1 any more than we see them4 ,whether it be rapport with certain inhabitants1 or whether the phenomenon be dependent on certain periods1 or any other condition1 we can not tell2 but ,i have met with several accounts of houses in which an annoyance of this sort has recurred more than once1 at different intervals1 sometimes at a distance of seven or ten years1 the intermediate time being quite free from it4 ,one of the most melancholy and impressive circumstances of this sort ,i have met with1 occurred to ,mrs4 ,l----1 a lady with whose family ,i am acquainted2 ,mrs4 ,l---- herself having been kind enough to furnish me with the particulars3 ,a few years since1 she took a furnished house in ,stevenson street1 ,north ,shields1 and she had been in it but a very few hours before she was perplexed by hearing feet in the passage1 though1 whenever she opened the door1 she could see nobody4 ,she went to the kitchen1 and asked the servant if she had not heard the same sound4 ,she said she had not1 but that there seemed to be strange noises in the house4 ,when ,mrs4 ,l---- went to bed1 she could not go to sleep for the noise of a child's rattle1 which seemed to be inside her curtains4 ,it rattled round her head1 first on one side1 then on the other2 then there were sounds of feet1 and of a child crying1 and a woman sobbing2 and1 in short1 so many strange noises that the servant became frightened and went away4 ,the next girl ,mrs4 ,l---- engaged came from ,leith1 and was a stranger to the place2 but she had only passed a night in the house1 when she said to her mistress1 8,this is a troubled house you've got into1 ma'am20 and she described1 among the rest1 that she had repeatedly heard her own name called by a voice near her1 though she could see nobody4 ,one night ,mrs4 ,l---- heard a voice1 like nothing human1 close to her1 cry1 8,weep6 weep6 weep60 ,then there was a sound like some one struggling for breath1 and again 8,weep6 weep6 weep60 ,then the gasping1 and a third time1 8,weep6 weep6 weep60 ,she stood still1 and looked steadfastly on the spot whence the voice proceeded1 but could see nothing2 and her little boy1 who held her hand1 kept saying1 8,what is that1 mamma8 ,what is that80 ,she describes the sound as most frightful4 ,all the noises seemed to suggest the idea of childhood1 and of a woman in trouble4 ,one night1 when it was crying round her bed1 ,mrs4 ,l---- took courage and adjured it2 upon which the noise ceased1 for that time1 but there was no answer4 ,mr4 ,l---- was at sea when she took the house1 and when he came home he laughed at the story at first1 but soon became so convinced the account she gave was correct1 that he wanted to have the boards taken up1 because1 from the noises seeming to hover much about one spot1 he thought perhaps some explanation of the mystery might be found4 ,but ,mrs4 ,l---- objected that if anything of a painful nature were discovered she should not be able to continue in the house1 and as she must pay the year's rent1 she wished1 if possible1 to make out the time4 ,she never saw anything but twice2 once1 the appearance of a child seemed to fall from the ceiling1 close to her1 and then disappear2 and another time she saw a child run into a closet in a room at the top of the house2 and it was most remarkable that a small door in that room1 which was used for going out on to the roof1 always stood open4 ,however often they shut it1 it was opened again immediately by an unseen hand1 even before they got out of the room2 and this continued the whole time they were in the house2 while1 night and day1 some one in creaking shoes was heard pacing backward and forward in the room over ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,l----'s heads4 ,at length the year expired2 and to their great relief they quitted the house2 but five or six years afterward1 a person who had bought it having taken up the floor of that upper room to repair it1 there was found1 close to the small door above alluded to1 the skeleton of a child4 ,it was then remembered that some years before a gentleman of somewhat dissolute habits had resided there1 and that he was supposed to have been on very intimate terms with a young woman-servant who lived with him1 but there had been no suspicion of anything more criminal4 ,about six years ago1 ,mr4 ,c----1 a gentleman engaged in business in ,london1 heard of a good country-house in the neighborhood of the metropolis1 which was to be had at a low rent4 ,it was rather an old-fashioned place1 and was surrounded by a garden and pleasure-ground2 and having taken a lease of it for seven years1 furnished as it was1 his family removed thither1 and he joined them once or twice a week1 as his business permitted4 ,they had been some considerable time in the house without the occurrence of anything remarkable1 when one evening1 toward dusk1 ,mrs4 ,c----1 on going into what was called the oak bed-room1 saw a female figure near one of the windows4 ,it was apparently a young woman with dark hair hanging over her shoulders1 a silk petticoat1 and a short1 white robe1 and she appeared to be looking eagerly through the window1 as if expecting somebody4 ,mrs4 ,c---- clapped her hand upon her eyes1 8as thinking she had seen something she ought not to have seen10 and when she looked again the figure had disappeared4 ,shortly after this1 a young girl who filled the situation of under nursery-maid1 came to her in great agitation1 saying that she had had a terrible fright1 from seeing a very ugly old woman looking in upon her as she passed the window in the lobby4 ,the girl was trembling violently1 and almost crying1 so that ,mrs4 ,c---- entertained no doubts of the reality of her alarm4 ,she1 however1 thought it advisable to laugh her out of her fear1 and went with her to the window1 which looked into a closed court1 but there was no one there1 neither had any of the other servants seen such a person4 ,soon after this1 the family began to find themselves disturbed with strange1 and frequently very loud1 noises during the night4 ,among the rest1 there was something like the beating of a crow-bar upon the pump in the abovementioned court2 but1 search as they would1 they could discover no cause for the sound4 ,one day1 when ,mr4 ,c---- had brought a friend from ,london to stay the night with him1 ,mrs4 ,c---- thought proper to go up to the oak bed-room1 where the stranger was to sleep1 for the purpose of inspecting the arrangements for his comfort1 when1 to her great surprise1 some one seemed to follow her up to the fireplace1 though1 on turning round1 there was nobody to be seen4 ,she said nothing about it1 however1 and returned below1 where her husband and the stranger were sitting4 ,presently1 one of the servants 7not the one mentioned above7 tapped at the door and requested to speak with her1 and ,mrs4 ,c---- going out1 she told her1 in great agitation1 that in going up stairs to the visiter's room1 a footstep had followed her all the way to the fireplace1 although she could see nobody4 ,mrs4 ,c---- said something soothing1 and that matter passed1 she1 herself1 being a good deal puzzled1 but still unwilling to admit the idea that there was anything extra-natural in these occurrences4 ,repeatedly1 after this1 these footsteps were heard in different parts of the house1 when nobody was to be seen2 and often1 while she was lying in bed1 she heard them distinctly approach her door1 when1 being a very courageous woman1 she would start out with a loaded pistol in her hand1 but there was never any one to be seen4 ,at length it was impossible to conceal from herself and her servants that these occurrences were of an extraordinary nature1 and the latter1 as may be supposed1 felt very uncomfortable4 ,among other unpleasant things1 while sitting all together in the kitchen1 they used to see the latch lifted and the door open1 though no one came in that they could see2 and when ,mr4 ,c---- himself watched for these events1 although they took place1 and he was quite on the alert1 he altogether failed in detecting any visible agent4 ,one night1 the same servant who had heard the footsteps following her to the bed-room fireplace1 happening to be asleep in ,mrs4 ,c----'s chamber1 she became much disturbed1 and was heard to murmur1 8,wake me6 wake me60 as if in great mental anguish4 ,being aroused1 she told her mistress a dream she had had1 which seemed to throw some light upon these mysteries4 ,she thought she was in the oak bed-room1 and at one end of it she saw a young female in an old-fashioned dress1 with long dark hair1 while in another part of the room was a very ugly old woman1 also in old-fashioned attire4 ,the latter addressing the former said1 8,what have you done with the child1 ,emily8 ,what have you done with the child80 ,to which the younger figure answered1 8,oh1 ,i did not kill it4 ,he was preserved1 and grew up1 and joined the ---- regiment1 and went to ,india40 ,then addressing the sleeper1 the young lady continued1 8,i have never spoken to mortal before2 but ,i will tell you all4 ,my name is ,miss ,black2 and this old woman is ,nurse ,black4 ,black is not her name1 but we call her so because she has been so long in the family40 ,here the old woman interrupted the speaker by coming up and laying her hand on the dreaming girl's shoulder1 while she said something2 but she could not remember what1 for1 feeling excruciating pain from the touch1 she had been so far aroused as to be sensible she was asleep1 and to beg to be wholly awakened4 ,as the old woman seemed to resemble the figure that one of the other servants had seen looking into the window1 and the young one resembled that she had herself seen in the oak chamber1 ,mrs4 ,c---- naturally concluded that there was something extraordinary about this dream1 and she consequently took an early opportunity of inquiring in the neighborhood what was known as to the names or circumstances of the former inhabitants of this house2 and1 after much investigation1 she learned that1 about seventy or eighty years before1 it had been in the possession of a ,mrs4 ,ravenhall1 who had a niece1 named ,miss ,black1 living with her4 ,this niece ,mrs4 ,c---- supposed might be the younger of the two persons who was seen4 ,subsequently1 she saw her again in the same room1 wringing her hands1 and looking with a mournful significance to one corner4 ,they had the boards taken up on that spot1 but nothing was found4 ,one of the most curious incidents1 connected with this story1 remains to be told4 ,after occupying the house three years1 they were preparing to quit it--not on account of its being haunted1 but for other reasons--when on awaking one morning1 a short time before their departure1 ,mrs4 ,c---- saw1 standing at the foot of her bed1 a dark-complexioned man1 in a working dress1 a fustian jacket1 and red comforter round his neck--who1 however1 suddenly disappeared4 ,mr4 ,c---- was lying beside her at the time1 but asleep4 ,this was the last apparition seen4 ,but the strange thing is1 that a few days after this1 it being necessary to order in a small quantity of coals to serve till their removal1 ,mr4 ,c---- undertook to perform the commission on his way to ,london4 ,accordingly1 the next day1 she mentioned to him that the coals had arrived2 which he said was very fortunate1 since he had entirely forgotten to order them4 ,wondering whence they had come1 ,mrs4 ,c---- hereupon inquired of the servants1 who none of them knew anything about the matter2 but on interrogating a person in the village1 by whom they had frequently been provided with this article1 he answered that they had been ordered by a dark man1 in a fustian jacket and red comfort1 who had called for the purpose4 ,after this last event1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,c---- quitted the house2 but ,i have heard that its subsequent tenants encountered some similar annoyances1 although ,i have no means of ascertaining the particulars4 ,but perhaps one of the most remarkable cases of haunting in modern times1 is that of ,willington1 near ,newcastle1 in my account of which1 however1 ,i find myself anticipated by ,mr4 ,howitt2 and as he has had the advantage of visiting the place1 which ,i have not1 ,i shall take the liberty of borrowing his description of it1 prefacing the account with the following letter from ,mr4 ,proctor1 the owner of the house1 who it will be seen vouches for the general authenticity of the narrative4 ,the letter was written in answer to one from me1 requesting some more precise information than ,i had been able to obtain3-- 8,josh4 ,proctor hopes ,c4 ,crowe will excuse her note having remained two weeks unanswered1 during which time ,j4 ,p4 has been from home1 or particularly engaged4 ,feeling averse to add to the publicity the circumstances occurring in his house1 at ,willington1 have already obtained1 ,j4 ,p4 would rather not furnish additional particulars2 but if ,c4 ,c4 is not in possession of the number of #8,howitt's ,journal1' which contains a variety of details on the subject1 he will be glad to forward her one4 ,he would1 at the same time1 assure ,c4 ,crowe of the strict accuracy of that portion of ,w4 ,howitt's narrative which is extracted from #8,richardson's ,table ,book4' ,w4 ,howitt's statements1 derived from his recollection of verbal communications with branches of ,j4 ,proctor's family1 are likewise essentially correct1 though1 as might be expected in some degree1 erroneous circumstantially4 8,j4 ,p4 takes leave to express his conviction that the unbelief of the educated classes in apparitions of the deceased and kindred phenomena is not grounded on a fair philosophic examination of the facts1 which have induced the popular belief of all ages and countries2 and that it will be found by succeeding ages to have been nothing better than unreasoning and unreasonable prejudice4 8,willington1 near ,newcastle-on-,tyne1 #gth mo4 #bb1 #ahdg40 8,,visits ,,to ,,remarkable ,,places4 8,,by ,,william ,,howitt4 8,,the ,,haunted ,,house ,,at ,,willington1 ,,near ,,newcastle-,,on-,,tyne4 8,we have of late years settled it as an established fact that ghosts and haunted houses were the empty creation of ignorant times4 ,we have comfortably persuaded ourselves that such fancies only hovered in the twilight of superstition1 and that in these enlightened days they had vanished for ever4 ,how often has it been triumphantly referred to1 as a proof that all such things were the offspring of ignorance1 that nothing of the kind is heard of now8 ,what shall we say1 then1 to the following facts8 ,here we have ghosts and a haunted house still4 ,we have them in the face of our vaunted noonday light--in the midst of a busy and a populous neighborhood--in the neighborhood of a large and most intelligent town--and in a family neither ignorant nor in any other respect superstitious4 ,for years have these ghosts and hauntings disturbed the quiet of a highly respectable family1 and continue to haunt and disturb1 spite of the incredulity of the wise1 the investigations of the curious1 and the anxious vigilance of the suffering family itself4 8,between the railway running from ,newcastle-on-,tyne to ,north ,shields1 and the river ,tyne1 there lie in a hollow some few cottages1 a parsonage1 a mill1 and a miller's house3 these constitute the hamlet of ,willington4 ,just above these the railway is carried across the valley on lofty arches1 and from it you look down on the mill and cottages1 lying at a considerable depth below4 ,the mill is a large steam flour-mill1 like a factory1 and the miller's house stands near it1 but not adjoining it4 ,none of the cottages which lie between these premises and the railway1 either1 are in contact with them4 ,the house stands on a sort of little promontory1 round which runs the channel of a water-course1 which appears to fill and empty with the tides4 ,on one side of the mill and house1 slopes away upward a field to a considerable distance1 where it is terminated by other enclosures2 on the other stands a considerable extent of ballast-hill--i4 e41 one of the numerous hills on the banks of the ,tyne made by the deposite of ballast from the vessels trading thither4 ,at a distance1 the top of the mill seems about level with the country around it4 ,the place lies about half-way between ,newcastle and ,north ,shields4 8,this mill is1 ,i believe1 the property of1 and is worked by1 ,messrs4 ,unthank and ,procter4 ,mr4 ,joseph ,procter resides on the spot in the house just by the mill1 as already stated4 ,he is a member of the society of friends--a gentleman in the very prime of life--and his wife1 an intelligent lady1 is of a family of friends in ,carlisle4 ,they have several young children4 ,this very respectable and well-informed family1 belonging to a sect which of all others is most accustomed to control1 to regulate1 and to put down even the imagination--the last people in the world1 as it would appear1 in fact1 to be affected by any mere imaginary terrors or impressions--have for years been persecuted by the most extraordinary noises and apparitions4 8,the house is not an old house1 as will appear2 it was built about the year #ahjj4 ,it has no particularly spectral look about it4 ,seeing it in passing1 or within1 ignorant of its real character1 one should by no means say that it was a place likely to have the reputation of being haunted4 ,yet looking down from the railway1 and seeing it and the mill lying in a deep hole1 one might imagine various strange noises likely to be heard in such a place in the night1 from vessels on the river--from winds sweeping and howling down the gulley in which it stands--from engines in the neighborhood connected with coal-mines1 one of which1 ,i could not tell where1 was making at the time ,i was there a wild sighing noise1 as ,i stood on the hill above4 ,there is not any passage1 however1 known of under the house1 by which subterranean noises could be heard2 nor are they merely noises that are heard1--distinct apparitions are declared to be seen4 8,spite of the unwillingness of ,mr4 ,procter1 that these mysterious circumstances should become quite public1 and averse as he is to make known himself these strange visitations1 they were of such a nature that they soon became rumored over the whole neighborhood4 ,numbers of people hurried to the place to inquire into the truth of them1 and at length a remarkable occurrence brought them into print4 ,what this occurrence was1 the pamphlet which appeared1 and which was afterward reprinted in #8,the ,local ,historian's ,table-,book1' published by ,mr4 ,m4 ,a4 ,richardson1 of ,newcastle1 and which ,i here copy1 will explain4 ,it will be seen that the writer of this article has the fullest faith in the reality of what he relates1 as1 indeed1 vast numbers of the best informed inhabitants of the neighborhood have4 8,,authentic ,,account ,,of ,a ,,visit ,,to ,,the ,,haunted ,,house ,,at ,,willington4 8,were we to draw an inference from the number of cases of reported visitations from the invisible world that have been made public of late1 we might be led to imagine that the days of supernatural agency were about to recommence1 and that ghosts and hobgoblins were about to resume their sway over the fears of mankind4 ,did we1 however1 indulge in such an apprehension1 a glance at the current tone of the literature and philosophy of the day1 when treating of these subjects1 would show a measure of unbelief regarding them as scornful and uncompromising as the veriest atheist or materialist could desire4 ,notwithstanding the prevalence of this feeling among the educated classes1 there is a curiosity and interest manifested in every occurrence of this nature1 that indicate a lurking faith at bottom1 which an affected skepticism fails entirely to conceal4 ,we feel1 therefore1 that we need not apologise to our readers for introducing the following particulars of a visit to a house in this immediate neighborhood1 which had become notorious for some years previous1 as being #8haunted2' and several of the reputed deeds1 or misdeeds1 of its supernatural visitant had been published far and wide by rumor's thousand tongues4 ,we deem it as worthy to be chronicled as the doings of its contemporary genii at ,windsor1 ,dublin1 ,liverpool1 ,carlisle1 and ,sunderland1 and which have all likewise hitherto failed1 after public investigation1 to receive a solution consistent with a rejection of spiritual agency4 8,we have visited the house in question1 which is well known to many of our readers1 as being near a large steam corn-mill1 in full view of ,willington viaduct1 on the ,newcastle and ,shields railway2 and it may not be irrelevant to mention that it is quite detached from the mill1 or any other premises1 and has no cellaring under it4 ,the proprietor of the house1 who lives in it1 declines to make public the particulars of the disturbance to which he has been subjected1 and it must be understood that the account of the visit we are about to lay before our readers is derived from a friend to whom ,dr4 ,drury presented a copy of his correspondence on the subject1 with power to make such use of it as he thought proper4 ,we learned that the house had been reputed1 at least one room in it1 to have been haunted forty years ago1 and had afterward been undisturbed for a long period1 during some years of which quietude the present occupant lived in it unmolested4 ,we are also informed that about the time that the premises were building1 viz41 in #ahjj or #ahja1 there were reports of some deed of darkness having been committed by some one employed about them4 ,we should extend this account beyond the limits we have set to ourselves1 did we now enter upon a full account of the strange things which have been seen and heard about the place by several of the neighbors1 as well as those which are reported to have been seen1 heard1 and felt1 by the inmates1 whose servants have been changed1 on that account1 many times4 ,we proceed1 therefore1 to give the following letters which have been passed between individuals of undoubted veracity1 leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions on the subject40 87,,copy1 ,,no4 #a47 8#agth ,june1 #ahdj4 8,,to ,,mr4 ,,procter3 8,,sir3 ,having heard from indisputable authority1 viz41 that of my excellent friend1 ,mr4 ,davison1 of ,low ,willington1 farmer1 that you and your family are disturbed by most unaccountable noises at night1 ,i beg leave to tell you that ,i have read attentively ,wesley's account of such things1 but with1 ,i must confess1 no great belief2 but an account of this report coming from one of your sect1 which ,i admire for candor and simplicity1 my curiosity is excited to a high pitch1 which ,i would fain satisfy4 ,my desire is to remain alone in the house all night with no companion but my own watch-dog1 in which1 as far as courage and fidelity are concerned1 ,i place much more reliance than upon any three young gentlemen ,i know of4 ,and it is also my hope that1 if ,i have a fair trial1 ,i shall be able to unravel this mystery4 ,mr4 ,davison will give you every satisfaction if you take the trouble to inquire of him concerning me4 8,i am1 sir1 yours most respectfully1 8,,edward ,,drury4 8,at ,c4 ,c4 ,embleton's1 ,surgeon1 8,no4 #aj ,church street1 ,sunderland40 87,,copy1 ,,no4 #b47 8,joseph ,procter's respects to ,edward ,drury1 whose note he received a few days ago1 expressing a wish to pass a night in his house at ,willington4 ,as the family is going from home on the #bc;d instant1 and one of ,unthank and ,procter's men will sleep in the house1 if ,edward ,drury feel inclined to come on or after the #bdth1 to spend a night in it1 he is at liberty so to do1 with or without his faithful dog1 which1 by-the-by1 can be of no possible use1 except as company4 ,at the same time1 ,joseph ,procter thinks it best to inform him that particular disturbances are far from frequent at present1 being only occasional1 and quite uncertain1 and therefore the satisfaction of ,edward ,drury's curiosity must be considered as problematical4 ,the best chance will be afforded by sitting up alone in the third story1 till it be fairly daylight1 say two or three ,a4 ,m4 8,willington1 #fth mo4 #bast1 #ahdj40 8,joseph ,procter will leave word with ,t4 ,maun1 foreman1 to admit ,edward ,drury4 8,mr4 ,procter left home with his family on the #bc;d of ,june1 and got an old servant1 who was then out of place in consequence of ill-health1 to take charge of the house during their absence4 ,mr4 ,procter returned alone1 on account of business1 on the #c;d of ,july1 on the evening of which day ,mr4 ,drury and his companion also unexpectedly arrived4 ,after the house had been locked up1 every corner of it was minutely examined4 ,the room out of which the apparition issued is too shallow to contain any person4 ,mr4 ,drury and his friend had lights by them1 and were satisfied that there was no one in the house besides ,mr4 ,procter1 the servant1 and themselves40 87,,copy1 ,,no4 #c47 8,,monday ,,morning1 ,july #fth1 #ahdj4 8,to ,mr4 ,procter3 8,,dear ,,sir3 ,i am sorry ,i was not at home to receive you yesterday1 when you kindly called to inquire for me4 ,i am happy to state1 that ,i am really surprised that ,i have been so little affected as ,i am1 after that horrid and most awful affair4 ,the only bad effect that ,i feel is a heavy dullness in one of my ears1 the right one4 ,i call it heavy dullness because ,i not only do not hear distinctly1 but feel in it a constant noise4 ,this ,i never was affected with before2 but ,i doubt not it will go off4 ,i am persuaded that no one went to your house at any time more disbelieving in respect to seeing anything peculiar2 and now no one can be more satisfied than myself4 ,i will1 in the course of a few days1 send you a full detail of all ,i saw and heard4 ,mr4 ,spence and two other gentlemen came down to my house in the afternoon to hear my detail2 but1 sir1 could ,i account for these noises from natural causes1 yet so firmly am ,i persuaded of the horrid apparition1 that ,i would affirm that what ,i saw with my eyes was a punishment to me for my scoffing and unbelief2 that ,i am assured that1 as far as the horror is concerned1 they are happy that believe and have not seen4 ,let me trouble you1 sir1 to give me the address of your sister1 from ,cumberland1 who was alarmed1 and also of your brother4 ,i would feel a satisfaction in having a line from them2 and1 above all things1 it will be a great cause of joy to me1 if you never allow your young family to be in that horrid house again4 ,hoping you will write a few lines at your leisure1 8,i remain1 dear sir1 yours very truly1 8,,edward ,,drury40 87,,copy1 ,,no4 #d47 8,,willington1 #gth mo4 #i1 #ahdj4 8,,respected ,,friend1 ,e4 ,,drury3 ,having been at ,sunderland1 ,i did not receive thine of the #fth till yesterday morning4 ,i am glad to hear thou art getting well over the effects of thy unlooked-for visitation4 ,i hold in respect thy bold and manly assertion of the truth1 in the face of that ridicule and ignorant conceit with which that which is called the supernatural1 in the present day1 is usually assailed4 8,i shall be glad to receive thy detail1 in which it will be needful to be very particular in showing that thou couldst not be asleep or attacked by nightmare1 or mistake a reflection of the candle1 as some sagaciously suppose4 8,i remain1 respectfully1 thy friend1 8,,josh4 ,,procter4 8,p4 ,s4--,i have about thirty witnesses to various things which can not be satisfactorily accounted for on any other principle than that of spiritual agency40 87,,copy1 ,,no4 #e47 8,,sunderland1 ,july #ac1 #ahdj4 8,,dear ,,sir3 ,i hereby1 according to promise in my last letter1 forward you a true account of what ,i heard and saw at your house1 in which ,i was led to pass the night from various rumors circulated by most respectable parties--particularly from an account by my esteemed friend ,mr4 ,davison1 whose name ,i mentioned to you in a former letter4 ,having received your sanction to visit your mysterious dwelling1 ,i went on the #c;d of ,july1 accompanied by a friend of mine1 ,t4 ,hudson4 ,this was not according to promise1 nor in accordance with my first intent1 as ,i wrote to you ,i would come alone2 but ,i felt gratified at your kindness in not alluding to the liberty ,i had taken1 as it ultimately proved for the best4 ,i must here mention that1 not expecting you at home1 ,i had in my pocket a brace of pistols1 determining in my mind to let one of them drop before the miller1 as if by accident1 for fear he should presume to play tricks upon me2 but1 after my interview with you1 ,i felt there was no occasion for weapons1 and did not load them1 after you had allowed us to inspect as minutely as we pleased every portion of the house4 ,i sat down on the third story landing1 fully expecting to account for any noises that ,i might hear1 in a philosophical manner4 ,this was about eleven o'clock ,p4 ,m4 ,about ten minutes to twelve1 we both heard a noise1 as if a number of people were pattering with their bare feet upon the floor2 and yet so singular was the noise1 that ,i could not minutely determine whence it proceeded4 ,a few minutes afterward we heard a noise1 as if some one was knocking with his knuckles among our feet2 this was followed by a hollow cough from the very room from which the apparition proceeded4 ,the only noise after this1 was as if a person was rustling against the wall in coming up stairs4 ,at a quarter to one1 ,i told my friend that1 feeling a little cold1 ,i would like to go to bed1 as we might hear the noise equally well there2 he replied that he would not go to bed till daylight4 ,i took up a note which ,i had accidentally dropped1 and began to read it1 after which ,i took out my watch to ascertain the time1 and found that it wanted ten minutes to one4 ,in taking my eyes from the watch1 they became riveted upon a closet-door1 which ,i distinctly saw open1 and saw also the figure of a female attired in grayish garments1 with the head inclining downward1 and one hand pressed upon the chest as if in pain1 and the other1 viz41 the right hand1 extended toward the floor1 with the index finger pointing downward4 ,it advanced with an apparently cautious step across the floor toward me2 immediately as it approached my friend1 who was slumbering1 its right hand was extended toward him3 ,i then rushed at it1 giving1 as ,mr4 ,procter states1 a most awful yell2 but1 instead of grasping it1 ,i fell upon my friend1 and ,i recollected nothing distinctly for nearly three hours afterward4 ,i have since learned that ,i was carried down stairs in an agony of fear and terror4 8,i hereby certify that the above account is strictly true and correct in every respect4 8,,edward ,,drury4 8,north ,shields40 8,the following more recent case of an apparition seen in the window of the same house from the outside1 by four credible witnesses1 who had the opportunity of scrutinizing it for more than ten minutes1 is given on most unquestionable authority4 ,one of these witnesses is a young lady1 a near connection of the family1 who1 for obvious reasons1 did not sleep in the house2 another1 a respectable man1 who has been many years employed in1 and is foreman of1 the manufactory2 his daughter1 aged about seventeen2 and his wife1 who first saw the object and called out the others to view it4 ,the appearance presented was that of a bareheaded man1 in a flowing robe like a surplice1 who glided backward and forward about three feet from the floor1 or level with the bottom of the second story window1 seeming to enter the wall on each side1 and thus present a side view in passing4 ,it then stood still in the window1 and a part of the body came through both the blind1 which was close down1 and the window1 as its luminous body intercepted the view of the framework of the window4 ,it was semi-transparent1 and as bright as a star1 diffusing a radiance all around4 ,as it grew more dim1 it assumed a blue tinge1 and gradually faded away from the head downward4 ,the foreman passed twice close to the house under the window1 and also went to inform the family1 but found the house locked up4 ,there was no moonlight1 nor a ray of light visible anywhere about1 and no person near4 ,had any magic lantern been used1 it could not possibly have escaped detection2 and it is obvious nothing of that kind could have been employed on the inside1 as in that case the light could only have been thrown upon the blind1 and not so as to intercept the view both of the blind and of the window from without4 ,the owner of the house slept in that room1 and must have entered it shortly after this figure had disappeared4 8,it may well be supposed what a sensation the report of the visit of ,mr4 ,drury and its result must have created4 ,it flew far and wide1 and when it appeared in print1 still wider2 and1 what was not a little singular1 ,mr4 ,procter received1 in consequence1 a great number of letters from individuals of different ranks and circumstances1 including many of much property1 informing him that their residences were1 and had been for years1 subject to annoyances of precisely a similar character4 8,so1 the ghosts and the hauntings are not gone1 after all6 ,we have turned our backs on them1 and1 in the pride of our philosophy1 have refused to believe in them2 but they have persisted in remaining1 notwithstanding6 8,these singular circumstances being at various times related by parties acquainted with the family at ,willington1 ,i was curious1 on a tour northward some time ago1 to pay this haunted house a visit1 and to solicit a night's lodging there4 ,unfortunately the family was absent1 on a visit to ,mrs4 ,procter's relatives in ,carlisle1 so that my principal purpose was defeated2 but ,i found the foreman and his wife1 mentioned in the foregoing narrative1 living just by4 ,they spoke of the facts above detailed with the simple earnestness of people who had no doubts whatever on the subject4 ,the noises and apparitions in and about this house seemed just like any other facts connected with it--as matters too palpable and positive to be questioned1 any more than that the house actually stood1 and the mill ground4 ,they mentioned to me the circumstance of the young lady1 as above stated1 who took up her lodging in their house1 because she would no longer encounter the annoyances of the haunted house--and what trouble it had occasioned the family in procuring and retaining servants4 8,the wife accompanied me into the house1 which ,i found in charge of a recently-married servant and her husband1 during the absence of the family4 ,this young woman--who had1 previous to her marriage1 lived some time in the house--had never seen anything1 and therefore had no fear4 ,i was shown over the house1 and especially into the room on the third story1 the main haunt of the unwelcome visiters1 and where ,dr4 ,drury had received such an alarm4 ,this room1 as stated1 was and had been for some time abandoned as a bed-room1 from its bad character1 and was occupied as a lumber-room4 8,at ,carlisle1 ,i again missed ,mr4 ,procter3 he had returned to ,willington1 so that ,i lost the opportunity of hearing from him or ,mrs4 ,procter any account of these singular matters4 ,i saw1 however1 various members of his wife's family1 most intelligent people1 of the highest character for sound and practical sense1 and they were unanimous in their confirmation of the particulars ,i had heard1 and which are here related4 8,one of ,mrs4 ,procter's brothers--a gentleman in middle life1 and of a peculiarly sensible1 sedate1 and candid disposition1 a person apparently most unlikely to be imposed on by fictitious alarms or tricks--assured me that he had himself1 on a visit there1 been disturbed by the strangest noises2 that he had resolved1 before going1 that if any such noises occurred1 he would speak1 and demand of the invisible actor who he was1 and why he came thither3 but the occasion came1 and he found himself unable to fulfil his intention4 ,as he lay in bed one night1 he heard a heavy step ascend the stairs toward his room1 and some one striking1 as it were1 with a thick stick on the banisters1 as he went along4 ,it came to his door1 and he essayed to call1 but his voice died in his throat4 ,he then sprang from his bed1 and1 opening the door1 found no one there--but now heard the same heavy steps deliberately descending1 though invisible1 the steps before his face1 and accompanying the descent with the same loud blows on the banisters4 8,my informant now proceeded to the room-door of ,mr4 ,procter1 who he found had also heard the sounds1 and who now also arose1 and with a light they made a speedy descent below1 and a thorough search there1 but without discovering anything that could account for the occurrence4 8,the two young ladies1 who1 on a visit there1 had also been annoyed by this invisible agent1 gave me this account of it3 ,the first night1 as they were sleeping in the same bed1 they felt the bed lifted up beneath them4 ,of course1 they were much alarmed4 ,they feared lest some one had concealed himself there for the purpose of robbery4 ,they gave an alarm1 search was made1 but nothing was found4 ,on another night1 their bed was violently shaken1 and the curtains suddenly hoisted up#c all round to the very tester1 as if pulled by cords1 and as rapidly let down again1 several times6 ,search again produced no evidence of the cause4 ,the next1 they had the curtains totally removed from the bed1 resolving to sleep without them1 as they felt as though evil eyes were lurking behind them4 ,the consequences of this1 however1 were still more striking and terrific4 ,the following night1 as they happened to awake1 and the chamber was light enough 7for it was summer7 to see everything in it1 they both saw a female figure1 of a misty substance1 and bluish-gray hue1 come out of the wall at the bed's head1 and through the head-board1 in a horizontal position1 and lean over them4 ,they saw it most distinctly--they saw it as a female figure come out of1 and again pass into1 the wall4 ,their terror became intense1 and one of the sisters from that night refused to sleep any more in the house1 but took refuge in the house of the foreman during her stay2 the other shifting her quarters to another part of the house4 ,it was the young lady who slept at the foreman's who saw1 as above related1 the singular apparition of the luminous figure in the window1 along with the foreman and his wife4 8,it would be too long to relate all the forms in which this nocturnal disturbance is said by the family to present itself4 ,when a figure appears1 it is sometimes that of a man1 as already described1 which is often very luminous1 and passes through the walls as though they were nothing4 ,this male figure is well known to the neighbors by the name of 8,old ,jeffrey60 ,at other times1 it is the figure of a lady1 also in gray costume1 and as described by ,mr4 ,drury4 ,she is sometimes seen sitting wrapped in a sort of mantle1 with her head depressed1 and her hands crossed on her lap4 ,the most terrible fact is1 that she is without eyes4 8,to hear such sober and superior people gravely relate to you such things1 gives you a very odd feeling4 ,they say that the noise made is often like that of a pavior with his rammer thumping on the floor4 ,at other times it is coming down stairs1 making a similar loud sound4 ,at others it coughs1 sighs1 and groans1 like a person in distress2 and1 again1 there is the sound of a number of little feet pattering on the floor of the upper chamber1 where the apparition has more particularly exhibited itself1 and which1 for that reason1 is solely used as a lumber-room4 ,here these little footsteps may be often heard as if careering a child's carriage about1 which in bad weather is kept up there4 ,sometimes1 again1 it makes the most horrible laughs4 ,nor does it always confine itself to the night4 ,on one occasion1 a young lady1 as she assured me herself1 opened the door in answer to a knock1 the housemaid being absent1 and a lady in fawn-colored silk entered1 and proceeded up stairs4 ,as the young lady1 of course1 supposed it a neighbor come to make a morning call on ,mrs4 ,procter1 she followed her up to the drawing-room1 where1 however1 to her astonishment1 she did not find her1 nor was anything more seen of her4 8,such are a few of the #8questionable shapes' in which this troublesome guest comes4 ,as may be expected1 terror of it is felt by the neighboring cottagers1 though it seems to confine its malicious disturbance almost solely to the occupants of this one house4 ,there is a well1 however1 near to which no one ventures after it is dark1 because it has been seen near it4 8,it is useless to attempt to give any opinion respecting the real causes of these strange sounds and sights4 ,how far they may be real or imaginary1 how far they may be explicable by natural causes or not--the only thing which we have here to record is1 the very singular fact of a most respectable and intelligent family having for many years been continually annoyed by them1 as well as their visiters4 ,they express themselves as most anxious to obtain any clew to the true cause1 as may be seen by ,mr4 ,procter's ready acquiescence in the experiment of ,mr4 ,drury4 ,so great a trouble is it to them1 that they have contemplated the necessity of quitting the house altogether1 though it would create great inconvenience as regarded business4 ,and it only remains to be added that we have not heard very recently whether these visitations are still continued1 though we have a letter of ,mr4 ,procter's to a friend of ours1 dated ,september1 #ahdd1 in which he says3 #8,disturbances have for a length of time been only very unfrequent1 which is a comfort1 as the elder children are getting old enough 7about nine or ten years7 to be more injuriously affected by anything of the sort4' 8,over these facts let the philosophers ponder1 and if any of them be powerful enough to exorcise #8,old ,jeffrey1' or the bluish-gray and misty lady1 we are sure that ,mr4 ,joseph ,procter will hold himself deeply indebted to them4 ,we have lately heard that ,mr4 ,procter has discovered an old book1 which makes it appear that the very same #8hauntings' took place in an old house1 on the very same spot1 at least two hundred years ago40 ,to the above information1 furnished by ,mr4 ,howitt1 ,i have to subjoin that the family of ,mr4 ,procter are now quitting the house1 which he intends to divide into small tenements for the work-people4 ,a friend of mine who lately visited ,willington1 and who went over the house with ,mr4 ,procter1 assures me that the annoyances still continue1 though less frequent than formerly4 ,mr4 ,procter informed her that the female figure generally appeared in a shroud1 and that it had been seen in that guise by one of the family only a few days before4 ,a wish being expressed by a gentleman visiting ,mr4 ,procter that some natural explanation of these perplexing circumstances might be discovered1 the latter declared his entire conviction1 founded on an experience of fifteen years1 that no such elucidation was possible4 ----- #c ,it is remarkable that this hoisting of the bed-curtains is similar to an incident recorded in the account of the visit of ,lord ,tyrone's ghost to ,lady ,beresford4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,spectral ,,lights1 ,,and ,,apparitions ,,attached ,,to ,,certain ,,families4 ,,in commencing another chapter1 ,i take the opportunity of repeating what ,i have said before1 viz41 that in treating of these phenomena1 ,i find it most convenient to assume what ,i myself believe--that they are to be explained by the existence and appearance of what are called ,,ghosts2 but in so doing1 ,i am not presuming to settle the question3 if any one will examine into the facts and furnish a better explanation of them1 ,i shall be ready to receive it4 ,in the meantime1 assuming this hypothesis1 there is one phenomenon frequently attending their appearance1 which has given rise to a great deal of thoughtless ridicule1 but which1 in the present state of science1 merits very particular attention4 ,grose1 whom ,dr4 ,hibbert quotes with particular satisfaction1 says3 8,i can not learn that ghosts carry tapers in their hands1 as they are sometimes depicted2 though the room in which they appear1 even when without fire or candle1 is frequently said to be as light as day40 ,most persons will have heard of this peculiarity attending the appearance of ghosts4 ,in the case of ,professor ,dorrien's apparition1 mentioned in a former chapter1 ,professor ,oeder saw it1 when there was no light in the room1 by a flame which proceeded from itself4 ,when he had the room lighted1 he saw it no longer1 the light of the lamp rendering invisible the more delicate phosphorescent light of the spectre3 just as the bright glare of the sun veils the feebler lustre of the stars1 and obscures to our senses many chemical lights which are very perceptible in darkness4 ,hence the notion1 so available to those who satisfy themselves with scoffing without inquiring1 that broad daylight banishes apparitions1 and that the belief in them is merely the offspring of physical as well as moral darkness4 ,i meet with innumerable cases in which this phosphorescent light is one of the accompaniments1 the flame sometimes proceeding visibly from the figure2 while in others1 the room appeared pervaded with light1 without its seeming to issue from any particular object4 ,i remember a case of the servants in a country-house1 in ,aberdeenshire1 hearing the door-bell ring after their mistress was gone to bed2 on coming up to open it1 they saw through a window that looked into a hall that it was quite light1 and that their master1 ,mr4 ,f----1 who was at the time absent from home1 was there in his travelling dress4 ,they ran to tell their mistress what they had seen2 but when they returned1 all was dark1 and there was nothing unusual to be discovered4 ,that night ,mr4 ,f---- died at sea1 on his voyage to ,london4 ,a gentleman1 some time ago1 awoke in the middle of a dark winter's night1 and perceived that his room was as light as if it were day4 ,he awoke his wife and mentioned the circumstance1 saying he could not help apprehending that some misfortune had occurred to his fishing-boats1 which had put to sea4 ,the boats were lost that night4 ,only last year1 there was a very curious circumstance happened in the south of ,england1 in which these lights were seen4 ,i give the account literally as ,i extracted it from the newspaper1 and also the answer of the editor to my further inquiries4 ,i know nothing more of this story2 but it is singularly in keeping with others proceeding from different quarters4 8,a ,,ghost ,,at ,,bristol4--,we have this week a ghost-story to relate4 ,yes1 a ghost-story2 a real ghost-story1 and a ghost-story without1 as yet1 any clew to its elucidation4 ,after the dissolution of the ,calendars1 their ancient residence1 adjoining and almost forming a part of ,all-,saint's church1 ,bristol1 was converted into a vicarage-house1 and it is still called by that name1 though the incumbents have for many years ceased to reside there4 ,the present occupants are ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,jones1 the sexton and sextoness of the church1 and one or two lodgers2 and it is to the former and their servant-maid that the strange visiter has made his appearance1 causing such terror by his nightly calls1 that all three have determined on quitting the premises1 if indeed they have not already carried their resolution into effect4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,jones's description of the disturbance as given to the landlord1 on whom they called in great consternation1 is as distinct as any ghost-story could be4 ,the nocturnal visiter is heard walking about the house when the inhabitants are in bed2 and ,mr4 ,jones1 who is a man of by no means nervous constitution1 declares he has several times seen a light flickering on one of the walls4 ,mrs4 ,jones is equally certain that she has heard a man with creaking shoes walking in the bed-room above her own1 when no man was on the premises 7or at least ought to be71 and 8was nearly killed with the fright40 ,to the servant-maid1 however1 was vouchsafed the unenvied honor of seeing this restless night-visiter2 she declares she has repeatedly had her bed-room door unbolted at night between the hours of twelve and two o'clock--the period when such beings usually make their promenades--by something in human semblance2 she can not particularize his dress1 but describes it as something antique1 and of a fashion 8lang syne gane10 and to some extent corresponding to that of the ancient ,calendars1 the former inhabitants of the house4 ,she further says he is a 8whiskered gentleman0 7we give her own words7--which whiskered gentleman has gone the length of shaking her bed1 and she believes would have shaken herself also1 but that she invariably puts her head under the clothes when she sees him approach4 ,mrs4 ,jones declares she believes in the appearance of the whiskered gentleman1 and she had made up her mind1 the night before she called on her landlord1 to leap out of the window 7and it is not a trifle that will make people leap out of the windows7 as soon as he entered the room4 ,the effect of the #8flickering light' on ,mr4 ,jones was quite terrific1 causing excessive trembling1 and the complete doubling up of his whole body into a round ball1 like40--,bristol ,times4 8,,bristol ,,times ,,office1 ,june #c1 #ahdf4 8,,madam3 ,in reply to your inquiries respecting the ghost-story1 ,i have to assure you that the whole affair remains wrapped in the same mystery as when chronicled in the pages of the ,bristol ,times4 8,i am1 madam1 yours obediently1 8,,the ,,editor40 ,i subsequently wrote to ,mrs4 ,jones1 who ,i found was not a very dexterous scribe2 but she confirmed the above account--adding1 however1 that the ,rev4 ,mr4 ----1 the clergyman of the parish1 said ,i had better write to him about it1 and that he does not believe in such things4 ,of course he does not1 and it would have been useless to have asked his opinion4 ,there never was1 perhaps1 a more fearless human being than ,madame ,gottfried1 the empoisonneuse of ,bremen2 at least1 she felt no remorse--she feared nothing but discovery2 and yet1 when after years of successful crime she was at length arrested1 she related that soon after the death of her first husband1 ,miltenburg1 whom she had poisoned1 as she was standing1 in the dusk of the evening1 in her drawing-room1 she suddenly saw a bright light hovering at no great distance above the floor1 which advanced toward her bed-room door and then disappeared4 ,this phenomenon occurred on three successive evenings4 ,on another occasion1 she saw a shadowy appearance hovering near her--8,ach6 denke ich1 das ist ,miltenburg1 seine erscheinung60--7,alas6 thought ,i1 that is the ghost of ,miltenburg67 ,yet did not this withhold her murderous hand4 ,the lady who met with the curious adventure in ,petersburgh1 mentioned in a former chapter1 had no light in her room2 yet she saw the watch distinctly by the old woman's light1 though of what nature it was1 she does not know4 ,of the lights seen over graves1 familiarly called 8corpse-candles10 ,i have spoken elsewhere--as also of the luminous form perceived by ,rilling in the garden at ,colmar1 as mentioned by ,baron von ,reichenbach4 ,most people have heard the story of the ,radiant ,boy seen by ,lord ,castlereagh--an apparition which the owner of the castle admitted to have been visible to many others4 ,dr4 ,kerner mentions a similar fact1 wherein an advocate and his wife were awakened by a noise and a light1 and saw a beautiful child enveloped by the sort of glory that is seen surrounding the heads of saints4 ,it disappeared1 and they never had a repetition of the phenomenon1 which they afterward heard was believed to recur every seven years in that house1 and to be connected with the cruel murder of a child by its mother4 ,to these instances ,i will add an account of the ghost seen in ,c---- castle1 copied from the handwriting of ,c---- ,m---- ,h---- in a book of manuscript extracts1 dated ,c---- castle1 ,december #bb1 #ahbd1 and furnished to me by a friend of the family3-- 8,in order to introduce my readers to the haunted room1 ,i will mention that it forms part of the old house1 with windows looking into the court1 which in early times was deemed a necessary security against an enemy4 ,it adjoins a tower built by the ,romans for defence2 for ,c---- was properly more a border tower than a castle of any consideration4 ,there is a winding staircase in this tower1 and the walls are from eight to ten feet thick4 8,when the times became more peaceable1 our ancestors enlarged the arrow-slit windows1 and added to that part of the building which looks toward the river ,eden2 the view of which1 with its beautiful banks1 we now enjoy4 ,but many additions and alterations have been made since that4 8,to return to the room in question1 ,i must observe that it is by no means remote or solitary1 being surrounded on all sides by chambers that are constantly inhabited4 ,it is accessible by a passage cut through a wall eight feet in thickness1 and its dimensions are twenty-one by eighteen4 ,one side of the wainscoting is covered with tapestry2 the remainder is decorated with old family-pictures1 and some ancient pieces of embroidery1 probably the handiwork of nuns4 ,over a press1 which has doors of ,venetian glass1 is an ancient oaken figure1 with a battle-axe in his hand1 which was one of those formerly placed on the walls of the city of ,carlisle1 to represent guards4 ,there used to be1 also1 an old-fashioned bed and some dark furniture in this room2 but1 so many were the complaints of those who slept there1 that ,i was induced to replace some of these articles of furniture by more modern ones1 in the hope of removing a certain air of gloom1 which ,i thought might have given rise to the unaccountable reports of apparitions and extraordinary noises which were constantly reaching us4 ,but ,i regret to say ,i did not succeed in banishing the nocturnal visiter1 which still continues to disturb our friends4 8,i shall pass over numerous instances1 and select one as being especially remarkable1 from the circumstance of the apparition having been seen by a clergyman well known and highly respected in this county1 who1 not six weeks ago1 repeated the circumstances to a company of twenty persons1 among whom were some who had previously been entire disbelievers in such appearances4 8,the best way of giving you these particulars1 will be by subjoining an extract from my journal1 entered at the time the event occurred4 8,,sept4 #h1 #ahjc4--;,among other guests invited to ,c---- castle1 came the ,rev4 ,henry ,a----1 of ,redburgh1 and rector of ,greystoke1 with ,mrs4 ,a----1 his wife1 who was a ,miss ,s----1 of ,ulverstone4 ,according to previous arrangements1 they were to have remained with us for some days2 but their visit was cut short in a very unexpected manner4 ,on the morning after their arrival1 we were all assembled at breakfast1 when a chaise and four dashed up to the door in such haste that it knocked down part of the fence of my flower-garden4 ,our curiosity was1 of course1 awakened to know who could be arriving at so early an hour2 when1 happening to turn my eyes toward ,mr4 ,a----1 ,i observed that he appeared extremely agitated4 #8,it is our carriage6' said he2 #8,i am very sorry1 but we must absolutely leave you this morning4' 8,we naturally felt and expressed considerable surprise1 as well as regret at this unexpected departure2 representing that we had invited ,colonel and ,mrs4 ,s----1 some friends whom ,mr4 ,a---- particularly desired to meet1 to dine with us on that day4 ,our expostulations1 however1 were vain2 the breakfast was no sooner over than they departed1 leaving us in consternation to conjecture what could possibly have occasioned so sudden an alteration in their arrangements4 ,i really felt quite uneasy lest anything should have given them offence2 and we reviewed all the occurrences of the preceding evening in order to discover1 if offence there was1 whence it had arisen4 ,but our pains were vain2 and after talking a great deal about it for some days1 other circumstances banished it from our minds4 8,it was not till we some time afterward visited the part of the country in which ,mr4 ,a---- resides1 that we learned the real cause of his sudden departure from ,c----4 ,the relation of the fact1 as it here follows1 is in his own words3-- 8,soon after we went to bed1 we fell asleep3 it might have been between one and two in the morning when ,i awoke4 ,i observed that the fire was totally extinguished2 but although that was the case1 and we had no light1 ,i saw a glimmer in the centre of the room1 which suddenly increased to a bright flame4 ,i looked out1 apprehending that something had caught fire1 when1 to my amazement1 ,i beheld a beautiful boy1 clothed in white1 with bright locks1 resembling gold1 standing by my bedside1 in which position he remained some minutes1 fixing his eyes upon me with a mild and benevolent expression4 ,he then glided gently away toward the side of the chimney1 where it is obvious there is no possible egress1 and entirely disappeared4 ,i found myself again in total darkness1 and all remained quiet until the usual hour of rising4 ,i declare this to be a true account of what ,i saw at ,c---- castle1 upon my word as a clergyman40 ,i am acquainted with some of the family1 and with several of the friends of ,mr4 ,a----1 who is still alive1 though now an old man1 and ,i can most positively assert that his own conviction1 with regard to the nature of this appearance1 has remained ever unshaken4 ,the circumstance made a lasting impression upon his mind1 and he never willingly speaks of it2 but when he does1 it is always with the greatest seriousness1 and he never shrinks from avowing his belief1 that what he saw admits of no other interpretation than the one he then put upon it4 ,now1 let us see whether in this department of the phenomenon of ghost-seeing1 namely1 the lights that frequently accompany the apparitions1 there is anything so worthy of ridicule as ,grose and other such commentators seem to think4 ,of ,god1 the uncreated1 we know nothing2 but the created spirit1 man1 we can not conceive of independent of some organism or organ1 however different that organ may be to those which form our means of apprehension and communication at present4 ,this organ1 we may suppose to be that pervading ether which is now the germ of what ,st4 ,paul calls the spiritual body1 the astral spirit of the mystics1 the nerve-spirit of the clear-seers2 the fundamental body1 of which the external fleshly body is but the copy and husk--an organ comprehending all those distinct ones which we now possess in the one universal1 or1 as some of the ,german physiologists call it1 the central sense1 of which we occasionally obtain some glimpses in somnambulism1 and in other peculiar states of nervous derangement2 especially where the ordinary senses of sight1 hearing1 feeling1 c41 are in abeyance2 an effect which ,dr4 ,ennemoser considers to be produced by a change of polarity1 the external periphery of the nerves taking on a negative state2 and which ,dr4 ,passavent describes as the retreating of the ether from the external to the internal1 so that the nerves no longer receive impressions1 or convey information to the brain2 a condition which may be produced by various causes1 as excess of excitement1 great elevation of the spirit1 as we see in the ecstatics and martyrs1 over-irritation producing consequent exhaustion2 and also artificially1 by certain manipulations1 narcotics1 and other influences4 ,all somnambules of the highest order--and when ,i make use of this expression1 ,i repeat that ,i do not allude to the subjects of mesmeric experiments1 but to those extraordinary cases of disease1 the particulars of which have been recorded by various continental physicians of eminence--all persons in that condition describe themselves as hearing and seeing1 not by their ordinary organs1 but by some means the idea of which they can not convey further than that they are pervaded by light1 and that this is not the ordinary physical light is evident1 inasmuch as they generally see best in the dark1 a remarkable instance of which ,i myself witnessed4 ,i never had the slightest idea of this internal light1 till1 in the way of experiment1 ,i inhaled the sulphuric ether2 but ,i am now very well able to conceive it3 for1 after first feeling an agreeable warmth pervading my limbs1 my next sensation was to find myself1 ,i can not say in this heavenly light1 for the light was in me--,i was pervaded by it3 it was not perceived by my eyes1 which were closed1 but perceived internally1 ,i can not tell how4 ,of what nature this heavenly light was--and ,i can not forbear calling it heavenly1 for it was like nothing on earth--,i know not1 nor how far it may be related to those luminous emanations occasionally seen around ecstatics1 saints1 martyrs1 and dying persons2 or to the flames seen by somnambules issuing from various objects1 or to those observed by ,von ,reichenbach's patients proceeding from the ends of the fingers1 c4 ,but at all events1 since the process which maintains life is of the nature of combustion1 we have no reason to be amazed at the presence of luminous emanations2 and as we are the subjects of various electrical phenomena1 nobody is surprised when1 on combing their hair or pulling off their silk-stockings1 they hear a crackling noise1 or even see sparks4 ,light1 in short1 is a phenomenon which seems connected with all forms of life2 and ,i need not here refer to that emitted by glow-worms1 fire-flies1 and those marine animals which illuminate the sea4 ,the eyes also of many animals shine with a light which is not merely a reflected one--as has been ascertained by ,rengger1 a ,german naturalist1 who found himself able to distinguish objects in the most profound darkness1 by the flaming eyes of a ,south ,american monkey4 8,the seeing of a clear-seer10 says ,dr4 ,passavent1 8may be called a solar seeing1 for he lights and inter-penetrates his object with his own organic light1 viz41 his nervous ether1 which becomes the organ of the spirit20 and under certain circumstances this organic light becomes visible1 as in those above alluded to4 ,persons recovering from deep swoons and trances1 frequently describe themselves as having been in this region of light--this light of the spirit1 if ,i may so call it--this palace of light1 in which it dwells1 which will hereafter be its proper light2 for the physical or solar light1 which serves us while in the flesh1 will be no longer needed1 when out of it1 nor probably be perceived by the spirit1 which will then1 ,i repeat1 be a light to itself3 and as this organic light--this germ of our future spiritual body--occasionally becomes partially visible now1 there can not1 ,i think1 be any great difficulty in conceiving that it may1 under given circumstances1 be so hereafter4 ,the use of the word light1 in the ,scriptures1 must not be received in a purely symbolical sense4 ,we shall dwell in light1 or we shall dwell in darkness1 in proportion as we have shaken off the bonds that chain us to the earth2 according1 in short1 to our moral state1 we shall be pure and bright1 or impure and dark4 ,monsieur ,arago mentions1 in his treatise on lightning and the electrical fluid1 that all men are not equally susceptible of it1 and that there are different degrees of receptivity1 verging from total insensibility to the extreme opposite2 and he also remarks that animals are more susceptible to it than men4 ,he says the fluid will pass through a chain of persons1 of whom perhaps one 7though forming only the second link7 will be wholly insensible of the shock4 ,such persons would be rarely struck by lightning1 while another would be in as great danger from a flash as if he were made of metal4 ,thus it is not only the situation of a man1 during a storm1 but also his physical constitution1 that regulates the amount of his peril4 ,the horse and the dog are particularly susceptible4 ,now1 this varying susceptibility is analogous to1 if not the very same1 that causes the varying susceptibility to such phenomena as ,i am treating of2 and1 accordingly1 we know that in all times1 horses and dogs have been reputed to have the faculty of seeing spirits3 and when persons who have the second-sight see a vision1 these animals1 if in contact with them1 perceive it also1 and frequently evince symptoms of great terror4 ,we also here find the explanation of another mystery1 namely1 what the ,germans call ansteckung1 and the ,english 7skeptics when alluding to these phenomena7 contagion--meaning simply contagious fear2 but1 as when several persons form a chain1 the shock from an electrical machine will pass through the whole of them--so1 if one person is in such a state as to become sensible of an apparition or some similar phenomenon1 he may be able to communicate that power to another2 and thus has arisen the conviction among the highlanders1 that a seer1 by touching a person near him1 enables him frequently to participate in his vision4 ,a little girl1 in humble life1 called ,mary ,delves1 of a highly nervous temperament1 has been frequently punished for saying that the cat was on fire1 and that she saw flames issuing from various persons and objects4 ,with regard to the perplexing subject of corpse-lights1 there would be little difficulty attending it if they always remained stationary over the graves2 but it seems very well established that that is not the case4 ,there are numerous stories1 proceeding from very respectable quarters1 proving the contrary2 and ,i have heard two from a dignitary of the church1 born in ,wales1 which ,i will relate3-- ,a female relation of his had occasion to go to ,aberystwith1 which was about twenty miles from her home1 on horseback2 and she started at a very early hour for that purpose1 with her father's servant4 ,when they had nearly reached the half-way1 fearing the man might be wanted at home1 she bade him return1 as she was approaching the spot where the servant of the lady she was going to visit was to meet her1 in order to escort her the other half4 ,the man had not long left her1 when she saw a light coming toward her1 the nature of which she suspected4 ,it moved1 according to her description1 steadily on1 about three feet from the ground4 ,somewhat awestruck1 she turned her horse out of the bridle-road1 along which it was coming1 intending to wait till it had passed2 but1 to her dismay1 just as it came opposite to her1 it stopped1 and there remained perfectly fixed for nearly half an hour1 at the end of which period it moved on as before4 ,the servant presently came up1 and she proceeded to the house of her friend1 where she related what she had seen4 ,a few days afterward1 the very servant who came to meet her was taken ill and died3 his body was carried along that road2 and1 at the very spot where the light had paused1 an accident occurred1 which caused a delay of half an hour4 ,the other story was as follows3 ,a servant in the family of ,lady ,davis1 my informant's aunt1 had occasion to start early for market4 ,being in the kitchen1 about three o'clock in the morning1 taking his breakfast alone1 when everybody else was in bed1 he was surprised at hearing a sound of heavy feet on the stairs above2 and1 opening the door to see who it could be1 he was struck with alarm at perceiving a great light1 much brighter than could have been shed by a candle1 at the same time that he heard a violent thump1 as if some very heavy body had hit the clock1 which stood on the landing4 ,aware of the nature of the light1 the man did not await its further descent1 but rushed out of the house--whence he presently saw it issue from the front door1 and proceed on its way to the churchyard4 ,as his mistress1 ,lady ,davis1 was at that period in her bed1 ill1 he made no doubt that her death impended2 and when he returned from the market at night1 his first question was1 whether she was yet alive3 and though he was informed she was better1 he declared his conviction that she would die1 alleging as his reason what he had seen in the morning--a narration which led everybody else to the same conclusion4 ,the lady1 however1 recovered2 but1 within a fortnight1 another member of the family died3 and as his coffin was brought down the stairs1 the bearers ran it violently against the clock--upon which the man instantly exclaimed1 8,that is the very noise ,i heard60 ,i could relate numerous stories wherein the appearance of a ghost was accompanied by a light2 but as there is nothing that distinguishes them from those abovementioned1 ,i will not dilate further on this branch of the subject1 on which1 perhaps1 ,i have said enough to suggest to the minds of my readers that1 although we know little how such things are1 we do know enough of analogous phenomena to enable us to believe1 at least1 their possibility4 ,i confess ,i find much less difficulty in conceiving the existence of such facts as those above described1 than those of another class1 of which we meet with occasional instances4 ,for example1 a gentleman of fortune and station1 in ,ireland1 was one day walking along the road1 when he met a very old man1 apparently a peasant1 though well-dressed1 and looking as if he had on his ,sunday habiliments4 ,his great age attracted the gentleman's attention the more1 that he could not help wondering at the alertness of his movements1 and the ease with which he was ascending the hill4 ,he consequently accosted him1 inquiring his name and residence2 and was answered that his name was ,kirkpatrick1 and that he lived at a cottage1 which he pointed out4 ,whereupon the gentleman expressed his surprise that he should be unknown to him1 since he fancied he had been acquainted with every man on his estate4 8,it is odd you have never seen me before10 returned the old man1 8for ,i walk here every day40 8,how old are you80 asked the gentleman4 8,i am one hundred and five10 answered the other2 8and have been here all my life40 ,after a few more words1 they parted2 and the gentleman1 proceeding toward some laborers in a neighboring field1 inquired if they knew an old man of the name of ,kirkpatrick4 ,they did not2 but on addressing the question to some older tenants1 they said1 8,oh1 yes20 they had known him1 and had been at his funeral2 he had lived at the cottage on the hill1 but had been dead twenty years4 8,how old was he when he died80 inquired the gentleman1 much amazed4 8,he was eighty-five10 said they3 so that the old man gave the age that he would have reached had he survived to the period of this rencontre4 ,this curious incident is furnished by the gentleman himself and all he can say is1 that it certainly occurred1 and that he is quite unable to explain it4 ,he was in perfect health at the time1 and had never heard of this man in his life1 who had been dead several years before the estate came into his possession4 ,the following is another curious story4 ,the original will be found in the register of the church named1 from which it has been copied for my use3-- ,,extract ,,from ,,the ,,register ,,in ,,brisley ,,church1 ,,norfolk4 8,,december #ab1 #agjf4--;,i1 ,robert ,withers1 ,m4 ,a41 vicar of ,gately1 do insert here a story which ,i had from undoubted hands2 for ,i have all the moral certainty of the truth of it possible3-- 8,mr4 ,grose went to see ,mr4 ,shaw on the #b;d of ,august last4 ,as they sat talking in the evening1 says ,mr4 ,shaw3 #8,on the #bast of the last month1 as ,i was smoking a pipe1 and reading in my study1 between eleven and twelve at night1 in comes ,mr4 ,naylor 7formerly fellow of ,st4 ,john's college1 but had been dead full four years74 ,when ,i saw him1 ,i was not much affrighted1 and ,i asked him to sit down1 which accordingly he did for about two hours1 and we talked together4 ,i asked him how it fared with him4 ,he said1 8,very well40--8,were any of our old acquaintances with him80--8,no60 7at which ,i was much alarmed71 8but ,mr4 ,orchard will be with me soon1 and yourself not long after40 ,as he was going away1 ,i asked him if he would not stay a little longer1 but he refused4 ,i asked him if he would call again4 8,no20 he had but three days' leave of absence1 and he had other business4' 8,n4 ,b4--,mr4 ,orchard died soon after4 ,mr4 ,shaw is now dead3 he was formerly fellow of ,st4 ,john's college--an ingenious1 good man4 ,i knew him there2 but at his death he had a college-living in ,oxfordshire1 and here he saw the apparition40 ,an extraordinary circumstance occurred some years ago1 in which a very pious and very eminent ,scotch minister1 ,ebenezer ,brown of ,inverkeithing1 was concerned4 ,a person of ill character in the neighborhood having died1 the family very shortly afterward came to him to complain of some exceedingly unpleasant circumstances connected with the room in which the dissolution had taken place1 which rendered it uninhabitable1 and requesting his assistance4 ,all that is known by his family of what followed1 is that he went and entered the room alone2 came out again1 in a state of considerable excitement and in a great perspiration2 took off his coat and re-entered the room2 a great noise and ,i believe voices were then heard by the family1 who remained the whole time at the door2 when he came out finally1 it was evident that something very extraordinary had taken place2 what it was1 he said1 he could never disclose2 but that perhaps after his death some paper might be found upon the subject4 ,none1 however1 as far as ,i can learn1 has been discovered4 ,a circumstance of a very singular nature is asserted to have occurred1 not very many years back1 in regard to a professor in the college of ,a----1 who had seduced a girl and married another woman4 ,the girl became troublesome to him2 and being found murdered1 after having been last seen in his company1 he was suspected of being some way concerned in the crime4 ,but the strange thing is1 that1 from that period1 he retired every evening at a particular hour to a certain room1 where he stayed a great part of the night1 and where it was declared that her voice was distinctly heard in conversation with him3 a strange1 wild story1 which ,i give as ,i have it1 without pretending to any explanation of the belief that seems to have prevailed1 that he was obliged to keep this fearful tryst4 ,visitations of this description--which seem to indicate that the deceased person is still1 in some way incomprehensible to us1 an inhabitant of the earth--are more perplexing than any of the stories ,i meet with4 ,in the time of ,frederick ,,ii4 of ,prussia1 the cook of a catholic priest residing at a village named ,quarrey1 died1 and he took another in her place2 but the poor woman had no peace or rest from the interference of her predecessor1 insomuch that she resigned her situation1 and the minister might almost have done without any servant at all4 ,the fires were lighted1 and the rooms swept and arranged1 and all the needful services performed1 by unseen hands4 ,numbers of people went to witness the phenomena1 till at length the story reached the ears of the king1 who sent a captain and a lieutenant of his guard to investigate the affair4 ,as they approached the house1 they found themselves preceded by a march1 though they could see no musicians2 and when they entered the parlor and witnessed what was going on1 the captain exclaimed3 8,if that doesn't beat the devil60 upon which he received a smart slap on the face1 from the invisible hand that was arranging the furniture4 ,in consequence of this affair1 the house was pulled down1 by the king's orders1 and another residence built for the minister at some distance from the spot4 ,now1 to impose on ,frederick ,,ii4 would have been no slight matter1 as regarded the probable consequences2 and the officers of his guard would certainly not have been disposed to make the experiment2 and it is not likely that the king would have ordered the house to be pulled down without being thoroughly satisfied of the truth of the story4 ,one of the most remarkable stories of this class ,i know--excepting indeed the famous one of the ,grecian bride--is that which is said to have happened at ,crossen1 in ,silesia1 in the year #afei1 in the reign of the ,princess ,elizabeth ,charlotte4 ,in the spring of that year1 an apothecary's man1 called ,christopher ,monig--a native of ,serbest1 in ,anhalt--died1 and was buried with the usual ceremonies of the ,lutheran church4 ,but1 to the amazement of everybody1 a few days afterward1 he1 at least what seemed to be himself1 appeared in the shop1 where he would sit himself down1 and sometimes walk1 and take from the shelves boxes1 pots1 and glasses1 and set them again in other places2 sometimes try and examine the goodness of the medicines1 weigh them with the scales1 pound the drugs with a mighty noise--nay1 serve the people that came with bills to the shop1 take their money and lay it up in the counter3 in a word1 do all things that a journeyman in such cases used to do4 ,he looked very ghostly upon his former companions1 who were afraid to say anything to him1 and his master being sick at that time1 he was very troublesome to him4 ,at last he took a cloak that hung in the shop1 put it on and walked abroad1 but minding nobody in the streets2 he entered into some of the citizen's houses1 especially such as he had formerly known1 yet spoke to no one but to a maid-servant1 whom he met with hard by the church-yard1 whom he desired to go home and dig in a lower chamber of her master's house1 where she would find an inestimable treasure4 ,but the girl1 amazed at the sight of him1 swooned away2 whereupon he lifted her up1 but left a mark upon her1 in so doing1 that was long visible4 ,she fell sick in consequence of the fright1 and having told what ,monig had said to her1 they dug up the place indicated1 but found nothing but a decayed pot with a hemarites or bloodstone in it4 ,the affair making a great noise1 the reigning princess caused the man's body to be taken up1 which being done1 it was found in a state of putrefaction1 and was reinterred4 ,the apothecary was then recommended to remove everything belonging to ,monig--his linen1 clothes1 books1 c4--after which the apparition left the house and was seen no more4 ,the fact of the man's reappearance in this manner was considered to be so perfectly established at the time1 that there was actually a public disputation on the subject in the academy of ,leipsic4 ,with regard to the importance the apparition attached to the bloodstone1 we do not know but that there may be truth in the persuasion that this gem is possessed of some occult properties of much more value than its beauty4 ,the story of the ,grecian bride is still more wonderful1 and yet it comes to us so surprisingly well authenticated1 inasmuch as the details were forwarded by the prefect of the city in which the thing occurred1 to the proconsul of his province1 and by the latter were laid before the emperor ,hadrian--and as it was not the custom to mystify ,roman emperors--we are constrained to believe that what the prefect and proconsul communicated to him1 they had good reason for believing themselves4 ,it appears that a gentleman1 called ,demostrates1 and ,charito1 his wife1 had a daughter called ,philinnion1 who died2 and that about six months afterward1 a youth named ,machates1 who had come to visit them1 was surprised on retiring to the apartments destined to strangers1 by receiving the visits of a young maiden who eats and drinks and exchanges gifts with him4 ,some accident having taken the nurse that way1 she1 amazed by the sight1 summons her master and mistress to behold their daughter1 who is there sitting with the guest4 ,of course1 they do not believe her2 but at length1 wearied by her importunities1 the mother follows her to the guest's chamber2 but the young people are now asleep1 and the door closed2 but looking through the keyhole1 she perceives what she believes to be her daughter4 ,still unable to credit her senses1 she resolves to wait till morning before disturbing them2 but when she comes again the young lady had departed2 while ,machates1 on being interrogated1 confesses that ,philinnion had been with him1 but that she had admitted to him that it was unknown to her parents4 ,upon this1 the amazement and agitation of the mother were naturally very great2 especially when ,machates showed her a ring which the girl had given him1 and a bodice which she had left behind her2 and his amazement was no less1 when he heard the story they had to tell4 ,he1 however1 promised that if she returned the next night1 he would let them see her2 for he found it impossible to believe that his bride was their dead daughter4 ,he suspected1 on the contrary1 that some thieves had stripped her body of the clothes and ornaments in which she had been buried1 and that the girl who came to his room had bought them4 ,when1 therefore1 she arrived1 his servant having had orders to summon the father and mother1 they came2 and perceiving that it was really their daughter1 they fell to embracing her1 with tears4 ,but she reproached them for the intrusion1 declaring that she had been permitted to spend three days with this stranger1 in the house of her birth2 but that now she must go to the appointed place2 and immediately fell down dead1 and the dead body lay there visible to all4 ,the news of this strange event soon spread abroad1 the house was surrounded by crowds of people1 and the prefect was obliged to take measures to avoid a tumult4 ,on the following morning1 at an early hour1 the inhabitants assembled in the theatre1 and thence they proceeded to the vault1 in order to ascertain if the body of ,philinnion was where it had been deposited six months before4 ,it was not2 but on the bier there lay the ring and cap which ,machates had presented to her the first night she visited him2 showing that she had returned there in the interim4 ,they then proceeded to the house of ,democrates1 where they saw the body1 which it was decreed must now be buried without the bounds of the city4 ,numerous religious ceremonies and sacrifices followed1 and the unfortunate ,machates1 seized with horror1 put an end to his own life4 ,the following very singular circumstance occurred in this country toward the latter end of the last century1 and excited1 at the time1 considerable attention2 the more so1 as it was asserted by everybody acquainted with the people and the locality1 that the removal of the body was impossible by any recognised means2 besides1 that no one would have had the hardihood to attempt such a feat3-- 8,mr4 ,william ,craighead1 author of a popular system of arithmetic1 was parish-schoolmaster of ,monifieth1 situate upon the estuary of the ,tay1 about six miles east from ,dundee4 ,it would appear that ,mr4 ,craighead was then a young man1 fond of a frolic1 without being very scrupulous about the means1 or calculating the consequences4 ,there being a lykewake in the neighborhood1 according to the custom of the times1 attended by a number of his acquaintance1 ,craighead procured a confederate1 with whom he concerted a plan to draw the watchers from the house1 or at least from the room where the corpse lay4 ,having succeeded in this1 he dexterously removed the dead body to an outer house1 while his companion occupied the place of the corpse in the bed where it had lain4 ,it was agreed upon between the confederates1 that when the company were reassembled ,craighead was to join them1 and1 at a concerted signal the impostor was to rise1 shrouded like the dead man1 while the two were to enjoy the terror and alarm of their companions4 ,mr4 ,craighead came in1 and1 after being some time seated1 the signal was made1 but met no attention2 he was rather surprised2 it was repeated1 and still neglected4 ,mr4 ,craighead1 in his turn1 now became alarmed2 for he conceived it impossible that his companion could have fallen asleep in that situation2 his uneasiness became insupportable2 he went to the bed1 and found his friend lifeless6 ,mr4 ,craighead's feelings1 as may well be imagined1 now entirely overpowered him1 and the dreadful fact was disclosed4 ,their agitation was extreme1 and it was far from being alleviated when every attempt to restore animation to the thoughtless young man proved abortive4 ,as soon as their confusion would permit1 an inquiry was made after the original corpse1 and ,mr4 ,craighead and another went to fetch it in1 but it was not to be found4 ,the alarm and consternation of the company were now redoubled2 for some time a few suspected that some hardy fellow among them had been attempting a ,rowland for an ,oliver1 but when every knowledge of it was most solemnly denied by all present1 their situation can be more easily imagined than described2 that of ,mr4 ,craighead was little short of distraction4 ,daylight came without relieving their agitation2 no trace of the corpse could be discovered1 and ,mr4 ,craighead was accused as the primum mobile of all that had happened3 he was incapable of sleeping1 and wandered several days and nights in search of the body1 which was at last discovered in the parish of ,tealing1 deposited in a field1 about six miles distant from the place whence it was removed4 8,it is related that this extraordinary affair had a strong and lasting effect upon ,mr4 ,craighead's mind and conduct2 that he immediately became serious and thoughtful1 and ever after conducted himself with great prudence and sobriety40 ,among what are called superstitions1 there are a great many curious ones attached to certain families2 and from some members of these families ,i have been assured that experience has rendered it impossible for them to forbear attaching importance to these persuasions4 ,a very remarkable circumstance occurred lately in this part of the world1 the facts of which ,i had an opportunity of being well acquainted with4 ,one evening1 somewhere about ,christmas1 of the year #ahdd1 a letter was sent for my perusal1 which had been just received from a member of a distinguished family1 in ,perthshire4 ,the friend who sent it me1 an eminent literary man1 said1 8,read the enclosed2 and we shall now have an opportunity of observing if any event follows the prognostics40 ,the information contained in the letter was to the following effect3-- ,miss ,d----1 a relative of the present ,lady ,c----1 who had been staying some time with the earl and countess1 at their seat near ,dundee1 was invited to spend a few days at ,c---- castle1 with the earl and countess of ,a----4 ,she went3 and while she was dressing for dinner1 the first evening of her arrival1 she heard a strain of music under her window1 which finally resolved itself into a well-defined sound of a drum4 ,when her maid came up stairs1 she made some inquiries about the drummer that was playing near the house2 but the maid knew nothing on the subject4 ,for the moment1 the circumstance passed from ,miss ,d----'s mind2 but recurring to her again during the dinner1 she said1 addressing ,lord ,a----1 8,my lord1 who is your drummer80--upon which his lordship turned pale1 ,lady ,a---- looked distressed1 and several of the company 7who all heard the question7 embarrassed2 while the lady1 perceiving that she had made some unpleasant allusion1 although she knew not to what their feelings referred1 forbore further inquiry till she reached the drawing-room1 when1 having mentioned the circumstance again to a member of the family1 she was answered1 8,what6 have you never heard of the drummer-boy80--8,no10 replied ,miss ,d----2 8who in the world is he80--8,why10 replied the other1 8he is a person who goes about the house playing his drum whenever there is a death impending in the family4 ,the last time he was heard was shortly before the death of the last countess 7the earl's former wife71 and that is why ,lord ,a---- became so pale when you mentioned it4 #8,the drummer' is a very unpleasant subject in this family1 ,i assure you60 ,miss ,d---- was naturally much concerned1 and1 indeed1 not a little frightened at this explanation1 and her alarm being augmented by hearing the sounds on the following day1 she took her departure from ,c---- castle and returned to ,lord ,c----'s1 stopping on her way to call on some friends1 where she related this strange circumstance to the family1 through whom the information reached me4 ,this affair was very generally known in the north1 and we awaited the event with interest4 ,the melancholy death of the countess about five or six months afterward1 at ,brighton1 sadly verified the prognostic4 ,i have heard that a paper was found in her desk after her death1 declaring her conviction that the drum was for her2 and it has been suggested that probably the thing preyed upon her mind and caused the catastrophe3 but in the first place1 from the mode of her death1 that does not appear to be the case2 in the second1 even if it were1 the fact of the verification of the prognostic remains unaffected2 besides which1 those who insist upon taking refuge in this hypothesis must admit that1 before people living in the world like ,lord and ,lady ,a----1 could attach so much importance to the prognostic as to entail such fatal effects1 they must have had very good reason for believing in it4 ,the legend connected with 8the drummer0 is1 that either himself1 or some officer whose emissary he was1 had become an object of jealousy to a former ,lord ,a----1 and that he was put to death by being thrust into his own drum and flung from the window of the tower in which ,miss ,d----'s room was situated4 ,it is said that he threatened to haunt them if they took his life2 and he seems to have been as good as his word1 having been heard several times in the memory of persons yet living4 ,there is a curious legend attached to the family of ,g----1 of ,r----1 to the effect that1 when a lady is confined in that house1 a little old woman enters the room when the nurse is absent1 and strokes down the bed-clothes2 after which the patient1 according to the technical phrase1 8never does any good10 and dies4 ,whether the old lady has paid her visits or not ,i do not know1 but it is remarkable that the results attending several late confinements there have been fatal4 ,there was a legend1 in a certain family1 that a single swan was seen on a particular lake before a death4 ,a member of this family told me that on one occasion1 the father1 being a widower1 was about to enter into a second marriage4 ,on the wedding-day1 his son appeared so exceedingly distressed1 that the bridegroom was offended1 and1 expostulating with him1 was told by the young man that his low spirits were caused by his having seen the swan4 ,he 7the son7 died that night quite unexpectedly4 ,besides ,lord ,littleton's dove1 there are a great many very curious stories recorded in which birds have been seen in a room when a death was impending2 but the most extraordinary prognostic ,i know is that of 8the black dog10 which seems to be attached to some families3-- ,a young lady of the name of ,p----1 not long since was sitting at work1 well and cheerful1 when she saw1 to her great surprise1 a large black dog close to her4 ,as both door and window were closed1 she could not understand how he had got in2 but when she started up to put him out1 she could no longer see him4 ,quite puzzled1 and thinking it must be some strange illusion1 she sat down again and went on with her work1 when1 presently1 he was there again4 ,much alarmed1 she now ran out and told her mother1 who said she must have fancied it1 or be ill4 ,she declared neither was the case2 and1 to oblige her1 the mother agreed to wait outside the door1 and if she saw it again1 she was to call her4 ,miss ,p---- re-entered the room1 and presently there was the dog again2 but when she called her mother1 he disappeared4 ,immediately afterward1 the mother was taken ill and died4 ,before she expired1 she said to her daughter1 8,remember the black dog60 ,i confess ,i should have been much disposed to think this a spectral illusion1 were it not for the number of corroborative instances2 and ,i have only this morning read in the review of a work called 8,the ,unseen ,world10 just published1 that there is a family in ,cornwall who are also warned of an approaching death by the apparition of a black dog3 and a very curious example is quoted1 in which a lady newly married into the family1 and knowing nothing of the tradition1 came down from the nursery to request her husband would go up and drive away a black dog that was lying on the child's bed4 ,he went up1 and found the child dead6 ,i wonder if this phenomenon is the origin of the ,french phrase 8bte noir10 to express an annoyance1 or an augury of evil8 ,most persons will remember the story of ,lady ,fanshawe1 as related by herself--namely1 that while paying a visit to ,lady ,honor ,o',brien1 she was awakened the first night she slept there by a voice1 and1 on drawing back the curtain1 she saw a female figure standing in the recess of the window1 attired in white1 with red hair and a pale and ghastly aspect4 8,she looked out of the window10 says ,lady ,fanshawe1 8and cried in a loud voice1 such as ,i never before heard1 #8,a horse6--a horse6--a horse6' and then with a sigh1 which rather resembled the wind than the voice of a human being1 she disappeared4 ,her body appeared to me rather like a thick cloud than a real solid substance4 ,i was so frightened10 she continues1 8that my hair stood on end1 and my night-cap fell off4 ,i pushed and shook my husband1 who had slept all the time1 and who was very much surprised to find me in such a fright1 and still more so when ,i told him the cause of it1 and showed him the open window4 ,neither of us slept any more that night1 but he talked to me about it1 and told me how much more frequent such apparitions were in that country than in ,england40 ,this was1 however1 what is called a banshee3 for in the morning ,lady ,honor came to them1 to say that one of the family had died in the night1 expressing a hope that they had not been disturbed3 8for10 said she1 8whenever any of the ,o',briens is on his death-bed1 it is usual for a woman to appear at one of the windows every night till he expires2 but when ,i put you into this room1 ,i did not think of it40 ,this apparition was connected with some sad tale of seduction and murder4 ,i could relate many more instances of this kind1 but ,i wish as much as possible to avoid repeating cases already in print2 so ,i will conclude this chapter with the following account of 8,pearlin ,jean10 whose persevering annoyances1 at ,allanbank1 were so thoroughly believed and established1 as to have formed at various times a considerable impediment to letting the place4 ,i am indebted to ,mr4 ,charles ,kirkpatrick ,sharpe for the account of ,jean1 and the anecdote that follows4 ,a housekeeper1 called ,bettie ,norrie1 that lived many years at ,allanbank1 declared she and various other people had frequently seen ,jean1 adding that they were so used to her1 as to be no longer alarmed at her noises4 8,in my youth10 says ,mr4 ,sharpe1 8,pearlin ,jean was the most remarkable ghost in ,scotland1 and my terror when a child4 ,our old nurse1 ,jenny ,blackadder1 had been a servant at ,allanbank1 and often heard her rustling in silks up and down stairs1 and along the passage4 ,she never saw her--but her husband did4 8,she was a ,french woman1 whom the first baronet of ,allanbank 7then ,mr4 ,stuart7 met with at ,paris1 during his tour to finish his education as a gentleman4 ,some people said she was a nun1 in which case she must have been a sister of charity1 as she appears not to have been confined to a cloister4 ,after some time1 young ,stuart became either faithless to the lady1 or was suddenly recalled to ,scotland by his parents1 and had got into his carriage1 at the door of the hotel1 when his ,dido unexpectedly made her appearance1 and stepping on the fore-wheel of the coach to address her lover1 he ordered the postillion to drive on2 the consequence of which was1 that the lady fell1 and one of the wheels going over her forehead1 killed her6 8,in a dusky autumnal evening1 when ,mr4 ,stuart drove under the arched gateway of ,allanbank1 he perceived ,pearlin ,jean sitting on the top1 her head and shoulders covered with blood4 8,after this1 for many years1 the house was haunted3 doors shut and opened with great noise at midnight2 and the rustling of silks1 and pattering of high-heeled shoes1 were heard in bed-rooms and passages4 ,nurse ,jenny said there were seven ministers called together at one time1 to lay the spirit2 #8but they did no mickle good1 my dear4' 8,the picture of the ghost was hung between those of her lover and his lady1 and kept her comparatively quiet2 but when taken away1 she became worse-natured than ever4 ,this portrait was in the present ,sir ,j---- ,g----'s possession4 ,i am unwilling to record its fate4 8,the ghost was designated #8,pearlin1' from always wearing a great quantity of that sort of lace4#d 8,nurse ,jenny told me that when ,thomas ,blackadder was her lover 7,i remember ,thomas very well71 they made an assignation to meet one moonlight night in the orchard at ,allanbank4 ,true ,thomas1 of course1 was the first comer2 and1 seeing a female figure1 in a light-colored dress1 at some distance1 he ran forward with open arms to embrace his ,jenny4 ,lo1 and behold6 as he neared the spot where the figure stood1 it vanished2 and presently he saw it again1 at the very end of the orchard1 a considerable way off4 ,thomas went home in a fright2 but ,jenny1 who came last1 and saw nothing1 forgave him1 and they were married4 8,many years after this1 about the year #agij1 two ladies paid a visit at ,allanbank--,i think the house was then let--and passed a night there4 ,they had never heard a word about the ghost2 but they were disturbed the whole night with something walking backward and forward in their bed-chamber4 ,this ,i had from the best authority4 8,sir ,robert ,stuart was created a baronet in the year #afhg4 8,lady ,stapleton1 grandmother of the late ,lord le ,despencer1 told me that the night ,lady ,susan ,fane 7,lord ,westmoreland's daughter7 died in ,london1 she appeared to her father1 then at ,merriworth1 in ,kent4 ,he was in bed1 but had not fallen asleep4 ,there was a light in the room2 she came in1 and sat down on a chair at the foot of the bed4 ,he said to her1 #8,good ,god1 ,susan6 how came you here8 ,what has brought you from town8' ,she made no answer2 but rose directly1 and went to the door1 and looked back toward him very earnestly3 then she retired1 shutting the door behind her4 ,the next morning he had notice of her death4 ,this1 ,lord ,westmoreland himself told to ,lady ,stapleton1 who was by birth a ,fane1 and his near relation40 ----- #d 8,a species of lace made of thread40--,,jamieson4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,apparitions ,,seeking ,,the ,,prayers ,,of ,,the ,,living4 ,,with regard to the appearance of ghosts1 the frequency of haunted houses1 presentiments1 prognostics1 and dreams1 if we come to inquire closely1 it appears to me that all parts of the world are much on an equality--only1 that where people are most engaged in business or pleasure1 these things are1 in the first place1 less thought of and less believed in1 consequently less observed2 and when they are observed1 they are readily explained away3 and in the second place--where the external life1 the life of the brain1 wholly prevails--either they do not happen1 or they are not perceived--the rapport not existing1 or the receptive faculty being obscured4 ,but1 although the above phenomena seem to be equally well known in all countries1 there is one peculiar class of apparitions of which ,i meet with no records but in ,germany4 ,i allude to ghosts1 who1 like those described in the 8,seeress of ,prevorst10 seek the prayers of the living4 ,in spite of the positive assertions of ,kerner1 ,eschenmayer1 and others1 that after neglecting no means to investigate the affair1 they had been forced into the conviction that the spectres that frequented ,frederica ,hauffe were not subjective illusions1 but real outstanding forms1 still1 as she was in the somnambulic state1 many persons remain persuaded that the whole thing was delusion4 ,it is true1 that as those parties were not there1 and as all those who did go to the spot came to a different conclusion1 this opinion being only the result of preconceived notions or prejudices1 and not of calm investigation1 is of no value whatever2 nevertheless1 it is not to be denied that these narrations are very extraordinary2 but1 perplexing as they are1 they by no means stand alone4 ,i find many similar ones noticed in various works1 where there has been no somnambule in question4 ,in all cases1 these unfortunate spirits appear to have been waiting for some one with whom they could establish a rapport1 so as to be able to communicate with them2 and this waiting has sometimes endured a century or more4 ,sometimes they are seen by only one person1 at other times by several1 with varying degrees of distinctness1 appearing to one as a light1 to another as a shadowy figure1 and to a third as a defined human form4 ,other testimonies of their presence--as sounds1 footsteps1 lights1 visible removing of solid articles without a visible agent1 odors1 c4--are generally perceived by many2 in short1 the sounds seem audible to all who come to the spot1 with the exception of the voice1 which in most instances is only heard by the person with whom the rapport is chiefly established4 ,some cases are related1 where a mark like burning is left on the articles seen to be lifted4 ,this is an old persuasion1 and has given rise to many a joke4 ,but1 upon the hypothesis ,i have offered1 the thing is simple enough3 the mark will probably be of the same nature as that left by the electrical fluid2--and it is this particular1 and the lights that often accompany spirits1 that have caused the notion of material flames1 sulphur1 brimstone1 c41 to be connected with the idea of a future state4 ,according to our views1 there can be no difficulty in conceiving that a happy and blessed spirit would emit a mild radiance2 while anger or malignity would necessarily alter the character of the effulgence4 ,as whoever wishes to see a number of these cases may have recourse to my translation of the 8,seeress of ,prevorst10 ,i will here only relate one1 of a very remarkable nature1 that occurred in the prison of ,weinsberg1 in the year #ahce4 ,dr4 ,kerner1 who has published a little volume containing a report of the circumstances1 describes the place where the thing happened to be such a one as negatives at once all possibility of trick or imposture4 ,it was in a sort of block-house or fortress--a prison within a prison--with no windows but what looked into a narrow passage1 closed with several doors4 ,it was on the second floor2 the windows were high up1 heavily barred with iron1 and immovable without considerable mechanical force4 ,the external prison is surrounded by a high wall1 and the gates are kept closed day and night4 ,the prisoners in different apartments are of course never allowed to communicate with each other1 and the deputy-governor of the prison and his family1 consisting of a wife1 niece1 and one maid-servant1 are described as people of unimpeachable respectability and veracity4 ,as depositions regarding this affair were laid before the magistrates1 it is on them ,i found my narration4 ,on the #abth ,september1 #ahce1 the deputy-governor or keeper of the jail1 named ,mayer1 sent in a report to the magistrates that a woman called ,elizabeth ,eslinger was every night visited by a ghost1 which generally came about eleven o'clock1 and which left her no rest1 as it said she was destined to release it1 and it always invited her to follow it2 and as she would not1 it pressed heavily on her neck and side till it gave her pain4 ,the persons confined with her pretended also to have seen this apparition4 ,signed 8,,mayer40 ,a woman named ,rosina ,schahl1 condemned to eight days' confinement for abusive language1 deposed1 that about eleven o'clock1 ,eslinger began to breathe hard as if she was suffocating2 she said a ghost was with her1 seeking his salvation4 8,i did not trouble myself about it1 but told her to wake me when it came again4 ,last night ,i saw a shadowy form1 between four and five feet high1 standing near the bed2 ,i did not see it move4 ,eslinger breathed very hard1 and complained of a pressure on the side4 ,for several days she has neither ate nor drank anything4 ,signed 8,,schahl40 8,,court ,,resolves1 8,that ,eslinger is to be visited by the prison physician1 and a report made as to her mental and bodily health4 8,signed by the magistrates1 8,,eckhardt1 8,,theurer1 8,,knorr40 8,,report4 8,having examined the prisoner1 ,elizabeth ,eslinger1 confined here since the beginning of ,september1 ,i found her of sound mind1 but possessed with one fixed idea1 namely1 that she is and has been for a considerable time troubled by an apparition1 which leaves her no rest1 coming chiefly by night1 and requiring her prayers to release it4 ,it visited her before she came to the prison1 and was the cause of the offence that brought her here4 ,having now1 in compliance with the orders of the supreme court1 observed this woman for eleven weeks1 ,i am led to the conclusion that there is no deception in this case1 and also that the persecution is not a mere monomaniacal idea of her own1 and the testimony not only of her fellow-prisoners1 but that of the deputy-governor's family1 and even of persons in distant houses1 confirms me in this persuasion4 8,eslinger is a widow1 aged thirty-eight years1 and declares that she never had any sickness whatever1 neither is she aware of any at present2 but she has always been a ghost-seer1 though never till lately had any communication with them2 that now1 for eleven weeks that she has been in the prison1 she is nightly disturbed by an apparition1 that had previously visited her in her own house1 and which had been once seen also by a girl of fourteen--a statement which this girl confirms4 ,when at home1 the apparition did not appear in a defined human form1 but as a pillar of cloud1 out of which proceeded a hollow voice1 signifying to her that she was to release it1 by her prayers1 from the cellar of a woman in ,wimmenthal1 named ,singhaasin1 whither it was banished1 or whence it could not free itself4 ,she 7,eslinger7 says that she did not then venture to speak to it1 not knowing whether to address it as ,sie1 ,ihr1 or ,du 7that is1 whether she should address it in the second or third person7--which custom among the ,germans has rendered a very important point of etiquette4 ,it is to be remembered that this woman was a peasant1 without education1 who had been brought into trouble by treasure-seeking1 a pursuit in which she hoped to be assisted by this spirit4 ,this digging for buried treasure is a strong passion in ,germany4 8,the ghost now comes in a perfect human shape1 and is dressed in a loose robe1 with a girdle1 and has on its head a four-cornered cap4 ,it has a projecting chin and forehead1 fiery1 deep-set eyes1 a long beard1 and high cheek-bones1 which look as if they were covered with parchment4 ,a light radiates about and above his head1 and in the midst of this light she sees the outlines of the spectre4 8,both she and her fellow-prisoners declare1 that this apparition comes several times in a night1 but always between the evening and morning bell4 ,he often comes through the closed door or window1 but they can then see neither door nor window1 nor iron bars2 they often hear the closing of the door1 and can see into the passage when he comes in or out that way1 so that if a piece of wood lies there they see it4 ,they hear a shuffling in the passage as he comes and goes4 ,he most frequently enters by the window1 and they then hear a peculiar sound there4 ,he comes in quite erect4 ,although their cell is entirely closed1 they feel a cool wind#e when he is near them4 ,all sorts of noises are heard1 particularly a crackling4 ,when he is angry1 or in great trouble1 they perceive a strange mouldering1 earthy smell4 ,he often pulls away the coverlet1 and sits on the edge of the bed4 ,at first the touch of his hand was icy cold1 since he became brighter it is warmer2 she first saw the brightness of his finger-ends2 it afterward spread further4 ,if she stretches out her hand she can not feel him1 but when he touches her she feels it4 ,he sometimes takes her hands and lays them together1 to make her pray4 ,his sighs and groans are like a person in despair2 they are heard by others as well as ,eslinger4 ,while he is making these sounds1 she is often praying aloud1 or talking to her companions1 so they are sure it is not she who makes them4 ,she does not see his mouth move when he speaks4 ,the voice is hollow and gasping4 ,he comes to her for prayers1 and he seems to her like one in a mortal sickness1 who seeks comfort in the prayers of others4 ,he says he was a catholic priest in ,wimmenthal1 and lived in the year #adad40 7,wimmenthal is still catholic2 the woman ,eslinger herself is a ,lutheran1 and belongs to ,backnang47 8,he says1 that among other crimes1 a fraud committed conjointly with his father1 on his brothers1 presses sorely on him2 he can not get quit of it2 it obstructs him4 ,he always entreated her to go with him to ,wimmenthal1 whither he was banished1 or consigned1 and pray there for him4 8,she says she can not tell whether what he says is true2 and does not deny that she thought to find treasures by his aid4 ,she has often told him that the prayers of a sinner1 like herself1 can not help him1 and that he should seek the ,redeemer2 but he will not forbear his entreaties4 ,when she says these things1 he is sad1 and presses nearer to her1 and lays his head so close that she is obliged to pray into his mouth4 ,he seems hungry for prayers4 ,she has often felt his tears on her cheek and neck2 they felt icy cold2 but the spot soon after burns1 and they have a bluish red mark4 7,these marks are visible on her skin47 8,one night this apparition brought with him a large dog1 which leaped on the beds1 and was seen by her fellow-prisoners also1 who were much terrified1 and screamed4 ,the ghost1 however1 spoke1 and said1 #8,fear not2 this is my father4' ,he had since brought the dog with him again1 which alarmed them dreadfully1 and made them quite ill4 8,both ,mayer and the prisoners asserted1 that ,eslinger was scarcely seen to sleep1 either by night or day1 for ten weeks4 ,she ate very little1 prayed continually1 and appeared very much wasted and exhausted4 ,she said she saw the spectre alike1 whether her eyes were opened or closed1 which showed that it was a magnetic perception1 and not seeing by her bodily organs4 ,it is remarkable that a cat belonging to the jail1 being shut up in this room1 was so frightened when the apparition came1 that it tried to make its escape by flying against the walls2 and finding this impossible1 it crept under the coverlet of the bed1 in extreme terror4 ,the experiment was made again1 with the same result2 and after this second time the animal refused all nourishment1 wasted away1 and died4 8,in order to satisfy myself10 says ,dr4 ,kerner1 8of the truth of these depositions1 ,i went to the prison on the night of the #aeth of ,october1 and shut myself up without light in ,eslinger's cell4 ,about half-past eleven ,i heard a sound as of some hard body being flung down1 but not on the side where the woman was1 but the opposite2 she immediately began to breathe hard1 and told me the spectre was there4 ,i laid my hand on her head1 and adjured it as an evil spirit to depart4 ,i had scarcely spoken the words when there was a strange rattling1 crackling noise1 all round the walls1 which finally seemed to go out through the window2 and the woman said that the spectre had departed4 8,on the following night it told her that it was grieved at being addressed as an evil spirit1 which it was not1 but one that deserved pity2 and that what it wanted was prayers and redemption4 8,on the #ahth of ,october1 ,i went to the cell again1 between ten and eleven1 taking with me my wife1 and the wife of the keeper1 ,madame ,mayer4 ,when the woman's breathing showed me the spectre was there1 ,i laid my hand on her1 and adjured it1 in gentle terms1 not to trouble her further4 ,the same sort of sound as before commenced1 but it was softer1 and this time continued all along the passage1 where there was certainly nobody4 ,we all heard it4 8,on the night of the #bjth ,i went again1 with ,justice ,heyd4 ,we both heard sounds when the spectre came1 and the woman could not conceive why we did not see it4 ,we could not2 but we distinctly felt a cool wind blowing upon us when1 according to her account1 it was near1 although there was no aperture by which air could enter40 ,on each of these occasions ,dr4 ,kerner seems to have remained about a couple of hours4 ,madame ,mayer now resolved to pass a night in the cell1 for the purpose of observation2 and she took her niece1 a girl aged nineteen1 with her3 her report is as follows3-- 8,it was a rainy night1 and1 in the prison1 pitch dark4 ,my niece slept sometimes2 ,i remained awake all night1 and mostly sitting up in bed4 8,about midnight ,i saw a light come in at the window2 it was a yellowish light1 and moved slowly2 and though we were closely shut in1 ,i felt a cool wind blowing on me4 ,i said to the woman1 #8,the ghost is here1 is he not8' ,she said #8,yes1' and continued to pray1 as she had been doing before4 ,the cool wind and the light now approached me2 my coverlet was quite light1 and ,i could see my hands and arms2 and at the same time ,i perceived an indescribable odor of putrefaction2 my face felt as if ants were running over it4 7,most of the prisoners described themselves as feeling the same sensation when the spectre was there47 ,then the light moved about1 and went up and down the room2 and on the door of the cell ,i saw a number of little glimmering stars1 such as ,i had never before seen4 ,presently1 ,i and my niece heard a voice which ,i can compare to nothing ,i ever heard before4 ,it was not like a human voice4 ,the words and sighs sounded as if they were drawn up out of a deep hollow1 and appeared to ascend from the floor to the roof in a column2 while this voice spoke1 the woman was praying aloud3 so ,i was sure it did not proceed from her4 ,no one could produce such a sound4 ,they were strange1 superhuman sighs and entreaties for prayers and redemption4 8,it is very extraordinary that1 whenever the ghost spoke1 ,i always felt it beforehand4 ,proving that the spirit had been able to establish a rapport with this person4 ,she was in a magnetic relation to him4 ,we heard a crackling in the room also4 ,i was perfectly awake1 and in possession of my senses2 and we are ready to make oath to having seen and heard these things40 ,on the #ith of ,december1 ,madame ,mayer spent the night again in the cell1 with her niece and her maid-servant2 and her report is as follows3-- 8,it was moonlight1 and ,i sat up in bed all night1 watching ,eslinger4 ,suddenly ,i saw a white shadowy form1 like a small animal1 cross the room4 ,i asked her what it was2 and she answered1 #8,don't you see it's a lamb8 ,it often comes with the apparition4' ,we then saw a stool1 that was near us1 lifted and set down again on its legs4 ,she was in bed1 and praying the whole time4 ,presently1 there was such a noise at the window that ,i thought all the panes were broken4 ,she told us it was the ghost1 and that he was sitting on the stool4 ,we then heard a walking and shuffling up and down1 although ,i could not see him2 but presently ,i felt a cool wind blowing on me1 and out of this wind the same hollow voice ,i had heard before1 said1 #8,in the name of ,jesus1 look on me6' 8,before this1 the moon was gone1 and it was quite dark2 but when the voice spoke to me1 ,i saw a light around us1 though still no form4 ,then there was a sound of walking toward the opposite window1 and ,i heard the voice say1 #8,do you see me now8' ,and then1 for the first time1 ,i saw a shadowy form1 stretching up as if to make itself visible to us1 but could distinguish no features4 8,during the rest of the night1 ,i saw it repeatedly1 sometimes sitting on the stool1 and at others moving about2 and ,i am perfectly certain that there was no moonlight now1 nor any other light from without4 ,how ,i saw it1 ,i can not tell2 it is a thing not to be described4 8,eslinger prayed the whole time1 and the more earnestly she did so1 the closer the spectre went to her4 ,it sometimes sat upon her bed4 8,about five o'clock1 when he came near to me1 and ,i felt the cool air1 ,i said1 #8,go to my husband1 in his chamber1 and leave a sign that you have been there6' ,he answered distinctly1 #8,yes4' ,then we heard the door1 which was fast locked1 open and shut2 and we saw the shadow float out 7for he floated rather than walked71 and we heard the shuffling along the passage4 8,in a quarter of an hour we saw him return1 entering by the window2 and ,i asked him if he had been with my husband1 and what he had done4 ,he answered by a sound like a short1 low1 hollow laugh4 ,then he hovered about without any noise1 and we heard him speaking to ,eslinger1 while she still prayed aloud4 ,still1 as before1 ,i always knew when he was going to speak4 ,after six o'clock1 we saw him no more4 ,in the morning1 my husband mentioned1 with great surprise1 that his chamber door1 which he was sure he had fast bolted and locked1 even taking out the key when he went to bed1 he had found wide open40 ,on the #bdth1 ,madame ,mayer passed the night there again2 but on this occasion she only saw a white shadow coming and going1 and standing by the woman1 who prayed unceasingly4 ,she also heard the shuffling4 ,between prisoners and the persons in authority who went to observe1 the number of those who testify to this phenomenon is considerable2 and1 although the amount of what was perceived varied according to the receptivity of the subject in each case1 the evidence of all is perfectly coincident as to the character of the phenomena4 ,some saw only the light2 others distinguished the form in the midst of it2 all heard the sound1 and perceived the mouldering earthy smell4 ,that the receptivity of the women was greater than that of the men1 after what ,i have elsewhere said1 should excite no surprise2 the preponderance of the sympathetic system in them being sufficient to account for the difference4 ,frederica ,follen1 from ,lowenstein1 who was eight weeks in the same cell with ,eslinger1 was witness to all the phenomena1 though she only once arrived at seeing the spectre in its perfect human form1 as the latter saw it2 but it frequently spoke to her1 bidding her amend her life1 and remember that it was one who had tasted of death that give her this counsel4 ,this circumstance had a great effect upon her4 ,when any of them swore1 the apparition always evinced much displeasure1 grasped them by the throat1 and forced them to pray4 ,frequently1 when he came or went1 they said it sounded like a flight of pigeons4 ,catherine ,sinn1 from ,mayenfels1 was confined in an adjoining room for a fortnight4 ,after her release1 she was interrogated by the minister of her parish1 and deposed that she had known nothing of ,eslinger1 or the spectre2 8but every night1 being quite alone1 ,i heard a rustling and a noise at the window1 which looked only into the passage4 ,i felt and heard1 though ,i could not see anybody1 that some one was moving about the room2 these sounds were accompanied by a cool wind1 though the place was closely shut up4 ,i heard also a crackling1 and a shuffling1 and a sound as if gravel were thrown2 but could find none in the morning4 ,once it seemed to me that a hand was laid softly on my forehead4 ,i did not like staying alone1 on account of these things1 and begged to be put into a room with others2 so ,i was placed with ,eslingen and ,follen4 ,the same things continued here1 and they told me about the ghost2 but not being alone1 ,i was not so frightened4 ,i often heard him speak2 it was hollow and slow1 not like a human voice2 but ,i could seldom catch the words4 ,when he left the prison1 which was generally about five in the morning1 he used to say1 #8,pray6' and when he did so1 he would add1 #8,god reward you6' ,i never saw him distinctly till the last morning ,i was there2 then ,i saw a white shadow standing by ,eslinger's bed4 ,signed1 8,,catherine ,,sinn4 8,,minister ,,binder1 ,mayenfels40 ,it would be tedious1 were ,i to copy the depositions of all the prisoners1 the experience of most of them being similar to the above4 ,i will therefore content myself with giving an abstract of the most remarkable particulars4 ,besides the crackling1 rustling as of paper1 walking1 shuffling1 concussions of the windows and of their beds1 c41 c41 they heard sometimes a fearful cry1 and not unfrequently the bed-coverings were pulled from them2 it appearing to be the object of the spirit to manifest himself thus to those to whom he could not make himself visible2 and as ,i find this pulling off the bed-clothes1 and heaving up the bed as if some one were under it1 repeated in a variety of cases1 foreign and ,english1 ,i conclude the motive to be the same4 ,several of the women heard him speak4 ,all these depositions are contained in ,dr4 ,kerner's report to the magistrates2 and he concludes by saying1 that there can be no doubt of the fact of the woman ,elizabeth ,eslinger suffering these annoyances1 by whatever name people may choose to call them4 ,among the most remarkable phenomena1 is the real or apparent opening of the door1 so that they could see what was in the passage4 ,eslinger said that the spirit was often surrounded by a light1 and his eyes looked fiery2 and there sometimes came with him two lambs1 which occasionally appeared as stars4 ,he often took hold of ,eslinger1 and made her sit up1 put her hands together1 that she might pray2 and once he appeared to take a pen and paper from under his gown1 and wrote1 laying it on her coverled4 ,it is extremely curious that1 on two occasions1 ,eslinger saw ,dr4 ,kerner and ,justice ,heyd enter with the ghost1 when they were not there in the body1 and both times ,heyd was enveloped in a black cloud4 ,the ghost1 on being asked1 told ,eslinger that the cloud indicated that trouble was impending4 ,a few days afterward his child died very unexpectedly1 and ,dr4 ,kerner now remembered1 that the first time ,eslinger said she had seen ,heyd in this way1 his father had died directly afterward4 ,kerner attended both patients1 and was thus associated in the symbol4 ,follen also saw these two images1 and spoke1 believing the one to be ,dr4 ,kerner himself4 ,on other occasions she saw strangers come in with the ghost1 whom afterward1 when they really came in the body1 she recognised4 ,this seems to have been a sort of second sight4 ,dr4 ,k4 says1 ,i think justly enough1 that if ,eslinger had been feigning1 she never would have ventured on what seemed so improbable4 ,some of the women1 after the spectre had visibly leaned over them1 or had spoken into their ears1 were so affected by the odor he diffused that they vomited1 and could not eat till they had taken an emetic2 and those parts of their persons that he touched became painful and swollen1 an effect ,i find produced in numerous other instances4 ,the following particulars are worth observing1 in the evidence of a girl sixteen years of age1 called ,margaret ,laibesberg1 who was confined for ten days for plucking some grapes in a vineyard4 ,she says she knew nothing about the spectre1 but that she was greatly alarmed the first night at hearing the door burst open and something come shuffling in4 ,eslinger bade her not fear1 and said that it would not injure her4 ,the girl1 however1 being greatly terrified every night1 and hiding her head under the bed-clothes1 on the fourth ,eslinger got out of her own bed1 and1 coming to her1 said3 8,do1 in the name of ,god1 look at him6 ,he will do you no harm1 ,i assure you40--8,then10 says the girl1 8,i looked out from under the clothes1 and ,i saw two white forms1 like two lambs--so beautiful that ,i could have looked at them for ever4 ,between them stood a white1 shadowy form1 as tall as a man1 but ,i was not able to look longer1 for my eyes failed me40 ,the terrors of this girl were so great1 that ,eslinger had repeatedly occasion to get out of bed and fetch her to lie with herself4 ,when she could be induced to look1 she always saw the figure1 and he bade her also pray for him4 ,whenever he touched her1 which he did on the forehead and eyes1 she felt pain1 but says nothing of any subsequent swelling4 ,both this girl and another1 called ,neidhardt1 who was brought in on the last day of ,margaret ,l----'s imprisonment1 testified that on the previous night they had heard ,eslinger ask the ghost why he looked so angry2 and that they had heard him answer that it was 8because she had on the preceding night neglected to pray for him as much as usual10 which neglect arose from two gentlemen having passed the night in the cell4 ,when on the tenth day the girl ,margaret ,l---- was released1 she said that there was something so awful to her in this apparition1 that she had firmly resolved and vowed to be pious and lead henceforth a virtuous life4 ,some of them seem to have felt little alarm2 ,maria ,bar1 aged forty-one1 said3 8,i was not afraid1 for ,i have a good conscience40 ,the offences for which these women were confined appear to have been very slight ones1 such as quarrelling1 c4 ,in a room that opened into the same passage1 men were shut up for disputing with the police1 neglect of regulations1 and similar misdemeanors4 ,these persons not only heard the noises as above described1 such as the walking1 shuffling1 opening and shutting the door1 c41 c41 but some of them saw the ghost4 ,christian ,bauer deposed that he had never heard anything about the ghost1 but that1 being disturbed by a knocking and rustling toward three o'clock on the second morning of his incarceration1 he looked up and saw a white figure bending over him1 and heard a strange hollow voice say3 8,you must needs have patience60 ,he said he thought it must be his grandfather1 at which ,stricker1 his companion1 laughed4 ,stricker deposed that he heard a hollow voice say3 8,you must needs have patience20 and that ,bauer told him that there was a white apparition near him1 and that he supposed it was his grandfather4 ,bauer said that he was frightened the first night1 but got used to it and did not mind4 ,it is worthy of observation1 that when they heard the door of the women's room open1 they also heard the voice of ,eslinger praying1 which seems as if the door not only appeared to open1 but actually did so4 ,we have already seen that this spirit could open doors4 ,in the 8,seeress of ,prevorst10 the doors were constantly audibly and visibly opened1 as by an unseen hand1 when she saw a spectre enter2 and ,i know to an absolute certainty that the same phenomenon takes place in a house not far from where ,i am writing2 and this1 sometimes1 when there are two people sleeping in the room--a lady and gentleman4 ,the door having been fast locked when they went to bed1 the room thoroughly examined1 and every precaution taken--for they are unwilling to believe in the spiritual character of the disturbances that annoy them--they are aroused by a consciousness that it is opening1 and they do find it open1 on rising to investigate the fact4 ,one of the most remarkable proofs1 either of the force of volition or of the electrical powers of the apparition that haunted ,eslinger1 or else of his power to imitate sounds1 was the real1 or apparent1 violent shaking of the heavy1 iron-barred window1 which it is asserted the united efforts of six men could not shake at all when they made the experiment4 ,the supreme court having satisfied itself that there was no imposture in this case1 it was proposed that some men of science should be invited to investigate the strange phenomenon1 and endeavor if possible to explain it4 ,accordingly1 not only ,dr4 ,kerner himself and his son1 but many others1 passed nights in the prison for this purpose4 ,among these1 besides some ministers of the ,lutheran church1 there was an engraver called ,duttenhofer2 ,wagner1 an artist2 ,kapff1 professor of mathematics at ,heilbroun2 ,frass1 a barrister2 ,doctors ,seyffer and ,sicherer1 physicians2 ,heyd1 a magistrate2 ,baron von ,hugel1 c41 c43 but their perquisitions elicited no more than has been already narrated--all heard the noises1 most of them saw the lights1 and some saw the figure4 ,duttenhofer and ,kapff saw it without a defined outline2 it was itself bright1 but did not illuminate the room4 ,some of the sounds appeared to them like the discharging of a ,leyden jar4 ,there was also a throwing of gravel1 and a heavy dropping of water1 but neither to be found4 ,professor ,kapff says that he was quite cool and self-possessed1 till there was such a violent concussion of the heavy1 barred window1 that he thought it must have come in2 then both he and ,duttenhofer felt horror-struck4 ,as they could not see the light emitted by the spectre when the room was otherwise lighted1 they were in the dark2 but they took every care to ascertain that ,eslinger was in her bed while these things were going on4 ,she prayed aloud the whole time1 unless when speaking to them4 ,by the morning1 she used to be dreadfully exhausted1 from this continual exertion4 ,it is also mentioned that the straw on which she lay was frequently changed and examined1 and every means taken to ascertain that there was nothing whatever in her possession that could enable her to perform any sort of jugglery4 ,her fellow-prisoners were also invited to tell all they knew or could discover2 and a remission of their sentences promised to those who would make known the imposition1 if there was one4 ,dr4 ,sicherer1 who was accompanied by ,mr4 ,frass1 says that1 having heard of these phenomena1 which he thought the more unaccountable from the circumstances of the woman's age and condition1 c4--she being a healthy1 hard-working person1 aged thirty-eight1 who had never known sickness--he was very desirous of inquiring personally into the affair4 ,while they were in the court of the prison1 waiting for admittance1 they heard extraordinary noises1 which could not be accounted for1 and during the night there was a repetition of those above described--especially the apparent throwing of gravel1 or peas1 which seemed to fall so near him that he involuntarily covered his face4 ,then followed the feeling of a cool wind2 and then the oppressive odor1 for which1 he says1 he can find no comparison1 and which almost took away his breath4 ,he was perfectly satisfied that it was no smell originating in the locality or the state of the prison4 ,simultaneously with the perception of this odor1 he saw a thick1 gray cloud1 of no defined shape1 near ,eslinger's bed4 ,when this cloud disappeared1 the odor was no longer perceptible4 ,it was a fine moonlight night1 and there was light enough in the room to distinguish the beds1 c4 ,the same phenomena recurred several times during the night3 ,eslinger was heard1 each time the ghost was there1 praying and reciting hymns4 ,they also heard her say1 8,don't press my hands so hard together60--8,don't touch me60 c4 ,the voice of the spirit they did not hear4 ,toward three or four o'clock1 they heard heavy blows1 footsteps1 opening and shutting of the door1 and a concussion of the whole house1 that made them think it was going to fall on their heads4 ,about six o'clock1 they saw the phantom again2 and altogether these phenomena recurred at least ten times in the course of the night4 ,dr4 ,sicherer concludes by saying that he had undertaken the investigation with a mind entirely unprepossessed2 and that in the report he made1 at the desire of the supreme court1 he had recorded his observations as conscientiously as if he had been upon a jury4 ,he adds that he had examined everything2 and that neither in the person of the woman1 nor in any other of the inmates of the prison1 could he find the smallest grounds for suspicion1 nor any clew to the mystery1 which1 in a scientific point of view1 appeared to him utterly inexplicable4 ,dr4 ,sicherer's report is dated ,heilbronn1 ,january #h1 #ahcf4 ,mr4 ,fraas1 who accompanied him1 confirms the above statement in every particular1 with the addition that he several times saw a light1 of a varying circumference1 moving about the room2 and that it was while he saw this1 that the woman told him the ghost was there4 ,he also felt an oppression of the breath and a pressure on his forehead each time before the apparition came1 especially once1 when1 although he had carefully abstained from mentioning his sensations1 she told him it was standing close at his head4 ,he stretched out his hand1 but perceived nothing1 except a cool wind and an overpowering smell4 ,dr4 ,seyffer being there one night1 with ,dr4 ,kerner1 in order to exclude the possibility of light entering through the window1 they stopped it up4 ,they1 however1 saw the phosphorescent light of the spectre1 as before4 ,it moved quietly about1 and remained a quarter of an hour4 ,the room was otherwise perfectly dark2 the sounds accompanying it were like the dropping of water and the discharge of a ,leyden jar4 ,they fully ascertained that these phenomena did not proceed from the woman4 ,i have already given the depositions of ,madame ,mayer1 the wife of the deputy-governor or keeper of the prison1 who is spoken of as a highly respectable person4 ,mayer himself1 however1 though quite unable to account for all these extraordinary proceedings1 found great difficulty in believing that there was anything supernatural in the affair2 and he told ,eslinger that1 if she wished him to be convinced1 she must send the ghost to do it6 ,he says3 8,the night after ,i had said this1 ,i went to bed and to sleep1 little expecting such a visiter2 but1 toward midnight1 ,i was awakened by something touching my left elbow4 ,this was followed by a pain2 and in the morning1 when ,i looked at the place1 ,i saw several blue spots4 ,i told ,eslinger that this was not enough1 and that she must tell the ghost to touch my other elbow4 ,this was done on the following night1 and1 at the same time1 ,i perceived a smell like putrefaction4 ,the blue spots followed40 7,it will be remembered that ,eslinger had blue spots also47 ,mayer continues to say that the spectre made known its presence in his chamber by various sounds1 such as were heard in the other part of the house4 ,he never saw the figure distinctly1 but his wife did3 she always prayed when it was there4 ,he1 however1 felt the cool wind that they all described4 ,the ghost told ,eslinger that he should continue his visits to the prison after she had quitted it1 and he did so4 ,the second night after her release1 they felt his approach1 especially from the cool wind1 and ,madame ,mayer desired him to testify his presence to her husband4 ,immediately there were sounds like a wind-instrument1 and these were repeated at her desire4 ,the prisoners also heard and felt the apparition after ,eslinger's departure2 and ,mayer says he is perfectly assured that in this jail1 where the inmates were frequently changed1 everybody was locked up1 and every place thoroughly examined1 it was utterly impossible for any trick to be played3 besides which1 all parties agreed that the sounds were often of a description that could not have been produced by any known means4 ,but it was not to the prison alone that this apparition confined his visits4 ,to whomsoever ,eslinger sent him1 he went--testifying his presence by the same signs as above described4 ,he visited the chambers of several of the magistrates1 of a teacher named ,neuffer1 of the referendary burgher1 of a citizen named ,rummel1 and many others4 ,of these1 some only perceived his presence by the noises1 the cool air1 the smell1 or the touch2 others saw the light also1 and others perceived the figure with more or less distinctness4 ,a ,mr4 ,dorr1 of ,heilbronn1 seems to have scoffed very much at these rumors1 and ,dr4 ,kerner bade ,eslinger ask the ghost to convince him1 which she did4 ,mr4 ,dorr says3 8,when ,i heard these things talked of1 ,i always laughed at them1 and was thought very sensible for so doing4 ,now ,i shall be laughed at in my turn1 no doubt40 ,he then relates that1 on the morning of the #cjth of ,december1 #ahce1 he awoke1 as usual1 about five o'clock1 and was thinking of some business he had in hand1 when he became conscious that there was something near him1 and he felt as if it blew cold upon him4 ,he started up1 thinking some animal had got into his room1 but could find nothing4 ,next he heard a noise1 like sparks from an electrical machine1 and then a report close to his right ear4 ,had there been anything visible1 it was light enough to see it4 ,this report was frequently heard in the prison4 ,wherever the apparition once made a visit1 he generally continued to go for several successive nights4 ,he also visited ,professor ,kapff at ,heilbronn1 and ,baron von ,hugel at ,eschenau1 without being desired to do so by ,eslinger2 and ,neuffer1 whom he also went to1 she knew nothing of4 ,when he visited ,dr4 ,kerner's chamber1 his wife1 who had prided herself on her incredulity1 and boasted of being born on ,st4 ,thomas's day1 was entirely converted1 for she not only heard him1 but saw him distinctly4 ,he visited them for several nights1 accompanied by the noises and the light4 ,one night1 while lying awake observing these phenomena1 they fancied they heard their horse come out of his stable1 which was under their room4 ,in the morning1 he was found standing outside1 with his halter on2 it was not broken1 and it was evident that the horse had not got loose by any violence4 ,moreover1 the door of the stable was closed behind him1 as it had been at night when he was shut up4 ,dr4 ,kerner's sister1 who came from a distance to visit them1 had heard very little about this affair1 yet she was awakened by a sound that seemed like some one trying to speak into her ear2 and1 looking up1 she saw two stars1 like those described by ,margaret ,laibesberg4 ,she observed that they emitted no rays4 ,she also felt the cool air1 and perceived the corpse-like odor4 ,this odor accompanied the ghost even when it appeared at ,heilbronn4 ,it is remarkable that some of these persons1 both men and women1 felt themselves unable to move or call out while the spectre was there1 and that they were relieved the moment he went away4 ,they appeared to be magnetized2 but this feeling was by no means universal4 ,many were perfectly composed and self-possessed the whole time1 and made their observations to each other4 ,all agreed that the speaking of the apparition seemed like that of a person making efforts to speak4 ,now1 as we are to presume that he did not speak by means of organs1 as we do1 but that he imitated the sounds of words as he imitated other sounds1 by some means with which we are unacquainted--for since the noises were heard by everybody within hearing1 we must suppose that they actually existed--we1 who know the extreme difficulty of imitating human speech1 may conceive how this imitation should be very defective4 ,dutthenhofer and others remarked that there was no echo from the sounds1 as well as that the phosphorescence shed no light around2 and though the spectre could touch them1 or produce the sensation that he did1 they could not feel him3 but1 as in all similar cases1 could thrust their hands through what appeared to be his body4 ,the sensation of his falling tears1 and the marks they left1 seem most unaccountable2 and yet1 in the records of a ghost that haunted the countess of ,eberstein1 in #afhe1 we find the same thing asserted4 ,this account was made public by the authority of the consistorial court1 and with the consent of the family4 ,at length1 on the #aath of ,february1 the ghost took his departure from ,eslinger2 at least1 after that day he was no more seen or heard by her or anybody else4 ,he had always entreated her to go to ,wimmenthal1 where he had formerly lived1 to pray for him2 and1 after she was released from the jail1 by the advice of her friends1 she did it4 ,some of them accompanied her1 and they saw the apparition near her while she was kneeling in the open air1 though not all with equal distinctness4 ,a very respectable woman1 called ,wrner--a stranger to ,eslinger1 whom she says she never saw or spoke to till that day--offered to make oath that she had accompanied her to ,wimmenthal1 and that1 with the other friends1 she had stood about thirty paces off1 quite silent and still1 while the woman knelt and prayed2 and that she had seen the apparition of a man1 accompanied by two smaller spectres1 hovering near her4 8,when the prayer was ended1 he went close to her1 and there was a light like a falling star2 then ,i saw something like a white cloud1 that seemed to float away3 and after that1 we saw no more40 ,eslinger had been very unwilling to undertake this expedition3 she took leave of her children before she started1 and evidently expected mischief would befall her2 and now1 on approaching her1 they found her lying cold and insensible4 ,when they had revived her1 she told them that1 on bidding her farewell1 before he ascended--which he did1 accompanied by two bright infantine forms--the ghost had asked her to give him her hand2 and that1 after wrapping it in her handkerchief1 she had complied4 8,a small flame had arisen from the handkerchief when he touched it2 and we found the marks of his fingers like burns1 but without any smell40 ,this1 however1 was not the cause of her fainting2 but she had been terrified by a troop of frightful animals that she saw rush past her1 when the spirit floated away4 ,from this time1 nobody1 either in the prison or out of it1 was troubled with this apparition4 ,this is certainly a very extraordinary story2 and what is more extraordinary1 such cases do not seem to be very uncommon in ,germany4 ,i meet with many recorded3 and an eminent ,german scholar of my acquaintance tells me that he has also heard of several1 and was surprised that we have no similar instances here4 ,if these things occurred merely among the ,roman catholics1 we might be inclined to suppose that they had some connection with their notion of purgatory3 but1 on the contrary1 it appears to be among the ,lutheran population they chiefly occur--insomuch that it has even been suggested that the omission of prayers for the dead1 in the ,lutheran church1 is the cause of the phenomenon4 ,but1 on the other hand1 as in the present case1 and in several others1 the person that revisits the earth was of the catholic persuasion when alive1 we are bound to suppose that he had the benefit of his own church's prayers4 ,i am here assuming that all the above strange phenomena were really produced by the agency of an apparition4 ,if they were not1 what were they8 ,the three physicians1 who were among the visiters1 must have been perfectly aware of the contagious nature of some forms of nervous disorder1 and from the previous incredulity of two of them1 they must have been quite prepared to regard these phenomena from that point of view2 yet they seem unable to bring them under the category of sensuous illusions4 ,the apparently electrical nature of the lights1 and of several of the sounds1 is very remarkable1 as are also the swellings produced on some of the persons by the touch of the ghost1 which remind us of ,professor ,hofer's case1 mentioned in a former chapter4 ,the apparition of the dog and the lambs also1 strange as they are1 are by no means isolated cases4 ,these appearances seem to be symbolical3 the father had been evil1 and had led his son to do evil1 and he appeared in the degraded form of a dog2 and the innocence of the children1 who had been1 probably1 in some way wronged1 was symbolized by their appearing as lambs4 8,if ,i had lived as a beast10 said an apparition to the ,seeress of ,provorst1 8,i should appear as a beast40 ,these symbolical transfigurations can not appear very extravagant to those who accept the belief of many theologians1 that the serpent of the garden of ,eden was an evil spirit incarnated in that degraded form4 ,how for the removal of the horse out of the stable was connected with the rest of the phenomena1 it is impossible to say2 but a similar circumstance has very lately occurred with regard to a dog that was locked up in the house in this neighborhood1 which ,i have several times alluded to1 where footsteps and rustlings are heard1 doors are opened1 and a feeling that some one is blowing or breathing upon them is felt by the inhabitants4 ,the holes burnt in the handkerchief are also quite in accordance with many other relations of the kind1 especially that of the maid of ,orlach1 and also that of the ,hammerschan family1 mentioned in 8,stilling's ,pneumatology10 when a ghost who had been1 as he said1 waiting one hundred and twenty years for some one to release him by their prayers1 was seen to take a handkerchief1 on which he left the marks of his five fingers1 appearing like burnt spots4 ,a bible that he touched was marked in the same manner2 and these two mementoes of the apparition were carefully retained in the family4 ,this particularity1 also1 reminds us of ,lord ,tyrone's leaving the marks of his hand on ,lady ,beresord's wrist1 on which she ever afterward wore a black riband4 ,in several instances ,i find it reported that when an apparition is requested to render himself visible to1 or to enter into communication with1 other persons besides those to whom he addresses himself1 he answers that it is impossible2 and in other cases1 that he could do it1 but that the consequences to those persons would be pernicious4 ,this1 together with the circumstance of their waiting so long for the right person1 tends strongly to support the hypothesis that an intense magnetic rapport is necessary to any facility of intercourse4 ,it also appears that the power of establishing this rapport with one or more persons1 varies exceedingly among these denizens of a spiritual world1 some being only able to render themselves audible1 others to render themselves visible to one person1 while a few seem to possess considerably greater powers or privileges4 ,another particular to be observed is1 that in many instances1 if not in all1 these spirits are what the ,germans call gebannt1 that is1 banned1 or proscribed1 or1 as it were1 tethered to a certain spot1 which they can occasionally leave1 as ,anton did the cellar at ,wimmenthal1 to which he was gebannt1 but from which they can not free themselves4 ,to this spot they seem to be attached1 as by an invisible chain1 whether by the memory of a crime committed there1 or by a buried treasure1 or even by its being the receptacle of their own bodies4 ,in short1 it seems perfectly clear1 admitting them to be apparitions of the dead1 that1 whatever the bond may be that keeps them down1 they can not quit the earth2 they are1 as ,st4 ,martin says1 remainers1 not returners1 and this seems to be the explanation of haunted houses4 ,in the year #ahbg1 ,christian ,eisengrun1 a respectable citizen of ,neckarsteinach1 was visited by a ghost of the above kind1 and the particulars were judically recorded4 ,he was at ,eherbach1 in ,baden1 working as a potter1 which was his trade1 in the manufactory of ,mr4 ,gehrig1 when he was one night awakened by a noise in his chamber1 and1 on looking up1 he saw a faint light1 which presently assumed a human form1 attired in a loose gown2 he could see no head4 ,he had his own head under the clothes2 but it presently spoke1 and told him that he was destined to release it1 and for that purpose he must go to the catholic churchyard of ,neckarsteinach1 and there1 for twenty-one successive days1 repeat the following verse from the ,new ,testament1 before the stone sepulchre there3-- 8,for what man knoweth the things of a man1 save the spirit of man which is in him8 ,so1 the things of ,god knoweth no man1 but the spirit of ,god40--#a ,cor4 ii4 #aa4 ,the ghost having repeated his visits and his request1 the man consulted his master what he should do1 and he advised him not to trifle with the apparition1 but to do what he required1 adding that he had known many similar instances4 ,upon this1 ,eisengrun went to ,neckarsteinach1 and addressed himself to the catholic priest there1 named ,seitz1 who gave him the same counsel1 together with his blessing and also a hymn of ,luther's1 which he bade him learn and repeat1 as well as the verse1 when he visited the sepulchre4 ,as there was only one stone sepulchre in the churchyard1 ,eisengrun had no difficulty in finding it2 and while he performed the service imposed on him by the ghost1 the latter stood on the grave with his hands folded as if in prayer2 but when he repeated the hymn1 he moved rapidly backward and forward1 but still not overstepping the limits of the stone4 ,the man1 though very frightened1 persevered in the thing for the time imposed1 twenty-one days2 and during this period he saw the perfect form of the apparition1 which had no covering on its head except very white hair4 ,it always kept its hands folded1 and had large eyes1 in which he never perceived any motion2 this filled him with horror4 ,many persons went to witness the ceremony4 ,the surviving nephews and nieces of the apparition brought an action against ,eisengrun1 and they contrived to have him seized and carried to the magistrate's house1 one day1 at the time he should have gone to the churchyard4 ,but the ghost came and beckoned1 and made signs to him to follow him1 till the man was so much affected and terrified that he burst into tears4 ,the two magistrates could not see the spectre1 but feeling themselves affected with a cold shudder1 they consented to his going4 ,he was then publicly examined in court1 together with the offended family and a number of witnesses2 and the result was1 that he was permitted to continue the service for the twenty-one days1 after which he never saw or heard more of the ghost1 who had been formerly a rich timber-merchant4 ,the terror and anxiety attendant on these daily visits to the churchyard1 affected ,eisengrun so much1 that it was some time before he recovered his usual health4 ,he had all his life been a ghost-seer1 but had never had communication with any before this event4 ,the catholic priest1 in this instance1 appears to have been more liberal than the deceased timber-merchant1 for the latter did not seem to like the ,lutheran hymn which the former prescribed4 ,his dissatisfaction1 however1 may have arisen from their making any addition to the formula he had himself indicated4 ----- #e ,it is to be observed that this is the sensation asserted to be felt by ,reichenbach's patients on the approach of the magnet4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,poltergeist ,,of ,,the ,,germans1 ,,and ,,possession4 ,,with regard to the so-called hauntings1 referred to in the preceding chapter1 there seems reason to believe that the invisible guest was formerly a dweller upon earth1 in the flesh1 who is prevented by some circumstance which we are not qualified to explain1 from pursuing the destiny of the human race1 by entering freely into the next state prepared for him4 ,he is like an unfortunate caterpillar that #8can not entirely free itself from the integuments of its reptile life which chain it to the earth1 while its fluttering wings vainly seek to bear it into the region to which it now belongs4' ,but there is another kind of haunting1 which is still more mysterious and strange1 though by no means unfrequent1 and which1 from the odd1 sportive1 mischievous nature of the disturbances created1 one can scarcely reconcile to our notions of what we understand by the term ghost2 for in those cases where the unseen visitant appears to be the spirit of a person deceased1 we see evidences of grief1 remorse1 and dissatisfaction1 together with1 in many instances1 a disposition to repeat the acts of life--or at least to simulate a repetition of them3 but there is nothing sportive or mischievous1 nor1 except where an injunction is disobeyed or a request refused1 are there generally any evidences of anger or malignity4 ,but in the other cases alluded to1 the annoyances appear rather like the tricks of a mischievous imp4 ,i refer to what the ,germans call the poltergeist1 or racketing spectre1 for the phenomenon is known in all countries1 and has been known in all ages4 ,since hearing of the phenomenon of the electric girl1 which attracted so much attention and occasioned so much controversy in ,paris lately1 and other similar cases which have since reached me1 ,i feel doubtful whether some of these strange circumstances may not have been connected with electricity in one form or another4 ,the famous story of what is familiarly called the ,stockwell ghost1 for example1 might possibly be brought under this category4 ,i have heard some people assert that the mystery of this affair was subsequently explained away1 and the whole found to be a trick3 but that is a mistake4 ,some years ago1 ,i was acquainted with persons whose parents were living on the spot at that time1 who knew all the details1 and to them it remained as great a mystery as ever2 not the smallest light had ever been thrown upon it4 ,people are so glad to get rid of troublesome mysteries of this description1 that they are always ready to say1 8,the trick has been found out60 and those who pride themselves on not believing idle stories1 are to the last degree credulous when 8the idle story0 flatters their skepticism4 ,the circumstances of the so-called ,stockwell ghost1 which ,i extract from a report published at the time1 are as follows3-- ,the pamphlet was entitled3 8,an authentic1 candid1 and ,circumstantial ,narrative of the astonishing ,transactions at ,stockwell1 in the ,county of ,surrey1 on ,monday and ,tuesday1 the #fth and #gth days of ,january1 #aggb2 containing a ,series of the most surprising and unaccountable ,events that ever happened1 which continued1 from first to last1 upward of twenty hours1 and at different places3 published with the consent and approbation of the family and other parties concerned1 to authenticate which the original copy is signed by them4 8,before we enter upon a description of the most extraordinary transactions that perhaps ever happened1 we shall begin with an account of the parties who were principally concerned1 and1 in justice to them1 give their characters1 by which means the impartial world may see what credit is due to the following narrative3-- 8,the events1 indeed1 are of so strange and singular a nature1 that we can not be at all surprised the public should be doubtful of the truth of them1 more especially as there have been too many impositions of this sort2 but1 let us consider1 here are no sinister ends to be answered1 no contributions to be wished for1 nor would be accepted1 as the parties are in reputable situations and good circumstances1 particularly ,mrs4 ,golding1 who is a lady of an independent fortune3 ,richard ,fowler and his wife might be looked upon as an exception to this assertion2 but1 as their loss was trivial1 they must be left out of the question1 except so far as they appear corroborating evidences4 ,mr4 ,pain's maid lost nothing4 8,how or by what means these transactions were brought about1 has never transpired3 we have only to rest our confidence on the veracity of the parties1 whose descriptions have been most strictly attended to1 without the least deviation3 nothing here offered is either exaggerated or diminished--the whole stated in the clearest manner1 just as they occurred3 as such only we lay them before the candid and impartial public4 8,mrs4 ,golding1 an elderly lady at ,stockwell1 in ,surrey1 at whose house the transactions began1 was born in the same parish 7,lambeth71 has lived in it ever since1 and has always been well known and respected as a gentlewoman of unblemished honor and character4 ,mrs4 ,pain1 a niece of ,mrs4 ,golding1 has been married several years to ,mr4 ,pain1 a farmer1 at ,brixton causeway1 a little above ,mr4 ,angel's--has several children1 and is well known and respected in the parish4 ,mary ,martin1 ,mr4 ,pain's servant1 an elderly woman1 has lived two years with them and four years with ,mrs4 ,golding1 where she came from4 ,richard ,fowler lives almost opposite to ,mr4 ,pain1 at the ,brick pound--an honest1 industrious1 and sober man4 ,and ,sarah ,fowler1 wife to the above1 is an industrious and sober woman4 8,these are the subscribing evidences that we must rest the truth of the facts upon2 yet there are numbers of other persons who were eye-witnesses of many of the transactions during the time they happened1 all of whom must acknowledge the truth of them4 8,another person who bore a principal part in these scenes was ,ann ,robinson1 ,mrs4 ,golding's maid1 a young woman about twenty years old1 who had lived with her but one week and three days4 ,so much for the histori person1 and now for the narrative4 8,on ,monday1 ,january the #fth1 #aggb1 about ten o'clock in the forenoon1 as ,mrs4 ,golding was in her parlor1 she heard the china and glasses in the back kitchen tumble down and break2 her maid came to her and told her the stone plates were falling from the shelf2 ,mrs4 ,golding went into the kitchen and saw them broke4 ,presently after1 a row of plates from the next shelf fell down likewise1 while she was there1 and nobody near them2 this astonished her much1 and while she was thinking about it1 other things in different places began to tumble about1 some of them breaking1 attended with violent noises all over the house2 a clock tumbled down and the case broke2 a lantern that hung on the staircase was thrown down and the glass broken to pieces2 an earthen pan of salted beef broke to pieces and the beef fell about3 all this increased her surprise and brought several persons about her1 among whom was ,mr4 ,rowlidge1 a carpenter1 who gave it as his opinion that the foundation was giving way and that the house was tumbling down1 occasioned by the too great weight of an additional room erected above3 so ready are we to discover natural causes for everything6 ,but no such thing happened1 as the reader will find2 for whatever was the cause1 that cause ceased almost as soon as ,mrs4 ,golding and her maid left any place1 and followed them wherever they went4 ,mrs4 ,golding ran into ,mr4 ,gresham's house1 a gentleman living next door to her1 where she fainted4 8,in the interim1 ,mr4 ,rowlidge and other persons were removing ,mrs4 ,golding's effects from her house1 for fear of the consequences he had prognosticated4 ,at this time all was quiet2 ,mrs4 ,golding's maid1 remaining in the house1 was gone up stairs1 and when called upon several times to come down1 for fear of the dangerous situation she was thought to be in1 she answered very coolly1 and after some time came down as deliberately1 without any seeming fearful apprehensions4 8,mrs4 ,pain was sent for from ,brixton ,causeway1 and desired to come directly1 as her aunt was supposed to be dead3 this was the message to her4 ,when ,mrs4 ,pain came1 ,mrs4 ,golding was come to herself1 but very faint4 8,among the persons who were present was ,mr4 ,gardner1 a surgeon1 of ,clapham1 whom ,mrs4 ,pain desired to bleed her aunt1 which he did4 ,mrs4 ,pain asked him if the blood should be thrown away3 he desired it might not1 as he would examine it when cold4 ,these minute particulars would not be taken notice of1 but as a chain to what follows4 ,for the next circumstance is of a more astonishing nature than anything that had preceded it3 the blood that was just congealed1 sprang out of the basin upon the floor1 and presently after the basin broke to pieces6 ,this china basin was the only thing broke belonging to ,mr4 ,gresham2 a bottle of rum that stood by it broke at the same time4 8,among the things that were removed to ,mr4 ,gresham's1 was a tray full of china1 a japan bread-basket1 some mahogany waiters1 with some bottles of liquors1 jars of pickles1 c41 and a pier-glass1 which was taken down by ,mr4 ,saville 7a neighbor of ,mrs4 ,golding's72 he gave it to one ,robert ,hames1 who laid it on the grass-plat at ,mrs4 ,gresham's3 but1 before he could put it out of his hands1 some parts of the frame on each side flew off6 ,it rained at that time2 ,mrs4 ,golding desired it might be brought into the parlor1 where it was put under a sideboard1 and a dressing-glass along with it4 ,it had not been there long1 before the glasses and china which stood on the sideboard began to tumble about and fall down1 and broke both the glasses to pieces4 ,mr4 ,saville and others being asked to drink a glass of wine or rum1 both the bottles broke in pieces before they were uncorked6 8,mrs4 ,golding's surprise and fear increasing1 she did not know what to do1 or where to go4 ,wherever she and her maid were1 these strange1 destructive circumstances followed her1 and how to help or free herself from them was not in her power or any other person's present4 ,her mind was one confused chaos1 lost to herself and everything about her--drove from her own home1 and afraid there would be no other to receive her4 ,at last she left ,mr4 ,gresham's and went to ,mr4 ,mayling's1 a gentleman at the next door2 here she stayed about three quarters of an hour1 during which time nothing happened4 ,her maid stayed at ,mr4 ,gresham's to put up what few things remained unbroken of her mistress's1 in a back apartment1 when a jar of pickles that stood upon a table turned upside down2 then a jar of raspberry jam broke to pieces2 next two mahogany waiters and a quadrille-box likewise broke in pieces4 8,mrs4 ,pain1 not choosing her aunt should stay too long at ,mr4 ,mayling's1 for fear of being troublesome1 persuaded her to go to her house at ,rush ,common1 near ,brixton ,causeway1 where she would endeavor to make her as happy as she could1 hoping by this time all was over1 as nothing had happened at that gentleman's house while she was there4 ,this was about two o'clock in the afternoon4 8,mr4 and ,miss ,gresham were at ,mr4 ,pain's house when ,mrs4 ,pain1 ,mrs4 ,golding1 and her maid1 went there4 ,it being about dinner-time1 they all dined together2 in the interim1 ,mrs4 ,golding's servant was sent to her house to see how things remained4 ,when she returned1 she told them nothing had happened since they left it4 ,some time after1 ,mr4 ,gresham and miss went home1 everything remaining quiet at ,mr4 ,pain's2 but about eight o'clock in the evening a fresh scene began4 ,the first thing that happened was1 a whole row of pewter dishes1 except one1 fell from off a shelf to the middle of the floor1 rolled about a little while1 then settled2 and1 what is almost beyond belief1 as soon as they were quiet1 turned upside down6 ,they were then put on the dresser1 and went through the same a second time4 ,next fell a whole row of pewter plates from off the second shelf over the dresser to the ground1 and1 being taken up and put on the dresser one in another1 they were thrown down again4 8,the next thing was1 two eggs that were upon one of the pewter shelves1 one of them flew off1 crossed the kitchen1 struck a cat on the head1 and then broke in pieces4 8,next1 ,mary ,martin1 ,mrs4 ,pain's servant1 went to stir the kitchen fire2 she got to the right-hand side of it1 being a large chimney1 as is usual in farmhouses4 ,a pestle and mortar that stood nearer the left-hand end of the chimney-shelf1 jumped about six feet on the floor6 ,then went candlesticks and other brasses1 scarcely anything remaining in its place4 ,after this1 the glasses and china were put down on the floor for fear of undergoing the same fate3 they presently began to dance and tumble about1 and then broke to pieces4 ,a teapot that was among them flew to ,mrs4 ,golding's maid's foot1 and struck it4 8,a glass tumbler that was put on the floor jumped about two feet and then broke4 ,another that stood by it jumped about at the same time1 but did not break till some hours after1 when it jumped again1 and then broke4 ,a china bowl that stood in the parlor jumped from the floor to behind a table that stood there4 ,this was most astonishing1 as the distance from where it stood was between seven and eight feet1 but was not broke4 ,it was put back by ,richard ,fowler to its place1 where it remained some time1 and then flew to pieces4 8,the next thing that followed was a mustard-pot1 that jumped out of a closet and was broke4 ,a single cup that stood upon the table 7almost the only thing remaining7 jumped up1 flew across the kitchen1 ringing like a bell1 and then was dashed to pieces against the dresser4 ,a candlestick that stood on the chimney-shelf flew across the kitchen to the parlor-door1 at about fifteen feet distance4 ,a teakettle under the dresser was thrown out about two feet2 another kettle1 that stood at one end of the range1 was thrown against the iron that is fixed to prevent children from falling into the fire4 ,a tumbler with rum-and-water in it1 that stood upon a waiter upon a table in the parlor1 jumped about ten feet1 and was broke4 ,the table then fell down1 and along with it a silver tankard belonging to ,mrs4 ,golding--the waiter in which stood the tumbler1 and a candlestick4 ,a case-bottle then flew to pieces4 8,the next circumstance was1 a ham that hung in one side of the kitchen-chimney raised itself from the hook and fell down to the ground4 ,some time after1 another ham1 that hung on the other side of the chimney1 likewise underwent the same fate4 ,then a flitch of bacon1 which hung up in the same chimney1 fell down4 8,all the family were eye-witnesses to these circumstances1 as well as other persons1 some of whom were so alarmed and shocked1 that they could not bear to stay1 and were happy in getting away1 though the unhappy family were left in the midst of their distresses4 ,most of the genteel families around were continually sending to inquire after them1 and whether all was over or not4 ,is it not surprising that some among them had not the inclination and resolution to try to unravel this most intricate affair1 at a time when it would have been in their power to have done so8 ,there certainly was sufficient time for so doing1 as the whole1 from first to last1 continued upward of twenty hours4 8,at all the times of action1 ,mrs4 ,golding's servant was walking backward and forward1 in either the kitchen or parlor1 or wherever some of the family happened to be4 ,nor could they get her to sit down five minutes together1 except at one time for about half an hour toward the morning1 when the family were at prayers in the parlor2 then all was quiet3 but in the midst of the greatest confusion1 she was as much composed as at any other time1 and with uncommon coolness of temper advised her mistress not to be alarmed or uneasy1 as she said these things could not be helped4 ,thus she argued1 as if they were common occurrences1 which must happen in every family6 8,this advice surprised and startled her mistress almost as much as the circumstances that occasioned it4 ,for how can we suppose that a girl of about twenty years old 7an age when female timidity is too often assisted by superstition7 could remain in the midst of such calamitous circumstances 7except they proceed from causes best known to herself71 and not be struck with the same terror as every other person was who was present8 ,these reflections led ,mr4 ,pain 7and1 at the end of the transactions1 likewise ,mrs4 ,golding7 to think that she was not altogether so unconcerned as she appeared to be2 but1 hitherto1 the whole remains mysterious and unrivalled4 8,about ten o'clock at night1 they sent over the way to ,richard ,fowler1 to desire he would come and stay with them4 ,he came and continued till one in the morning1 and was so terrified that he could remain no longer4 8,as ,mrs4 ,golding could not be persuaded to go to bed1 ,mrs4 ,pain at that time 7one o'clock7 made an excuse to go up stairs to her youngest child1 under pretence of getting it to sleep1 but she really acknowledges it was through fear1 as she declares she could not sit up to see such strange things going on1 as everything1 one after another1 was broke1 till there was not above two or three cups and saucers remaining out of a considerable quantity of china1 c1 which was destroyed to the amount of some pounds4 8,about five o'clock on ,tuesday morning1 ,mrs4 ,golding went up to her niece1 and desired her to get up1 as the noises and destruction were so great1 she could continue in the house no longer4 ,at this time all the tables1 chairs1 drawers1 c41 were tumbling about4 ,when ,mrs4 ,pain came down1 it was amazing beyond all description4 ,their only security then was to quit the house1 for fear of the same catastrophe as had been expected the morning before at ,mrs4 ,golding's4 ,in consequence of this resolution1 ,mrs4 ,golding and her maid went over the way to ,richard ,fowler's4 ,when ,mrs4 ,golding's maid had seen her safe to ,richard ,fowler's1 she came back to ,mrs4 ,pain1 to help her to dress the children in the barn1 where she had carried them for fear of the house falling4 ,at this time all was quiet4 ,they then went to ,fowler's1 and then began the same scene as had happened at the other places4 ,it must be remarked1 all was quiet here as well as elsewhere1 till the maid returned4 8,when they got to ,mr4 ,fowler's1 he began to light a fire in his back room4 ,when done1 he put the candle and candlestick upon a table in the fore-room4 ,this apartment ,mrs4 ,golding and her maid had passed through4 ,another candlestick1 with a tin lamp in it1 that stood by it1 were both dashed together1 and fell to the ground4 ,a lantern1 with which ,mrs4 ,golding was lighted across the road1 sprang from a hook to the ground1 and a quantity of oil spilled on the floor4 ,the last thing was1 the basket of coals tumbled over1 the coals rolling about the room ,the maid then desired ,richard ,fowler not to let her mistress remain there1 as she said wherever she was the same things would follow4 ,in consequence of this advice1 and fearing greater losses to himself1 he desired she would quit his house2 but first begged her to consider within herself1 for her own and the public's sake1 whether or not she had been guilty of some atrocious crime1 for which ,providence was determined to pursue her on this side of the grave3 for he could not help thinking she was the object that was to be made an example to posterity1 by the all-seeing eye of ,providence1 for crimes which but too often none but that ,providence can penetrate1 and by such means as these bring to light4 8,thus was the poor gentlewoman's measure of affliction complete1 not only to have undergone all which has been related1 but to have added to it the character of a bad and wicked woman1 when till this time she was esteemed as a most deserving person4 ,in candor to ,fowler1 he could not be blamed4 ,what could he do8 what would any man have done that was so circumstanced8 ,mrs4 ,golding soon satisfied him3 she told him she would not stay in his house or any other person's1 as her conscience was quite clear1 and she could as well wait the will of ,providence in her own house as in any other place whatever2 upon which she and her maid went home4 ,mr4 ,pain went with them4 ,after they had got to ,mrs4 ,golding's the last time1 the same transactions once more began upon the remains that were left4 8,a nine-gallon cask of beer1 that was in the cellar1 the door being open1 and no person near it1 turned upside down4 ,a pail of water1 that stood on the floor1 boiled like a pot6 ,a box of candles fell from a shelf in the kitchen to the floor2 they rolled out1 but none were broke3 and a round mahogany table overset in the parlor4 8,mr4 ,pain then desired ,mrs4 ,golding to send her maid for his wife to come to them4 ,when she was gone1 all was quiet4 ,upon her return she was immediately discharged1 and no disturbances have happened since4 ,this was between six and seven o'clock on ,tuesday morning4 8,at ,mrs4 ,golding's were broke the quantity of three pailfuls of glass1 china1 c4 ,at ,mrs4 ,pain's they filled two pails4 8,thus ends the narrative--a true1 circumstantial1 and faithful account of which we have laid before the public2 and have endeavored as much as possible1 throughout the whole1 to state only facts1 without presuming to obtrude any opinion on them4 ,if we have in part hinted anything that may appear unfavorable to the girl1 it is not from a determination to charge her with the cause1 right or wrong1 but only from a strict adherence to truth1 most sincerely wishing this extraordinary affair may be unravelled4 8,the above narrative is absolutely and strictly true1 in witness whereof we have set our hands this eleventh day of ,january1 #aggb3-- 8,,mary ,,golding1 8,,john ,,pain1 8,,mary ,,pain1 8,,richard ,,fowler1 8,,sarah ,,fowler1 8,,mary ,,martin40 8,the original copy of this narrative1 signed as above1 with the parties' own hands1 was put into the hands of ,mr4 ,marks1 bookseller1 in ,st4 ,martin's ,lane1 to satisfy persons who choose to inspect the same40 ,such phenomena as this of the ,stockwell ghost are by no means uncommon1 and ,i am acquainted with many more instances than ,i can allude to here4 ,one occurred very lately in the neighborhood of ,london1 as ,i learned from the following newspaper paragraph4 ,i subsequently heard that the little girl had been sent away2 but whether the phenomena then ceased1 or whether she carried the disturbance with her1 ,i have not been able to ascertain1 nor does it appear certain that she had anything to do with it3-- 8,a ,,mischievous ,,and ,,mysterious ,,ghost4--7,from a correspondent47--,the whole of the neighborhood of ,black ,lion-lane1 ,bayswater1 is ringing with the extraordinary occurrences that have recently happened in the house of a ,mr4 ,williams1 in the ,moscow-road1 and which bear a strong resemblance to the celebrated ,stockwell ghost affair in #aggb4 ,the house is inhabited by ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,williams1 a grown-up son and daughter1 and a little girl between ten and eleven years of age4 ,on the first day1 the family1 who are remarkable for their piety1 were startled all at once by a mysterious movement among the things in the sitting-rooms and kitchen1 and other parts of the house4 ,at one time1 without any visible agency1 one of the jugs came off the hook over the dresser1 and was broken2 then followed another1 and next day another4 ,a china teapot1 with the tea just made in it1 and placed on the mantel-piece1 whisked off on to the floor1 and was smashed4 ,a pewter one1 which had been substituted immediately after1 did the same1 and1 when put on the table1 was seen to hop about as if bewitched1 and was actually held down while the tea was made for ,mr4 ,williams's breakfast1 before leaving for his place of business4 ,when for a time all had been quiet1 off came from its place on the wall1 a picture in a heavy gilt frame1 and fell to the floor without being broken4 ,all was now amazement and terror1 for the old people are very superstitious1 and ascribing it to a supernatural agency1 the other pictures were removed1 and stowed away on the floor4 ,but the spirit of locomotion was not to be arrested4 ,jugs and plates continued at intervals to quit their posts1 and skip off their hooks and shelves into the middle of the room1 as though they were inspired by the magic flute1 and at supper1 when the little girl's mug was filled with beer1 the mug slided off the table on to the floor4 ,three times it was replaced1 and three times it moved off again4 ,it would be tedious to relate the fantastic tricks which have been played by household articles of every kind4 ,an ,egyptian vase jumped off the table suddenly1 when no soul was near1 and was smashed to pieces4 ,the teakettle popped off the fire into the grate as ,mr4 ,williams had filled the teapot1 which fell off the chimney-piece4 ,candlesticks1 after a dance on the table1 flew off1 and ornaments from the shelves1 and bonnets and cap-boxes flung about in the oddest manner4 ,a looking-glass hopped off a dressing-table1 followed by combs and brushes and several bottles1 and a great pincushion has been remarkably conspicuous for its incessant jigs from one part to another4 ,the little girl1 who is a ,spaniard1 and under the care of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,williams1 is supposed by their friends to be the cause of it all1 however extraordinary it may seem in one of her age1 but up to the present time it continues a mystery1 and the modus operandi is invisible40--,morning ,post4 ,to imagine that these extraordinary effects were produced by the voluntary agency of the child1 furnishes one of those remarkable instances of the credulity of the skeptical1 to which ,i have referred4 ,but when we read a true statement of the effects involuntarily exhibited by ,angelique ,cottin1 we begin to see that it is just possible the other strange phenomena may be provided by a similar agency4 ,the ,french ,academy of ,sciences had determined1 as they had formerly done by ,mesmerism1 that the thing should not be true4 ,monsieur ,arago was nonsuited2 but although it is extremely possible that either the phenomenon had run its course and arrived at a natural termination1 or that the removal of the girl to ,paris had extinguished it1 there appears no doubt that it had previously existed4 ,angelique ,cottin was a native of ,la ,perriere1 aged fourteen1 when1 on the #aeth of ,january1 #ahdf1 at eight o'clock in the evening1 while weaving silk-gloves at an oaken frame1 in company with other girls1 the frame began to jerk1 and they could not by any efforts keep it steady4 ,it seemed as if it were alive1 and becoming alarmed1 they called in the neighbors1 who would not believe them2 but desired them to sit down and go on with their work4 ,being timid1 they went one by one1 and the frame remained still till ,angelique approached1 when it recommenced its movements1 while she was also attracted by the frame3 thinking she was bewitched or possessed1 her parents took her to the presbytery that the spirit might be exorcised4 ,the curate1 however1 being a sensible man1 refused to do it1 but set himself1 on the contrary1 to observe the phenomenon1 and being perfectly satisfied of the fact1 he bade them take her to a physician4 ,meanwhile1 the intensity of the influence1 whatever it was1 augmented2 not only articles made of oak1 but all sorts of things were acted upon by it and reacted upon her1 while persons who were near her1 even without contact1 frequently felt electric shocks4 ,the effects1 which were diminished when she was on a carpet or a waxed cloth1 were most remarkable when she was on the bare earth4 ,they sometimes entirely ceased for two or three days1 and then recommenced4 ,metals were not affected4 ,anything touched by her apron or dress would fly off1 although a person held it2 and ,monsieur ,hebert1 while seated on a heavy tub or trough1 was raised up with it4 ,in short1 the only place she could repose on1 was a stone covered with cork2 they also kept her still by isolating her4 ,when she was fatigued the effects diminished4 ,a needle suspended horizontally1 oscillated rapidly with the motion of her arm1 without contact1 or remained fixed1 while deviating from the magnetic direction4 ,great numbers of enlightened medical and scientific men witnessed these phenomena1 and investigated them with every precaution to prevent imposition4 ,she was often hurt by the violent involuntary movements she was thrown into1 and was evidently afflicted by chorea4 ,unfortunately1 her parents1 poor and ignorant1 insisted much against the advice of the doctors1 on exhibiting her for money2 and under these circumstances1 she was brought to ,paris2 and nothing is more probable than that after the phenomena had really ceased1 the girl may have been induced to simulate what had originally been genuine4 ,the thing avowedly ceased altogether on the #ajth of ,april1 and there has been no return of it4 ,in #ahca1 a young girl1 also aged fourteen1 who lived as under nursery-maid in a ,french family1 exhibited the same phenomena1 and when the case of ,angelique ,cottin was made public1 her master published hers4 ,he says that things of such an extraordinary nature occurred as he dare not repeat1 since none but an eye-witness could believe them4 ,the thing lasted for three years1 and there was ample time for observation4 ,in the year #afhf1 a man at ,brussels1 called ,breekmans1 was similarly affected4 ,a commission was appointed by the magistrates to investigate his condition2 and1 being pronounced a sorcerer1 he would have been burnt1 had he not luckily made his escape4 ,many somnambulic persons are capable of giving an electric shock2 and ,i have met with one person1 not somnambulic1 who informs me that he has frequently been able to do it by an effort of the will4 ,dr4 ,ennemoser relates the case of a ,mademoiselle ,emmerich1 sister to the professor of theology at ,strasburg1 who also possessed this power4 ,this young lady1 who appears to have been a person of very rare merit and endowments1 was afflicted with a long and singular malady1 originating in a fright1 in the course of which she exhibited many very curious phenomena1 having fallen into a state of natural somnambulism1 accompanied by a high degree of lucidity4 ,her body became so surcharged with electricity1 that it was necessary to her relief to discharge it2 and she sometimes imparted a complete battery of shocks to her brother and her physician1 or whoever was near her1 and that frequently when they did not touch her4 ,professor ,emmerich mentions also that she sent him a smart shock1 one day1 when he was several rooms off4 ,he started up and rushed into her chamber1 where she was in bed2 and as soon as she saw him she said1 laughing3 8,ah1 you felt it1 did you80 ,mademoiselle ,emmerich's illness terminated in death4 ,cotugno1 a surgeon1 relates that1 having touched with his scalpel the intercostal nerve of a mouse that had bitten his leg1 he received an electric shock2 and where the torpedo abounds1 the fishermen1 in pouring water over the fish they have caught for the purpose of washing them1 know if one is among them by the shock they sustain4 ,a very extraordinary circumstance1 which we may possibly attribute to some such influence as the above1 occurred at ,rambouillet in ,november1 #ahdf4 ,the particulars are furnished by a gentleman residing on the spot at the time1 and were published by the ,baron ,dupotel--who1 however1 attempts no explanation of the mystery3-- ,one morning some travelling merchants1 or pedlars1 came to the door of a farmhouse1 belonging to a man named ,bottel1 and asked for some bread1 which the maid-servant gave them1 and they went away4 ,subsequently one of the party returned to ask for more1 and was refused4 ,the man1 ,i believe1 expressed some resentment and uttered vague threats1 but she would not give him anything and he departed4 ,that night at supper the plates began to dance and roll off the table1 without any visible cause1 and several other unaccountable phenomena occurred2 and the girl going to the door and chancing to place herself just where the pedlar had stood1 she was seized with convulsions and an extraordinary rotatory motion4 ,the carter who was standing by laughed at her1 and out of bravado placed himself on the same spot1 when he felt almost suffocated1 and was so unable to command his movements that he was overturned into a large pool in front of the house4 ,upon this they rushed to the cur of the parish for assistance2 but he had scarcely said a prayer or two before he was attacked in the same manner1 though in his own house2 and his furniture beginning to oscillate and crack as if it were bewitched1 the poor people were frightened out of their wits4 ,by-and-by the phenomena intermitted1 and they hoped all was over2 but presently it began again1 and this occurred more than once before it subsided wholly4 ,on the #hth ,december1 #ahcf1 at ,stuttgard1 ,carl ,fischer1 a baker's boy1 aged seventeen1 of steady habits and good character1 was fixed with a basket on his shoulders1 in some unaccountable way1 in front of his master's house4 ,he foresaw the thing was to happen when he went out with his bread very early in the morning2 earnestly wished that the day was over1 and told his companion that if he could only cross the threshold1 on his return1 he should escape it4 ,it was about six when he did return2 and his master1 hearing a fearful noise which he could not describe--8as if proceeding from a multitude of beings0--looked out of the window1 where he saw ,carl violently struggling and fighting with his apron1 though his feet were immoveably fixed to one spot4 ,a hissing sound proceeded from his mouth and nose1 and a voice1 which was neither his nor that of any person present1 was heard to cry1 8,stand fast1 ,carl60 ,the master says that he could not have believed such a thing2 and he was so alarmed that he did not venture into the street1 where numerous persons were assembled4 ,the boy said he must remain there till eleven o'clock2 and the police kept guard over him till that time1 as the physician said he must not be interfered with1 and the people sought to push him from the spot4 ,when the time had expired1 he was carried to the hospital1 where he seemed exceedingly exhausted and fell into a profound sleep4 ,i meet with numerous extraordinary records of a preternatural ringing of all the bells in a house2 sometimes occurring periodically for a considerable time1 and continuing after precautions have been taken which precluded the possibility of trick or deception1 the wires being cut1 and vigilant eyes watching them2 and yet they rung on1 by day or night1 just the same4 ,it is certainly very difficult to conceive1 but at the same time it is not impossible1 that such strange phenomena as that of the ,stockwell ghost1 and many similar ones1 may be the manifestations of some extraordinary electrical influence2 but there are other cases of poltergeist which it is impossible to attribute to the same cause1 since they are accompanied by evident manifestations of will and intelligence4 ,such was the instance related in ,southey's ,life of ,wesley1 which occurred in the year #agaf1 beginning with a groaning1 and subsequently proceeding to all manner of noises1 lifting of latches1 clattering of windows1 knockings of a most mysterious kind1 c41 c4 ,the family were not generally frightened1 but the young children1 when asleep1 showed symptoms of great terror4 ,this annoyance lasted1 ,i think1 two or three months1 and then ceased4 ,as in most of these cases1 the dog was extremely frightened1 and hid himself when the visitations commenced4 ,in the year #ahch1 a circumstance of the same kind occurred in ,paris1 in the ,rue ,st4 ,honor2 and not very long ago there was one in ,caithness1 in which most unaccountable circumstances transpired4 ,among the rest1 stones were flung1 which never hit people1 but fell at their feet1 in rooms perfectly closed on all sides4 ,a gentleman who witnessed these extraordinary phenomena1 related the whole story to an advocate of my acquaintance1 who assured me that1 however impossible he found it to credit such things1 he should certainly place entire reliance on that gentleman's word in any other case4 ,then there is the famous story of the drummer of ,tedworth2#f and the persecution of ,professor ,schuppart1 at ,giessen1 in ,upper ,hesse1 which continued1 with occasional intermission1 for six years4 ,this affair began with a violent knocking at the door one night2 next day stones were sent whizzing through closed rooms in all directions1 so that1 although no one was struck1 the windows were all broken2 and no sooner were new panes put in1 than they were broken again4 ,he was persecuted with slaps on the face1 by day and by night1 so that he could get no rest2 and when two persons were appointed by the authorities to sit by his bed to watch him1 they got the slaps also4 ,when he was reading at his desk1 his lamp would suddenly rise up and remove to the other end of the room--not as if thrown1 but evidently carried4 ,his books were torn to pieces and flung at his feet2 and when he was lecturing1 this mischievous sprite would tear out the leaf he was reading2 and it is very remarkable1 that the only thing that seemed available as a protection1 was a drawn sword brandished over his head by himself or others1 which was one of the singularities attending the case of the drummer of ,tedworth4 ,schuppart narrated all these circumstances in his public lectures1 and nobody ever disputed the facts4 ,a remarkable case of this sort occurred in the year #afgj1 at ,keppock1 near ,glasgow4 ,there1 also1 stones were thrown which hit nobody1 but the annoyance only continued eight days2 and there are several more to be found recorded in works of that period4 ,the disturbance that happened in the house of ,gilbert ,cambell1 at ,glenluce1 excited considerable notice4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 stones were thrown2 but1 as in most similar instances ,i meet with1 no human being was damaged--the license of these spirits1 or goblins1 or whatever they be1 seeming to extend no further than worrying and tormenting their victims4 ,in this case1 however1 the spirit spoke to them1 though he was never seen4 ,the annoyance commenced in ,november1 of the year #afed1 ,i think1 and continued till ,april1 when there was some intermission till ,july1 when it recommenced4 ,the loss of the family from the things destroyed was ruining2 for their household goods and chattels were rendered useless1 their food was polluted and spoiled1 and their very clothes cut to pieces while on their backs1 by invisible hands2 and it was in vain that all the ministers about the country assembled to exorcise this troublesome spirit1 for whoever was there the thing continued exactly the same4 ,at length poor ,cambell applied to the synod of presbyters for advice2 and a meeting was convened in ,october1 #afee1 and a solemn day of humiliation was imposed through the whole bounds of the presbytery1 for the sake of the afflicted family4 ,whether it was owing to this or not1 there ensued an alleviation from that time till ,april1 and from ,april till ,august they were entirely free1 and hoped all was over2 but then it began again worse than ever1 and they were dreadfully tormented through the autumn2 after which the disturbance ceased1 and although the family lived in the house many years afterward1 nothing of the sort ever happened again4 ,there was another famous case1 which occurred at a place called ,ring-,croft1 in ,kirkcudbright1 in the year #afie4 ,the afflicted family bore the name of ,mackie4 ,in this instance1 the stones did sometimes hit them1 and they were beaten as if by staves2 they1 as well as strangers who came to the house1 were lifted off the ground by their clothes2 their bed-coverings were taken off their beds2 things were visibly carried about the house by invisible hands2 several people were hurt1 even to the effusion of blood1 by stones and blows2 there were fire-balls seen about the house1 which were several times ignited2 people1 both of the family and others1 felt themselves grasped as if by a hand2 then there was groaning1 crying1 whistling1 and a voice that frequently spoke to them4 ,crowds of people went to the house2 but the thing continued just the same whether there were many or few1 and sometimes the whole building shook as if it were coming down4 ,a day of humiliation was appointed in this case also1 but without the least effect4 ,the disturbance commenced in ,february1 and ended on the #ast of ,may4 ,numberless people witnessed the phenomenon1 and the account of it is attested by fourteen ministers and gentlemen4 ,the same sort of thing occurred in the year #afei1 in a place inhabited by an evangelical bishop1 called ,schlotterbeck4 ,it began in the same manner1 by throwing of stones and other things1 many of which came through the roof1 insomuch that they believed at first that some animal was concealed there4 ,however1 nothing could be found1 and the invisible guest soon proceeded to other annoyances similar to those abovementioned2 and though they could not see him1 his footsteps were for ever heard about the house4 ,at length1 wearied out1 the bishop applied to the government for aid2 and they sent him a company of soldiers to guard the house by day and night1 out of which he and his family retired4 ,but the goblin cared no more for the soldiers than it had done for the city watch2 the thing continued without intermission1 whoever was there1 till it ceased of its own accord4 ,there was a house at ,aix-la-,chapelle that was for several years quite uninhabitable from a similar cause4 ,i could mention many other cases1 and1 as ,i have said before1 they occur in all countries2 but these will suffice as specimens of the class4 ,it is in vain for people who were not on the spot to laugh1 and assert that these were the mischievous tricks of servants or others1 when those who were there1 and who had such a deep interest in unravelling the mystery1 and such abundance of time and opportunity for doing it1 could find no solution whatever4 ,in many of the above cases1 the cattle were unloosed1 the horses were turned out of their stables1 and uniformly all the animals in the way exhibited great terror1 sweating and trembling1 while the visitation continued4 ,since we can not but believe that man forms but one class in an immense range of existences1 do not these strange occurrences suggest the idea that occasionally some individual out of this gamut of beings comes into rapport with us1 or crosses our path like a comet1 and that1 while certain conditions last1 it can hover about us1 and play these puckish1 mischievous tricks1 till the charm is broken1 and then it re-enters its own sphere1 and we are cognizant of it no more6 ,but one of the most extraordinary examples of this kind of annoyance is that which occurred1 in the year #ahjf1 in the castle of ,prince ,hohenlohe1 in ,silesia4 ,the account is given at length by ,councillor ,hahn1 of ,ingelfingen1 who witnessed the circumstances2 and in consequence of the various remarks that have been since made on the subject1 in different publications1 he has repeatedly reasserted the facts in letters1 which have been printed and laid before the public4 ,i can not1 therefore1 see what right we have to disbelieve a man of honor and character1 as he is said to be1 merely because the circumstances he narrates are unaccountable1 more especially as the story1 strange as it is1 by no means stands alone in the annals of demonology4 ,the following details were written down at the time the events occurred1 and they were communicated by ,councillor ,hahn to ,dr4 ,kerner in the year #ahbh3-- 8,after the campaign of the ,prussians against the ,french1 in the year #ahjf1 the reigning prince of ,hohenlohe gave orders to ,councillor ,hahn1 who was in his service1 to proceed to ,slawensick1 and there to wait his return4 ,his serene highness advanced from ,leignitz toward his principality1 and ,hahn also commenced his journey toward ,upper ,silesia on the #aith ,november4 ,at the same period1 ,charles ,kern1 of ,kuntzlau1 who had fallen into the hands of the ,french1 being released on parole1 and arriving at ,leignitz in an infirm condition1 he was allowed to spend some time with ,hahn1 while awaiting his exchange4 8,hahn and ,kern had been friends in their youth1 and their destinies having brought them both at this time into the ,prussian states1 they were lodged together in the same apartment of the castle1 which was one on the first floor1 forming an angle at the back of the building1 one side looking toward the north and the other to the east4 ,on the right of the door of this room was a glass door1 which led into a chamber divided from those which followed by a wainscot partition4 ,the door in this wainscot1 which communicated to those adjoining rooms1 was entirely closed up1 because in them all sorts of household utensils were kept4 ,neither in this chamber1 nor in the sitting-room which preceded it1 was there any opening whatever which could furnish the means of communication from without2 nor was there anybody in the castle besides the two friends1 except the prince's two coachmen and ,hahn's servant4 ,the whole party were fearless people2 and as for ,hahn and ,kern1 they believed in nothing less than ghosts or witches1 nor had any previous experience induced them to turn their thoughts in that direction4 ,hahn1 during his collegiate life1 had been much given to philosophy--had listened to ,fichte1 and earnestly studied the writings of ,kant4 ,the result of his reflections was a pure materialism2 and he looked upon created man1 not as an aim1 but merely as a means to a yet undeveloped end4 ,these opinions he has since changed1 like many others who think very differently in their fortieth year to what they did in their twentieth4 ,the particulars here given are necessary in order to obtain credence for the following extraordinary narrative2 and to establish the fact that the phenomena were not merely accepted by ignorant superstition1 but coolly and courageously investigated by enlightened minds4 ,during the first days of their residence in the castle1 the two friends1 living together in solitude1 amused their long evenings with the works of ,schiller1 of whom they were both great admirers2 and ,hahn usually read aloud4 ,three days had thus passed quietly away1 when1 as they were sitting at the table1 which stood in the middle of the room1 about nine o'clock in the evening1 their reading was interrupted by a small shower of lime which fell around them4 ,they looked at the ceiling1 concluding it must have come thence1 but could perceive no abraded parts2 and while they were yet seeking to ascertain whence the lime had proceeded1 there suddenly fell several larger pieces1 which were quite cold1 and appeared as if they had belonged to the external wall4 ,at length1 concluding the lime must have fallen from some part of the wall1 giving up further inquiry1 they went to bed1 and slept quietly till morning1 when1 on awaking1 they were somewhat surprised at the quantity which strewed the floor1 more especially as they could still discover no part of the walls or ceiling from which it could have fallen4 ,but they thought no more of the matter till evening1 when1 instead of the lime falling as before1 it was thrown1 and several pieces struck ,hahn4 ,at the same time they heard heavy blows1 sometimes below1 and sometimes over their heads1 like the sound of distant guns2 still1 attributing these sounds to natural causes1 they went to bed as usual1 but the uproar prevented their sleeping1 and each accused the other of occasioning it by kicking with his feet against the foot-board of his bed1 till1 finding that the noise continued when they both got out and stood together in the middle of the room1 they were satisfied that this was not the case4 ,on the following evening1 a third noise was added1 which resembled the faint and distant beating of a drum4 ,upon this1 they requested the governess of the castle to send them the key of the apartments above and below1 which was brought them by her son2 and while he and ,kern went to make their investigations1 ,hahn remained in their own room4 ,above1 they found an empty room2 below1 a kitchen4 ,they knocked1 but the noise they made was very different to that which ,hahn continued all the while to hear around him4 ,when they returned1 ,hahn said1 jestingly1 #8,the place is haunted6' ,on this night1 when they went to bed1 with a light burning1 they heard what seemed like a person walking about the room with slippers on1 and a stick1 with which he struck the floor as he moved step by step4 ,hahn continued to jest1 and ,kern to laugh1 at the oddness of these circumstances1 for some time1 when they both1 as usual1 fell asleep1 neither in the slightest degree disturbed by these events1 nor inclined to attribute them to any supernatural cause4 ,but on the following evening the affair became more inexplicable3 various articles in the room were thrown about2 knives1 forks1 brushes1 caps1 slippers1 padlocks1 funnel1 snuffers1 soap--everything1 in short1 that was moveable2 while lights darted from the corners1 and everything was in confusion2 at the same time1 the lime fell and the blows continued4 ,upon this1 the two friends called up the servants1 ,knittel1 the castle watch1 and whoever else was at hand1 to be witnesses of these mysterious operations4 ,in the morning all was quiet1 and generally continued so till after midnight4 ,one evening1 ,kern going into the chamber to fetch something1 and hearing an uproar that almost drove him backward to the door1 ,hahn caught up the light1 and both rushed into the room1 where they found a large piece of wood lying close to the wainscot4 ,but supposing this to be the cause of the noise1 who had set it in motion8 ,for ,kern was sure the door was shut1 even while the noise was making2 neither had there been any wood in the room4 ,frequently1 before their eyes1 the knives and snuffers rose from the table1 and fell1 after some minutes1 to the ground2 and ,hahn's large shears were once lifted in this manner between him and one of the prince's cooks1 and falling to the ground1 stuck into the floor4 ,as some nights1 however1 passed quite quietly1 ,hahn was determined not to leave the rooms2 but when1 for three weeks1 the disturbance was so constant that they could get no rest1 they resolved on removing their beds into the large room above1 in hopes of once more enjoying a little quiet sleep4 ,their hopes were vain--the thumping continued as before2 and not only so1 but articles flew about the room which they were quite sure they had left below4 #8,they may fling as they will1' cried ,hahn1 #8sleep ,i must2' while ,kern began to undress1 pondering on these matters as he walked up and down the room4 ,suddenly ,hahn saw him stand1 as if transfixed1 before the looking-glass on which he had accidentally cast his eyes4 ,he had so stood for some time1 when he was seized with a violent trembling1 and turned from the mirror with his face as white as death4 ,hahn1 fancying the cold of an uninhabited room had seized him1 hastened to throw a cloak over him1 when ,kern1 who was naturally very courageous1 recovered himself1 and related1 though with trembling lips1 that as he had accidentally looked in the glass1 he had seen a white female figure looking out of it2 she was in front of his own image1 which he distinctly saw behind her4 ,at first he could not believe his eyes2 he thought it must be fancy1 and for that reason he had stood so long2 but when he saw that the eyes of the figure moved1 and looked into his1 a shudder had seized him1 and he had turned away4 ,hahn1 upon this1 advanced with firm steps to the front of the mirror1 and called upon the apparition to show itself to him2 but he saw nothing1 although he remained a quarter of an hour before the glass1 and frequently repeated his exhortation4 ,kern then related that the features of the apparition were very old1 but not gloomy or morose2 the expression was that of indifference2 but the face was very pale1 and the head was wrapped in a cloth which left only the features visible4 8,by this time it was four o'clock in the morning2 sleep was banished from their eyes1 and they resolved to return to the lower room and have their beds brought back again3 but the people who were sent to fetch them returned1 declaring they could not open the door1 although it did not appear to be fastened4 ,they were sent back again2 but a second and a third time they returned with the same answer4 ,then ,hahn went himself1 and opened it with the greatest ease4 ,the four servants1 however1 solemnly declared that all their united strength could make no impression on it4 8,in this way a month had elapsed3 the strange events at the castle had got spread abroad2 and among others who desired to convince themselves of the facts were two ,bavarian officers of dragoons1 namely1 ,captain ,cornet and ,lieutenant ,magerle1 of the regiment of ,minuci4 ,magerle offering to remain in the room alone1 the others left him2 but scarcely had they passed into the next apartment1 when they heard ,magerle storming like a man in a passion1 and cutting away at the tables and chairs with his sabre1 whereupon the captain thought it advisable to return1 in order to rescue the furniture from his rage4 ,they found the door shut1 but he opened it on their summons1 and related1 in great excitement1 that as soon as they had quitted the room1 some cursed thing had begun to fling lime and other matters at him1 and1 having examined every part of the room without being able to discover the agent of the mischief1 he had fallen into a rage and cut madly about him4 8,the party now passed the rest of the evening together in the room1 and the two ,bavarians closely watched ,hahn and ,kern in order to satisfy themselves that the mystery was no trick of theirs4 ,all at once1 as they were quietly sitting at the table1 the snuffers rose into the air and fell again to the ground behind ,magerle1 and a leaden ball flew at ,hahn and hit him upon the breast1 and presently afterward they heard a noise at the glass-door1 as if somebody had struck his fist through it1 together with a sound of falling glass4 ,on investigation they found the door entire1 but a broken drinking-glass on the floor4 ,by this time the ,bavarians were convinced1 and they retired from the room to seek repose in one more peaceful4 8,among other things1 the following1 which occurred to ,hahn1 is remarkable4 ,one evening about eight o'clock1 being about to shave himself1 the implements for the purpose1 which were lying on a pyramidal stand in a corner of the room1 flew at him1 one after the other--the soap-box1 the razor1 the brush1 and the soap--and fell at his feet1 although he was standing several paces from the pyramid4 ,he and ,kern1 who was sitting at the table1 laughed1 for they were now so accustomed to these events that they only made them subjects of diversion4 ,in the meantime1 ,hahn poured some water1 which had been standing on the stove1 in a basin1 observing1 as he dipped his finger into it1 that it was of a nice heat for shaving4 ,he seated himself before the table and strapped his razor1 but when he attempted to prepare the lather1 the water was clean vanished out of the basin4 ,another time1 ,hahn was awakened by goblins throwing at him a squeezed-up piece of sheet-lead in which tobacco had been wrapped1 and when he stooped to pick it up1 the self-same piece was flung at him again4 ,when this was repeated a third time1 ,hahn flung a heavy stick at his invisible assailant4 8,dorfel1 the book-keeper1 was frequently a witness to these strange events4 ,he once laid his cap on the table by the stove2 when1 being about to depart1 he sought for it1 it had vanished4 ,four or five times he examined the table in vain2 presently afterward he saw it lying exactly where he had placed it when he came in4 ,on the same table1 ,knittel having once placed his cap and drawn himself a seat1 suddenly1 although there was nobody near the table1 he saw the cap flying through the room to his feet1 where it fell4 8,hahn now determined to find out the secret himself1 and for this purpose seated himself1 with two lights before him1 in a position where he could see the whole of the room and all the doors and windows it contained2--but the same things occurred1 even when ,kern was out1 the servants in the stables1 and nobody in the room but himself2 and the snuffers were as usual flung about1 although the closest observation could not detect by whom4 8,the forest-master1 ,radzensky1 spent a night in the room1 but1 although the two friends slept1 he could get no rest4 ,he was bombarded without intermission1 and in the morning his bed was found full of all manner of household articles4 8,one morning1 in spite of all the drumming and flinging1 ,hahn was determined to sleep2 but a heavy blow on the wall close to his bed soon awoke him from his slumbers4 ,a second time he went to sleep1 and was awaked by a sensation as if some person had dipped his finger in water and was sprinkling his face with it4 ,he pretended to sleep again1 while he watched ,kern and ,knittel1 who were sitting at the table2 the sensation of sprinkling returned1 but he could find no water on his face4 8,about this time1 ,hahn had occasion to make a journey as far as ,breslau2 and when he returned he heard the strangest story of all4 ,in order not to be alone in this mysterious chamber1 ,kern had engaged ,hahn's servant1 a man of about forty years of age1 and of entire singleness of character1 to stay with him4 ,one night as ,kern lay in his bed1 and this man was standing near the glass-door in conversation with him1 to his utter amazement he beheld a jug of beer1 which stood on a table in the room at some distance from him1 slowly lifted to a height of about three feet1 and the contents poured into a glass that was standing there also1 until the latter was half full4 ,the jug was then gently replaced1 and the glass lifted and emptied as by some one drinking2 while ,john1 the servant1 exclaimed in terrified surprise1 #8,lord ,jesus6 it swallows6' ,the glass was quietly replaced1 and not a drop of beer was to be found on the floor4 ,hahn was about to require an oath of ,john in confirmation of this fact2 but forbore1 seeing how ready the man was to take one1 and satisfied of the truth of the relation4 8,one night ,knetsch1 an inspector of the works1 passed the night with the two friends1 and in spite of the unintermitting flinging they all three went to bed4 ,there were lights in the room1 and presently all three saw two napkins1 in the middle of the room1 rise slowly up to the ceiling1 and1 having there spread themselves out1 flutter down again4 ,the china bowl of a pipe belonging to ,kern flew about and was broken4 ,knives and forks were flung1 and at last one of the latter fell on ,hahn's head1 though fortunately with the handle downward3 and having now endured this annoyance for two months1 it was unanimously resolved to abandon this mysterious chamber1 for this night at all events4 ,john and ,kern took up one of the beds and carried it into the opposite room1 but they were no sooner gone than a pitcher for holding chalybeate-water flew to the feet of the two who remained behind1 although no door was open1 and a brass candlestick was flung to the ground4 ,in the opposite room the night passed quietly1 although some sounds still issued from the forsaken chamber4 ,after this there was a cessation to these strange proceedings1 and nothing more remarkable occurred1 with the exception of the following circumstance4 ,some weeks after the abovementioned removal1 as ,hahn was returning home and crossing the bridge that leads to the castle-gate1 he heard the foot of a dog behind him4 ,he looked round1 and called repeatedly on the name of a grayhound that was much attached to him1 thinking it might be her2 but1 although he still heard the foot1 even when he ascended the stairs1 as he could see nothing1 he concluded it was an illusion4 ,scarcely1 however1 had he set his foot within the room1 than ,kern advanced and took the door out of his hand1 at the same time calling the dog by name1--immediately adding1 however1 that he thought he had seen the dog1 but that he had no sooner called her than she disappeared4 ,hahn then inquired if he had really seen the dog4 #8,certainly ,i did1' replied ,kern1 #8she was close behind you--half within the door--and that was the reason ,i took it out of your hand1 lest1 not observing her1 you should have shut it suddenly and crushed her4 ,it was a white dog1 and ,i took it for ,flora4' ,search was immediately made for the dog1 but she was found locked up in the stable and had not been out of it the whole day4 ,it is certainly remarkable--even supposing ,hahn to have been deceived with respect to the footsteps--that ,kern should have seen a white dog behind him1 before he had heard a word on the subject from his friend1 especially as there was no such animal in the neighborhood2 besides1 it was not yet dark1 and ,kern was very sharp-sighted4 8,hahn remained in the castle for half a year after this1 without experiencing anything extraordinary2 and even persons who had possession of the mysterious chambers were not subjected to any annoyance4 8,the riddle1 however1 in spite of all the perquisitions and investigations that were set on foot remained unsolved--no explanation of these strange events could be found2 and even supposing any motive could exist1 there was nobody in the neighborhood clever enough to have carried on such a system of persecution1 which lasted so long1 that the inhabitants of the chamber became almost indifferent to it4 8,in conclusion1 it is only necessary to add that ,councillor ,hahn wrote down this account for his own satisfaction1 with the strictest regard to truth4 ,his words are3-- 8#8,i have described these events exactly as ,i heard and saw them3 from beginning to end ,i observed them with the most entire self-possession4 ,i had no fear1 nor the slightest tendency to it2 yet the whole thing remains to me perfectly inexplicable4 ,written the #aith of ,november1 #ahjh4 8#8,,augustus ,,hahn1 ,councillor4' 8,doubtless many natural explanations of these phenomena will be suggested by those who consider themselves above the weakness of crediting stories of this description4 ,some say that ,kern was a dexterous juggler1 who contrived to throw dust in the eyes of his friend ,hahn2 while others affirm that both ,hahn and ,kern were intoxicated every evening6 ,i did not fail to communicate these objections to ,hahn1 and here insert his answer3-- 8#8,after the events alluded to1 ,i resided with ,kern for a quarter of a year in another part of the castle of ,slawensick 7which has since been struck by lightning1 and burnt71 without finding a solution of the mystery1 or experiencing a repetition of the annoyance1 which discontinued from the moment we quitted those particular apartments4 ,those persons must suppose me very weak1 who can imagine it possible that1 with only one companion1 ,i could have been the subject of his sport for two months without detecting him4 ,as for ,kern himself1 he was1 from the first1 very anxious to leave the rooms2 but as ,i was unwilling to resign the hope of discovering some natural cause for these phenomena1 ,i persisted in remaining2 and the thing that at last induced me to yield to his wishes was the vexation at the loss of his china-pipe1 which had been flung against the wall and broken4 ,besides1 jugglery requires a juggler1 and ,i was frequently quite alone when these events occurred4 ,it is equally absurd to accuse us of intoxication4 ,the wine there was too dear for us to drink at all1 and we confined ourselves wholly to weak beer4 ,all the circumstances that happened are not set down in the narration2 but my recollection of the whole is as vivid as if it had occurred yesterday4 ,we had also many witnesses1 some of whom have been mentioned4 ,councillor ,klenk also visited me at a later period1 with every desire to investigate the mystery2 and when1 one morning1 he had mounted on a table1 for the purpose of doing so1 and was knocking at the ceiling with a stick1 a powder-horn fell upon him1 which he had just before left on the table in another room4 ,at that time ,kern had been for some time absent4 ,i neglected no possible means that could have led to a discovery of the secret2 and at least as many people have blamed me for my unwillingness to believe in a supernatural cause as the reverse4 ,fear is not my failing1 as all who are acquainted with me know2 and1 to avoid the possibility of error1 ,i frequently asked others what they saw when ,i was myself present2 and their answers always coincided with what ,i saw myself4 ,from #ahji to #ahaa ,i lived in ,jacobswald1 very near the castle where the prince himself was residing4 ,i am aware that some singular circumstances occurred while he was there2 but as ,i did not witness them myself1 ,i can not speak of them more particularly4 8#8,i am still as unable as ever to account for those events1 and ,i am content to submit to the hasty remarks of the world1 knowing that ,i have only related the truth1 and what many persons now alive witnessed as well as myself4 8#8,,councillor ,,hahn4 8#8,,ingelfinger1 ,august #bd1 #ahbh4'0g ,the only key to this mystery ever discovered was1 that after the destruction of the castle by lightning1 when the ruins were removed1 there was found the skeleton of a man without a coffin4 ,his skull had been split1 and a sword lay by his side6 ,now1 ,i am very well aware how absurd and impossible these events will appear to many people1 and that they will have recourse to any explanation rather than admit them for facts4 ,yet1 so late as the year #ahce1 a suit was brought before the sheriff of ,edinburgh1 in which ,captain ,molesworth was defendant1 and the landlord of the house he inhabited 7which was at ,trinity1 about a couple of miles from ,edinburgh7 was plaintiff1 founded upon circumstances not so varied1 certainly1 but quite as inexplicable4 ,the suit lasted two years1 and ,i have been favored with the particulars of the case by ,mr4 ,m---- ,l----1 the advocate employed by the plaintiff1 who spent many hours in examining the numerous witnesses1 several of whom were officers of the army1 and gentlemen of undoubted honor and capacity for observation4 ,captain ,molesworth took the house of a ,mr4 ,webster1 who resided in the adjoining one1 in ,may or ,june1 #ahce2 and when he had been in it about two months1 he began to complain of sundry extraordinary noises1 which1 finding it impossible to account for1 he took it into his head 7strangely enough7 were made by ,mr4 ,webster4 ,the latter naturally represented that it was not probable he should desire to damage the reputation of his own house1 and drive his tenant out of it1 and retorted the accusation4 ,still1 as these noises and knockings continued1 ,captain ,molesworth not only lifted the boards in the room most infected1 but actually made holes in the wall which divided his residence from ,mr4 ,webster's1 for the purpose of detecting the delinquent--of course without success4 ,do what they would1 the thing went on just the same3 footsteps of invisible feet1 knockings1 and scratchings1 and rustlings1 first on one side1 and then on the other1 were heard daily and nightly4 ,sometimes this unseen agent seemed to be knocking to a certain tune1 and if a question were addressed to it which could be answered numerically--as1 8,how many people are there in this room80 for example--it would answer by so many knocks4 ,the beds1 too1 were occasionally heaved up1 as if somebody were underneath1 and where the knockings were1 the wall trembled visibly1 but1 search as they would1 no one could be found4 ,captain ,molesworth had had two daughters1 one of whom1 named ,matilda1 had lately died2 the other1 a girl between twelve and thirteen1 called ,jane1 was sickly1 and generally kept her bed2 and1 as it was observed that1 wherever she was1 these noises most frequently prevailed1 ,mr4 ,webster1 who did not like the mala fama that was attaching itself to his house1 declared that she made them1 while the people in the neighborhood believed that it was the ghost of ,matilda1 warning her sister that she was soon to follow4 ,sheriff's officers1 masons1 justices of peace1 and the officers of the regiment quartered at ,leith1 who were friends of ,captain ,molesworth1 all came to his aid1 in hopes of detecting or frightening away his tormentor1 but in vain4 ,sometimes it was said to be a trick of somebody outside the house1 and then they formed a cordon round it2 and next1 as the poor sick girl was suspected1 they tied her up in a bag--but it was all to no purpose4 ,at length1 ill and wearied out by the annoyances and the anxieties attending the affair1 ,captain ,molesworth quitted the house1 and ,mr4 ,webster brought an action against him for the damages committed by lifting the boards1 breaking the walls1 and firing at the wainscoat1 as well as for the injury done to his house by saying it was haunted1 which prevented other tenants taking it4 ,the poor young lady died1 hastened out of the world1 it is said1 by the severe measures used while she was under suspicion2 and the persons that have since inhabited the house have experienced no repetition of the annoyance4 ,the manner in which these strange persecutions attach themselves to certain persons and places1 seems somewhat analogous to another class of cases1 which bear a great similarity to what was formerly called ,,possession3 and ,i must here observe that many ,german physicians maintain that1 to this day1 instances of genuine possession occur1 and there are several works published in their language on the subject2 and for this malady they consider magnetism the only remedy1 all others being worse than useless4 ,indeed1 they look upon possession itself as a demono-magnetic state1 in which the patient is in rapport with mischievous or evil spirits2 as1 in the agatho 7or good7 magnetic state1 which is the opposite pole1 he is in rapport with good ones3 and they particularly warn their readers against confounding this infliction with cases of epilepsy or mania4 ,they assert that1 although instances are comparatively rare1 both sexes and all ages are equally subject to this misfortune2 and that it is quite an error to suppose1 either1 that it has ceased since the resurrection of ,christ1 or that the expression used in the ,scriptures1 8possessed by a devil10 meant merely insanity or convulsions4 ,this disease1 which is not contagious1 was well known to the ,greeks2 and in later times ,hoffmann has recorded several well-established instances4 ,among the distinguishing symptoms1 they reckon the patient's speaking in a voice that is not his own2 frightful convulsions and motions of the body1 which arise suddenly1 without any previous indisposition2 blasphemous and obscene talk2 a knowledge of what is secret1 and of the future2 a vomiting of extraordinary things such as hair1 stones1 pins1 needles1 c41 c4 ,i need scarcely observe that this opinion is not universal in ,germany2 still1 it obtains among many who have had considerable opportunities for observation4 ,dr4 ,bardili had a case in the year #ahcj1 which he considered decidedly to be one of possession4 ,the patient was a peasant-woman1 aged thirty-four1 who never had any sickness whatever1 and the whole of whose bodily functions continued perfectly regular while she exhibited the following strange phenomena3 ,i must observe that she was happily married1 and had three children--was not a fanatic1 and bore an excellent character for regularity and industry--when1 without any warning or perceptible cause1 she was seized with the most extraordinary convulsions1 while a strange voice proceeded from her1 which assumed to be that of an unblessed spirit1 who had formerly inhabited a human form4 ,while these fits were on her1 she entirely lost her own individuality1 and became this person3 on returning to herself1 her understanding and character were as entire as before4 ,the blasphemy and cursing1 and barking and screeching1 were dreadful4 ,she was wounded and injured severely by the violent falls and blows she gave herself2 and when she had an intermission1 she could do nothing but weep over what they told her had passed1 and the state in which she saw herself4 ,she was1 moreover1 reduced to a skeleton2 for when she wanted to eat1 the spoon was turned round in her hand1 and she often fasted for days together4 ,this affliction lasted for three years2 all remedies failed1 and the only alleviation she obtained was by the continued and earnest prayers of those about her1 and her own3 for although this demon did not like prayers1 and violently opposed her kneeling down1 even forcing her to outrageous fits of laughter1 still they had a power over him4 ,it is remarkable that pregnancy1 confinement1 and the nursing her child1 made not the least difference in this woman's condition3 all went on regularly1 but the demon kept his post4 ,at length1 being magnetized1 the patient fell into a partially somnambulic state1 in which another voice was heard to proceed from her1 being that of her protecting spirit1 which encouraged her to patience and hope1 and promised that the evil guest would be obliged to vacate his quarters4 ,she often now fell into a magnetic state without the aid of a magnetizer4 ,at the end of three years she was entirely relieved and as well as ever4 ,in the case of ,rosina ,wildin1 aged ten years1 which occurred at ,pleidelsheim1 in #ahcd1 the demon used to announce himself by crying out1 8,here ,i am again60 ,whereupon the weak1 exhausted child1 who had been lying like one dead1 would rage and storm in a voice like a man's1 perform the most extraordinary movements and feats of violence and strength1 till he would cry out1 8,now ,i must be off again60 ,this spirit spoke generally in the plural number1 for he said she had another besides himself1 a dumb devil1 who plagued her most4 8,he it is that twirls her round and round1 distorts her features1 turns her eyes1 locks her teeth1 c4 ,what he bids me1 ,i must do60 ,this child was at length cured by magnetism4 ,barbara ,rieger1 of ,steinbach1 aged ten1 in #ahcd1 was possessed by two spirits1 who spoke in two distinctly different male voices and dialects2 one said he had formerly been a mason1 the other gave himself out for a deceased provisor2 the latter of whom was much the worst of the two4 ,when they spoke1 the child closed her eyes1 and when she opened them again1 she knew nothing of what they had said4 ,the mason confessed to have been a great sinner1 but the provisor was proud and hardened1 and would confess nothing4 ,they often commanded food1 and made her eat it1 which1 when she recovered her individuality1 she felt nothing of1 but was very hungry4 ,the mason was very fond of brandy and drank a great deal2 and if not brought when he ordered it1 his raging and storming was dreadful4 ,in her own individuality the child had the greatest aversion to this liquor4 ,they treated her for worms1 and other disorders1 without the least effect2 till at length1 by magnetism1 the mason was cast out4 ,the provisor was more tenacious1 but finally they got rid of him too1 and the girl remained quite well4 ,in #ahce1 a respectable citizen1 whose full name is not given1 was brought to ,dr4 ,kerner4 ,he was aged thirty-seven1 and till the last seven years had been unexceptionable in conduct and character4 ,an unaccountable change had1 however1 come over him in his thirtieth year1 which made his family very unhappy2 and at length1 one day1 a strange voice suddenly spoke out of him1 saying that he was the late magistrate ,s----1 and that he had been in him six years4 ,when this spirit was driven out1 by magnetism1 the man fell to the earth1 and was almost torn to pieces by the violence of the struggle2 he then lay for a space as if dead1 and arose quite well and free4 ,in another case1 a young woman at ,gruppenbach1 was quite in her senses1 and heard the voice of her demon 7who was also a deceased person7 speak out of her1 without having any power to suppress it4 ,in short1 instances of this description seem by no means rare2 and if such a phenomenon as possession ever did exist1 ,i do not see what right we have to assert that it exists no longer1 since1 in fact1 we know nothing about it2 only1 that being determined to admit nothing so contrary to the ideas of the present day1 we set out by deciding that the thing is impossible4 ,since these cases occur in other countries1 no doubt they must do so in this2 and1 indeed1 ,i have met with one instance much more remarkable in its details than any of those abovementioned1 which occurred at ,bishopwearmouth1 near ,sunderland1 in the year #ahdj2 and as the particulars of this case have been published and attested by two physicians and two surgeons1 not to mention the evidence of numerous other persons1 ,i think we are bound to accept the facts1 whatever interpretation we may choose to put upon them4 ,the patient1 named ,mary ,jobson1 was between twelve and thirteen years of age2 her parents1 respectable people in humble life1 and herself an attendant on a ,sunday-school4 ,she became ill in ,november1 #ahci1 and was soon afterward seized with terrific fits1 which continued1 at intervals1 for eleven weeks4 ,it was during this period that the family first observed a strange knocking1 which they could not account for4 ,it was sometimes in one place1 and sometimes in another2 and even about the bed1 when the girl lay in a quiet sleep1 with her hands folded outside the clothes4 ,they next heard a strange voice1 which told them circumstances they did not know1 but which they afterward found to be correct4 ,then there was a noise like the clashing of arms1 and such a rumbling that the tenant below thought the house was coming down2 footsteps where nobody was to be seen1 water falling on the floor1 no one knew whence1 locked doors opened1 and above all1 sounds of ineffably sweet music4 ,the doctors and the father were suspicious1 and every precaution was taken1 but no solution of the mystery could be found4 ,this spirit1 however1 was a good one1 and it preached to them1 and gave them a great deal of good advice4 ,many persons went to witness this strange phenomenon1 and some were desired to go by the voice1 when in their own homes4 ,thus ,elizabeth ,gauntlett1 while attending to some domestic affairs at home1 was startled by hearing a voice say1 8,be thou faithful1 and thou shalt see the works of thy ,god1 and shalt hear with thine ears60 ,she cried out1 8,my ,god6 what can this be60 and presently she saw a large white cloud near her4 ,on the same evening the voice said to her1 8,mary ,jobson1 one of your scholars is sick2 go and see her1 and it will be good for you40 ,this person did not know where the child lived1 but having inquired the address1 she went3 and at the door she heard the same voice bid her go up4 ,on entering the room she heard another voice1 soft and beautiful1 which bade her be faithful1 and said1 8,i am the ,virgin ,mary40 ,this voice promised her a sign at home2 and accordingly1 that night1 while reading the ,bible1 she heard it say1 8,jemima1 be not afraid2 it is ,i3 if you keep my commandments it shall be well with you40 ,when she repeated her visit the same things occurred1 and she heard the most exquisite music4 ,the same sort of phenomena were witnessed by everybody who went--the immoral were rebuked1 the good encouraged4 ,some were bidden instantly to depart1 and were forced to go4 ,the voices of several deceased persons of the family were also heard1 and made revelations4 ,once the voice said1 8,look up1 and you shall see the sun and moon on the ceiling60 and immediately there appeared a beautiful representation of these planets in lively colors1 viz41 green1 yellow1 and orange4 ,moreover1 these figures were permanent2 but the father1 who was a long time skeptical1 insisted on whitewashing them over2 however1 they still remained visible4 ,among other things1 the voice said1 that though the child appeared to suffer1 she did not2 that she did not know where her body was2 and that her own spirit had left it1 and another had entered2 and that her body was made a speaking trumpet4 ,the voice told the family and visiters many things of their distant friends1 which proved true4 ,the girl twice saw a divine form standing by her bedside who spoke to her1 and ,joseph ,ragg1 one of the persons who had been invited by the voice to go1 saw a beautiful and heavenly figure come to his bedside about eleven o'clock at night1 on the #agth of ,january4 ,it was in male attire1 surrounded by a radiance2 it came a second time on the same night4 ,on each occasion it opened his curtains and looked at him benignantly1 remaining about a quarter of an hour4 ,when it went away1 the curtains fell back into their former position4 ,one day1 while in the sick child's room1 ,margaret ,watson saw a lamb1 which passed through the door and entered a place where the father1 ,john ,jobson1 was2 but he did not see it4 ,one of the most remarkable features in this case is the beautiful music which was heard by all parties1 as well as the family1 including the unbelieving father2 and indeed it seems to have been1 in a great degree1 this that converted him at last4 ,this music was heard repeatedly during a space of sixteen weeks3 sometimes it was like an organ1 but more beautiful2 at others there was singing of holy songs1 in parts1 and the words distinctly heard4 ,the sudden appearance of water in the room too was most unaccountable2 for they felt it1 and it was really water4 ,when the voice desired that water should be sprinkled1 it immediately appeared as if sprinkled4 ,at another time1 a sign being promised to the skeptical father1 water would suddenly appear on the floor2 this happened 8not once1 but twenty times40 ,during the whole course of this affair1 the voices told them that there was a miracle to be wrought on this child2 and accordingly on the #bb;d of ,june1 when she was as ill as ever and they were only praying for her death1 at five o'clock the voice ordered that her clothes should be laid out1 and that everybody should leave the room except the infant1 which was two years and a half old4 ,they obeyed2 and having been outside the door a quarter of an hour1 the voice cried1 8,come in60 and when they entered1 they saw the girl completely dressed and quite well1 sitting in a chair with the infant on her knee1 and she had not had an hour's illness from that time till the report was published1 which was on the #cjth of ,january1 #ahda4 ,now1 it is very easy to laugh at all this1 and assert that these things never happened1 because they are absurd and impossible2 but while honest1 well-meaning1 and intelligent people1 who were on the spot1 assert that they did1 ,i confess ,i find myself constrained to believe them1 however much ,i find in the case which is discrepant with my notions4 ,it was not an affair of a day or an hour--there was ample time for observation--for the phenomena continued from the #ith of ,february to the #bb;d of ,june2 and the determined unbelief of the father regarding the possibility of spiritual appearances1 insomuch that he ultimately expressed great regret for the harshness he had used1 is a tolerable security against imposition4 ,moreover1 they pertinaciously refused to receive any money or assistance whatever1 and were more likely to suffer in public opinion than otherwise by the avowal of these circumstances4 ,dr4 ,clanny1 who publishes the report with the attestations of the witnesses1 is a physician of many years' experience1 and is also1 ,i believe1 the inventor of the improved ,davy lamp2 and he declares his entire conviction of the facts1 assuring his readers that 8many persons holding high rank in the established church1 ministers of other denominations1 as well as many lay-members of society1 highly respected for learning and piety1 are equally satisfied40 ,when he first saw the child lying on her back1 apparently insensible1 her eyes suffused with florid blood1 he felt assured that she had a disease of the brain2 and he was not in the least disposed to believe in the mysterious part of the affair1 till subsequent investigation compelled him to do so3 and that his belief is of a very decided character we may feel assured1 when he is content to submit to all the obloquy he must incur by avowing it4 ,he adds that1 since the girl has been quite well1 both her family and that of ,joseph ,ragg have frequently heard the same heavenly music as they did during her illness2 and ,mr4 ,torbock1 a surgeon1 who expresses himself satisfied of the truth of the above particulars1 also mentions another case1 in which he1 as well as a dying person he was attending1 heard divine music just before the dissolution4 ,of this last phenomenon--namely1 sounds as of heavenly music being heard when a death was occurring--,i have met with numerous instances4 ,from the investigation of the above case1 ,dr4 ,clanny has arrived at the conviction that the spiritual world do occasionally identify themselves with our affairs2 and ,dr4 ,drury asserts that1 besides this instance1 he has met with another circumstance which has left him firmly convinced that we live in a world of spirits1 and that he has been in the presence of an unearthly being1 who had 8passed that bourne from which10 it is said1 8no traveller returns40#h ,but the most extraordinary case ,i have yet met with is the following2 because it is one which can not1 by any possibility1 be attributed to disease or illusion4 ,it is furnished to me from the most undoubted authority1 and ,i give it as ,i received it1 with the omission of the names4 ,i have indeed1 in this instance1 thought it right to change the initial1 and substitute ,g4 for the right one--the particulars being of a nature which demand the greatest delicacy1 as regards the parties concerned3-- 8,mrs4 ,s4 ,c4 ,hall1 in early life1 was intimately acquainted with a family1 one of whom1 ,richard ,g----1 a young officer in the army1 was subject to a harassing visitation of a kind that is usually regarded as supernatural4 ,mrs4 ,h4 once proposed to pay a visit to her particular friend1 ,catherine ,g----1 but was told that it would not be convenient exactly at that time1 as ,richard was on the point of coming home4 ,she thought the inconvenience consisted in the want of a bed-room1 and spoke of sleeping with ,miss ,g----1 but found that the objection really lay in the fact of ,richard being #8haunted1' which rendered it impossible for anybody else to be comfortable in the same house with him4 ,a few weeks after ,richard's return1 ,mrs4 ,hall heard of ,mrs4 ,g----'s being extremely ill2 and found1 on going to call1 that it was owing to nothing but the distress the old lady suffered in consequence of the strange circumstance connected with her son4 ,it appeared that ,richard1 wherever he was--at home1 in camp1 in lodgings1 abroad1 or in his own country--was liable to be visited in his bed-room at night by certain extraordinary noises4 ,any light he kept in the room was sure to be put out4 ,something went beating about the walls and his bed1 making a great noise1 and often shifting close to his face1 but never becoming visible4 ,if a cage-bird was in his room1 it was certain to be found dead in the morning4 ,if he kept a dog in the apartment1 it would make away from him as soon as released1 and never come near him again4 ,his brother1 even his mother1 had slept in the room1 but the visitation took place as usual4 ,according to ,miss ,g----'s report1 she and other members of the family would listen at the bed-room door1 after ,richard had gone to sleep1 and would hear the noises commence2 and they would then hear him sit up and express his vexation by a few military execrations4 ,the young man1 at length1 was obliged by this pest to quit the army and go upon half-pay4 ,under its influence he became a sort of ,cain2 for1 wherever he lived1 the annoyance was so great that he was quickly obliged to remove4 ,mrs4 ,hall heard of his having ultimately gone to settle in ,ireland1 where1 however1 according to a brother whom she met about four years ago1 the visitation which afflicted him in his early years was in no degree abated40 ,this can not be called a case of possession1 but seems to be one of a rapport1 which attaches this invisible tormentor to his victim4 ----- #f ,there was also a remarkable case of this sort at ,mr4 ,chaves1 in ,devonshire1 in the year #ahaj1 where affidavits were made before the magistrates attesting the facts1 and large rewards offered for discovery1 but in vain4 ,the phenomena continued several months1 and the spiritual agent was frequently seen in the form of some strange animal4 #g ,translated from the original ,german4--,c4 ,c4 #h ,alluding1 ,i conclude1 to the affair at ,willington4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,miscellaneous ,,phenomena4 ,,in a former chapter1 ,i alluded to the forms seen floating over graves1 by ,billing1 ,pfeffel's amanuensis4 ,by some persons1 this luminous form is seen only as a light1 just as occurs in many of the apparition cases ,i have related4 ,how far ,baron ,reichenbach is correct in his conclusion1 that these figures are merely the result of the chemical process going on below1 it is impossible for any one at present to say4 ,the fact that these lights do not always hover over the graves1 but sometimes move from them1 militates against this opinion1 as ,i have before observed2 and the insubstantial nature of the form which reconstructed itself after ,pfeffel had passed his stick through it proves nothing1 since the same thing is asserted of all apparitions ,i meet with1 let them be seen where they may1 except in such very extraordinary cases as that of the ,bride of ,corinth1 supposing that story to be true4 ,at the same time1 although these cases are not made out to be chemical phenomena1 neither are we entitled to class them under the head of what is commonly understood by the word ghost2 whereby we comprehend a shadowy shape1 informed by an intelligent spirit4 ,but there are some cases1 a few of which ,i will mention1 that it seems extremely difficult to include under one category or the other4 ,the late ,lieutenant-,general ,robertson1 of ,lawers1 who served during the whole of the ,american war1 brought home with him1 at its termination1 a negro1 who went by the name of ,black ,tom1 and who continued in his service4 ,the room appropriated to the use of this man1 in the general's town residence 7,i speak of ,edinburgh71 was on the ground floor2 and he was heard frequently to complain that he could not rest in it1 for that every night the figure of a headless lady1 with a child in her arms1 rose out of the hearth and frightened him dreadfully4 ,of course nobody believed this story1 and it was supposed to be the dream of intoxication1 as ,tom was not remarkable for sobriety2 but1 strange to say1 when the old mansion was pulled down to build ,gillespie's hospital1 which stands on its site1 there was found1 under the hearth-stone in that apartment1 a box containing the body of a female1 from which the head had been severed2 and beside her lay the remains of an infant1 wrapped in a pillow-case trimmed with lace4 ,she appeared1 poor lady1 to have been cut off in the 8blossom of her sins20 for she was dressed1 and her scissors were yet hanging by a riband to her side1 and her thimble was also in the box1 having1 apparently1 fallen from the shrivelled finger4 ,now1 whether we are to consider this a ghost1 or a phenomenon of the same nature as that seen by ,billing1 it is difficult to decide4 ,somewhat similar is the following case1 which ,i have borrowed from a little work entitled 8,supernaturalism in ,new ,england40 ,not only does this little extract prove that the same phenomena1 be they interpreted as they may1 exist in all parts of the world1 but ,i think it will be granted me that1 although we have not here the confirmation that time furnished in the former instance1 yet it is difficult to suppose that this unexcitable person should have been the subject of so extraordinary a spectral illusion4 8,whoever has seen ,great pond1 in the east parish of ,haverhill1 has seen one of the very loveliest of the thousand little lakes or ponds of ,new ,england4 ,with its soft slopes of greenest verdure--its white and sparkling sand-rim--its southern hem of pine and maple1 mirrored1 with spray and leaf1 in the glassy water--its graceful hill-sentinels round about1 white with the orchard-bloom of spring1 or tasselled with the corn of autumn--its long sweep of blue waters1 broken here and there by picturesque headlands--it would seem a spot1 of all others1 where spirits of evil must shrink1 rebuked and abashed1 from the presence of the beautiful4 ,yet here1 too1 has the shadow of the supernatural fallen4 ,a lady of my acquaintance1 a staid1 unimaginative church-member1 states that1 a few years ago1 she was standing in the angle formed by two roads1 one of which traverses the pond-shore1 the other leading over the hill which rises abruptly from the water4 ,it was a warm summer evening1 just at sunset4 ,she was startled by the appearance of a horse and cart1 of the kind used a century ago in ,new ,england1 driving rapidly down the steep hill-side1 and crossing the wall a few yards before her1 without noise or displacing of a stone4 ,the driver sat sternly erect1 with a fierce countenance1 grasping the reins tightly1 and looking neither to the right nor the left4 ,behind the cart1 and apparently lashed to it1 was a woman of gigantic size1 her countenance convulsed with a blended expression of rage and agony1 writhing and struggling1 like ,laocoon in the folds of the serpent4 ,her head1 neck1 feet1 and arms1 were naked2 wild locks of gray hair streamed back from temples corrugated and darkened4 ,the horrible cavalcade swept by across the street1 and disappeared at the margin of the pond40 ,many persons will have heard of the 8,wild ,troop of ,rodenstein10 but few are aware of the curious amount of evidence there is in favor of the strange belief which prevails among the inhabitants of that region4 ,the story goes1 that the former possessors of the castles of ,rodenstein and ,schnellert were robbers and pirates1 who committed1 in conjunction1 all manner of enormities2 and that1 to this day1 the troop1 with their horses and carriages1 and dogs1 are heard1 every now and then1 wildly rushing along the road between the two castles4 ,this sounds like a fairy tale2 yet so much was it believed1 that1 up to the middle of the last century1 regular reports were made to the authorities in the neighborhood of the periods when the troop had passed4 ,since that1 the landgericht1 or court leet1 has been removed to ,furth1 and they trouble themselves no longer about the ,rodenstein troop2 but a traveller1 named ,wirth1 who a few years ago undertook to examine into the affair1 declares the people assert that the passage of the visionary cavalcade still continues2 and they assured him that certain houses1 that he saw lying in ruins1 were in that state because1 as they lay directly in the way of the troop1 they were uninhabitable4 ,there is seldom anything seen2 but the noise of carriage-wheels1 horses' feet1 smacking of whips1 blowing of horns1 and the voice of these fierce hunters of men urging them on1 are the sounds by which they recognise that the troop is passing from one castle to the other2 and at a spot which was formerly a blacksmith's1 but is now a carpenter's1 the invisible lord of ,rodenstein still stops to have his horse shod4 ,mr4 ,wirth copied several of the depositions out of the court records1 and they are brought down to ,june1 #agfd4 ,this is certainly a strange story2 but it is not much more so than that of the black man1 which ,i know to be true4 ,during the seven years' war in ,germany1 a drover lost his life in a drunken squabble on the high road4 ,for some time there was a sort of rude tombstone1 with a cross on it1 to mark the spot where his body was interred2 but this has long fallen1 and a milestone now fills its place4 ,nevertheless1 it continues commonly asserted by the country people1 and also by various travellers1 that they have been deluded in that spot by seeing1 as they imagine1 herds of beasts1 which1 on investigation1 prove to be merely visionary4 ,of course1 many people look upon this as a superstition2 but a very singular confirmation of the story occurred in the year #ahbf1 when two gentlemen and two ladies were passing the spot in a post-carriage4 ,one of these was a clergyman1 and none of them had ever heard of the phenomenon said to be attached to the place4 ,they had been discussing the prospects of the minister1 who was on his way to a vicarage1 to which he had just been appointed1 when they saw a large flock of sheep1 which stretched quite across the road1 and was accompanied by a shepherd and a long-haired black dog4 ,as to meet cattle on that road was nothing uncommon1 and indeed they had met several droves in the course of the day1 no remark was made at the moment1 till1 suddenly1 each looked at the other and said1 8,what is become of the sheep80 ,quite perplexed at their sudden disappearance1 they called to the postillion to stop1 and all got out in order to mount a little elevation and look around2 but still unable to discover them1 they now bethought themselves of asking the postillion where they were1 when1 to their infinite surprise1 they learned that he had not seen them4 ,upon this1 they bade him quicken his pace1 that they might overtake a carriage that had passed them shortly before1 and inquire if that party had seen the sheep2 but they had not4 ,four years later1 a postmaster1 named ,j----1 was on the same road1 driving a carriage1 in which were a clergyman and his wife1 when he saw a large flock of sheep near the same spot4 ,seeing they were very fine wethers1 and supposing them to have been bought at a sheep-fair that was then taking place a few miles off1 ,j---- drew up his reins and stopped his horse1 turning at the same time to the clergyman to say1 that he wanted to inquire the price of the sheep1 as he intended going next day to the fair himself4 ,while the minister was asking him what sheep he meant1 ,j---- got down and found himself in the midst of the animals1 the size and beauty of which astonished him4 ,they passed him at an unusual rate1 while he made his way through them to find the shepherd1 when1 on getting to the end of the flock1 they suddenly disappeared4 ,he then first learned that his fellow-travellers had not seen them at all4 ,now1 if such cases as these are not pure illusions1 which ,i confess ,i find it difficult to believe1 we must suppose that the animals and all the extraneous circumstances are produced by the magical will of the spirit1 either acting on the constructive imagination of the seers1 or else actually constructing the ethereal forms out of the elements at its command1 just as we have supposed an apparition able to present himself with whatever dress or appliances he conceives2 or else we must conclude these forms to have some relation to the mystery called ,,palingnesia1 which ,i have previously alluded to1 although the motion and change of place render it difficult to bring them under this category4 ,as for the animals1 although the drover was slain1 they were not2 and therefore1 even granting them to have souls1 we can not look upon them as the apparitions of the flock4 ,neither can we consider the numerous instances of armies seen in the air to be apparitions2 and yet these phenomena are so well established that they have been accounted for by supposing them to be atmospherical reflections of armies elsewhere1 in actual motion4 ,but how are we to account for the visionary troops which are not seen in the air1 but on the very ground on which the seers themselves stand1 which was the case especially with those seen in ,havarah park1 near ,ripley1 in the year #ahab8 ,these soldiers wore a white uniform1 and in the centre was a personage in a scarlet one4 ,after performing several evolutions1 the body began to march in perfect order to the summit of a hill1 passing the spectators at the distance of about one hundred yards4 ,they amounted to several hundreds1 and marched in a column1 four deep1 across about thirty acres2 and no sooner were they passed1 than another body1 far more numerous1 but dressed in dark clothes1 arose and marched after them1 without any apparent hostility4 ,both parties having reached the top of the hill1 and there formed what the spectators called an ,l1 they disappeared down the other side1 and were seen no more2 but at that moment a volume of smoke arose like the discharge of a park of artillery1 which was so thick that the men could not1 for two or three minutes1 discover their own cattle4 ,they then hurried home to relate what they had seen1 and the impression made on them is described as so great1 that they could never allude to the subject without emotion4 ,one of them was a farmer of the name of ,jackson1 aged forty-five2 the other was a lad of fifteen1 called ,turner3 and they were at the time herding cattle in the park4 ,the scene seems to have lasted nearly a quarter of an hour1 during which time they were quite in possession of themselves1 and able to make remarks to each other on what they saw4 ,they were both men of excellent character and unimpeachable veracity1 insomuch that nobody who knew them doubted that they actually saw what they described1 or1 at all events1 believed that they did4 ,it is to be observed1 also1 that the ground is not swampy1 nor subject to any exhalations4 ,about the year #agej1 a visionary army of the same description was seen in the neighborhood of ,inverness1 by a respectable farmer1 of ,glenary1 and his son4 ,the number of troops was very great1 and they had not the slightest doubt that they were otherwise than substantial forms of flesh and blood4 ,they counted at least sixteen pairs of columns1 and had abundance of time to observe every particular4 ,the front ranks marched seven abreast1 and were accompanied by a good many women and children1 who were carrying tin cans and other implements of cookery4 ,the men were clothed in red1 and their arms shone brightly in the sun4 ,in the midst of them was an animal--a deer or a horse1 they could not distinguish which--that they were driving furiously forward with their bayonets4 ,the younger of the two men observed to the other that every now and then the rear ranks were obliged to run to overtake the van2 and the elder one1 who had been a soldier1 remarked that that was always the case1 and recommended him1 if he ever served1 to try and march in the front4 ,there was only one mounted officer3 he rode a gray dragoon horse1 and wore a gold-laced hat and blue hussar cloak1 with wide1 open sleeves1 lined with red4 ,the two spectators observed him so particularly1 that they said afterward they should recognise him anywhere4 ,they were1 however1 afraid of being ill-treated1 or forced to go along with the troops1 whom they concluded had come from ,ireland1 and landed at ,kyntyre2 and while they were climbing over a dike to get out of their way1 the whole thing vanished4 ,some years since1 a phenomenon of the same sort was observed at ,paderborn1 in ,westphalia1 and seen by at least thirty persons1 as well as by horses and dogs1 as was discovered by the demeanor of these animals4 ,in ,october1 #ahcf1 on the very same spot1 there was a review of twenty thousand men2 and the people then concluded that the former vision was a second-sight4 ,a similar circumstance occurred in ,stockton forest1 some years ago2 and there are many recorded elsewhere--one especially1 in the year #afhf1 near ,lanark1 where1 for several afternoons1 in the months of ,june and ,july1 there were seen1 by numerous spectators1 companies of men in arms1 marching in order by the banks of the ,clyde1 and other companies meeting them1 c41 c42 added to which there were showers of bonnets1 hats1 guns1 swords1 c41 which the seers described with the greatest exactness4 ,all who were present could not see these things1 and ,walker relates that one gentleman1 particularly1 was turning the thing into ridicule1 calling the seers 8damned witches and warlocks1 with the second-sight60--boasting that 8the devil a thing he could see60--when he suddenly exclaimed1 with fear and trembling1 that he now saw it all2 and entreated those who did not see1 to say nothing--a change that may be easily accounted for1 be the phenomenon of what nature it may1 by supposing him to have touched one of the seers1 when the faculty would be communicated like a shock of electricity4 ,with regard to the palinganesia1 it would be necessary to establish that these objects had previously existed1 and that1 as ,oetinger says1 the earthly husk having fallen off1 8the volatile essence had ascended perfect in form1 but void of substance40 ,the notion supported by ,baron ,reichenbach1 that the lights seen in churchyards and over graves are the result of a process going on below1 is by no means new1 for ,gaffarillus suggested the same opinion in #afej2 only he speaks of the appearances over graves and in churchyards as shadows1 ombres1 as they appeared to ,billing2 and he mentions1 casually1 as a thing frequently observed1 that the same visionary forms are remarked on ground where battles have been fought1 which he thinks arise out of a process between the earth and the sun4 ,when a limb has been cut off1 some somnambules still discern the form of the member as if actually attached4 ,but this magical process is said to be not only the work of the elements1 but also possible to man2 and that as the forms of plants can be preserved after the substance is destroyed1 so can that of man be either preserved or reproduced from the elements of his body4 ,in the reign of ,louis ,,xiv41 three alchemists1 having distilled some earth taken from the cemetery of the ,innocents1 in ,paris1 were forced to desist1 by seeing the forms of men appearing in their vials1 instead of the philosopher's stone1 which they were seeking2 and a physician1 who1 after dissecting a body1 and pulverizing the cranium 7which was then an article admitted into the materia medica71 had left the powder on the table of his laboratory1 in charge of his assistant1 the latter1 who slept in an adjoining room1 was awakened in the night by hearing a noise1 which1 after some search1 he ultimately traced to the powder--in the midst of which he beheld1 gradually constructing itself1 a human form6 ,first appeared the head1 with two open eyes1 then the arms and hands1 and1 by degrees1 the rest of the person1 which subsequently assumed the clothes it had worn when alive6 ,the man was1 of course1 frightened out of his wits--the rather1 as the apparition planted itself before the door1 and would not let him go away till it had made its own exit1 which it speedily did4 ,similar results have been said to arise from experiments performed on blood4 ,i confess ,i should be disposed to consider these apparitions1 if ever they appeared1 cases of genuine ghosts1 brought into rapport by the operation1 rather than forms residing in the bones or blood4 ,at all events1 these things are very hard to believe2 but seeing we were not there1 ,i do not think we have any right to say they did not happen2 or at least that some phenomena did not occur1 that were open to this interpretation4 ,it is highly probable that the seeing of those visionary armies and similar prodigies is a sort of second-sight2 but having admitted this1 we are very little nearer an explanation4 ,granting that1 as in the above experiments1 the essence of things may retain the forms of the substance1 this does not explain the seeing that which has not yet taken place1 or which is taking place at so great a distance1 that neither ,oetinger's essence nor the superficial films of ,lucretius can remove the difficulty4 ,it is the fashion to say that second-sight was a mere superstition of the highlanders1 and that no such thing is ever heard of now2 but those who talk in this way know very little of the matter4 ,no doubt1 if they set out to look for seers1 they may not find them2 such phenomena1 though known in all countries and in all ages1 are comparatively rare1 as well as uncertain and capricious1 and not to be exercised at will3 but ,i know of too many instances of the existence of this faculty in families1 as well as of isolated cases occurring to individuals above all suspicion1 to entertain the smallest doubt of its reality4 ,but the difficulty of furnishing evidence is considerable3 because1 when the seers are of the humbler classes1 they are called impostors and not believed2 and when they are of the higher1 they do not make the subject a matter of conversation1 nor choose to expose themselves to the ridicule of the foolish2 and consequently the thing is not known beyond their own immediate friends4 ,when the young duke of ,orleans was killed1 a lady1 residing here1 saw the accident1 and described it to her husband at the time it was occurring in ,france4 ,she had frequently seen the duke1 when on the continent4 ,captain ,n---- went to stay two days at the house of ,lady ,t----4 ,after dinner1 however1 he announced that he was under the necessity of going away that night1 nor could he be induced to remain4 ,on being much pressed for an explanation1 he confided to some of the party that1 during the dinner1 he had seen a female figure with her throat cut1 standing behind ,lady ,t----'s chair4 ,of course1 it was thought an illusion1 but ,lady ,t---- was not told of it1 lest she should be alarmed4 ,that night the household was called up for the purpose of summoning a surgeon--,lady ,t---- had cut her own throat6 ,mr4 ,c----1 who1 though a ,scotchman1 was an entire skeptic with regard to the second-sight1 was told by a seer whom he had been jeering on the subject1 that1 within a month1 he 7,mr4 ,c----7 would be a pall-bearer at a funeral2 that he would go by a certain road1 but that1 before they had crossed the brook1 a man in a drab coat would come down the hill and take the pall from him4 ,the funeral occurred1 ,mr4 ,c---- was a bearer1 and they went by the road described2 but he firmly resolved that he would disappoint the seer by keeping the pall while they crossed the brook2 but shortly before they reached it1 the postman overtook them1 with letters1 which in that part of the country arrived but twice a week1 and ,mr4 ,c----1 who was engaged in some speculations of importance1 turned to received them--at which moment the pall was taken from him1 and on looking round1 he saw it was by a man in a drab coat6 ,a medical friend of mine1 who practised some time at ,deptford1 was once sent for to a girl who had been taken suddenly ill4 ,he found her with inflammation of the brain1 and the only account the mother could give of it was1 that shortly before1 she had run into the room1 crying1 8,oh1 mother1 ,i have seen ,uncle ,john drowned in his boat under the fifth arch of ,rochester bridge60 ,the girl died a few hours afterward2 and1 on the following night1 the uncle's boat ran foul of the bridge1 and he was drowned1 exactly as she had foretold4 ,mrs4 ,a----1 an ,english lady1 and the wife of a clergyman1 relates that1 previous to her marriage1 she with her father and mother being at the seaside1 had arranged to make a few days' excursion to some races that were about to take place2 and that the night before they started1 the father having been left alone1 while the ladies were engaged in their preparations1 they found him1 on descending to the drawing-room1 in a state of considerable agitation--which1 he said1 had arisen from his having seen a dreadful face at one corner of the room4 ,he described it as a bruised1 battered1 crushed1 discolored face1 with the two eyes protruding frightfully from their sockets2 but the features were too disfigured to ascertain if it were the face of any one he knew4 ,on the following day1 on their way to the races1 an accident occurred2 and he was brought home with his own face exactly in the condition he had described4 ,he had never exhibited any other instance of this extraordinary faculty1 and the impression made by the circumstance lasted the remainder of his life1 which was unhappily shortened by the injuries he had received4 ,the late ,mrs4 ,v----1 a lady of fortune and family1 who resides near ,loch ,lomond1 possessed this faculty in an extraordinary degree1 and displayed it on many remarkable occasions4 ,when her brother was shipwrecked in the channel1 she was heard to exclaim1 8,thank ,god1 he is saved60 and described the scene with all its circumstances4 ,colonel ,david ,steward1 a determined believer in what he calls the supernatural1 in his book on the highlanders1 relates the following fact as one so remarkable1 that 8credulous minds0 may be excused for believing it to have been prophetic4 ,he says that1 late in an autumnal evening of the year #aggc1 the son of a neighbor came to his father's house1 and soon after his arrival inquired for a little boy of the family1 then about three years old4 ,he was shown up to the nursery1 and found the nurse putting a pair of new shoes on the child1 which she complained did not fit4 8,never mind10 said the young man1 8they will fit him before he wants them0--a prediction which not only offended the nurse1 but seemed at the moment absurd1 since the child was apparently in perfect health4 ,when he joined the party in the drawing-room1 he being much jeered upon this new gift of second-sight1 explained that the impression he had received originated in his having just seen a funeral passing the wooden bridge which crossed a stream at a short distance from the house4 ,he first observed a crowd of people1 and on coming nearer he saw a person carrying a small coffin1 followed by about twenty gentlemen1 all of his acquaintance1 his own father and a ,mr4 ,stewart being among the number4 ,he did not attempt to join the procession1 which he saw turn off into the churchyard3 but knowing his own father could not be actually there1 and that ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,stewart were then at ,blair1 he felt a conviction that the phenomenon portended the death of the child3 a persuasion which was verified by its suddenly expiring on the following night2--and ,colonel ,stewart adds that the circumstances and attendants at the funeral were precisely such as the young man had described4 ,he mentions1 also1 that this gentleman was not a seer2 that he was a man of education and general knowledge2 and that this was the first and only vision of the sort he ever had4 ,i know of a young lady who has three times seen funerals in this way4 ,the old persuasion that fasting was a means of developing the spirit of prophecy1 is undoubtedly well founded1 and the annals of medicine furnish numerous facts which establish it4 ,a man condemned to death at ,viterbo1 having abstained from food in the hope of escaping execution1 became so clairvoyant1 that he could tell what was doing in any part of the prison2 the expression used in the report is that he 8saw through the walls30 this1 however1 could not be with his natural organs of sight4 ,it is worthy of observation1 that idiots often possess some gleams of this faculty of second-sight or presentiment2 and it is probably on this account that they are in some countries held sacred4 ,presentiment1 which ,i think may very probably be merely the vague and imperfect recollection of what we knew in our sleep1 is often observed in drunken people4 ,in the great plague at ,basle1 which occurred toward the end of the sixteenth century1 almost everybody who died called out in their last moments the name of the person that was to follow them next4 ,not long ago1 a servant girl on the estate of ,d----1 of ,s----1 saw with amazement five figures ascending a perpendicular cliff1 quite inaccessible to human feet2 one was a boy wearing a cap with red binding4 ,she watched them with great curiosity till they reached the top1 where they all stretched themselves on the earth1 with countenances expressive of great dejection4 ,while she was looking at them they disappeared1 and she immediately related her vision4 ,shortly afterward1 a foreign ship1 in distress1 was seen to put off a boat with four men and a boy3 the boat was dashed to pieces in the surf1 and the five bodies1 exactly answering the description she had given1 were thrown on shore at the foot of the cliff1 which they had perhaps climbed in the spirit6 ,how well what we call clairvoyance was known1 though how little understood1 at the period of the witch persecution1 is proved by what ,dr4 ,henry ,more says in his 8,antidote against ,atheism03-- 8,we will now pass to those supernatural effects which are observed in them that are bewitched or possessed2 and such as foretelling things to come1 telling what such and such persons speak or do1 as exactly as if they were by them1 when the party possessed is at one end of the town1 and sitting in a house within doors1 and those parties that act and confer together are without1 at the other end of the town2 to be able to see some and not others2 to play at cards with one certain person1 and not to discern anybody else at the table beside him2 to act and talk1 and go up and down1 and tell what will become of things1 and what happens in those fits of possession2 and then1 as soon as the possessed or bewitched party is out of them1 to remember nothing at all1 but to inquire concerning the welfare of those whose faces they seemed to look upon just before1 when they were in their fits20--a state which he believes to arise from the devil's having taken possession of the body of the magnetic person1 which is precisely the theory supported by many fanatical persons in our own day4 ,dr4 ,more was not a fanatic3 but these phenomena1 though very well understood by the ancient philosophers1 as well as by ,paracelsus1 ,van ,helmont1 ,cornelius ,agrippa1 ,jacob ,behmen1 a ,scotch physician 7called ,maxwell7 who published on the subject in the seventeenth century1 and many others1 were still1 when observed1 looked upon as the effects of diabolical influence by mankind in general4 ,when ,monsieur ,six ,deniers1 the artist1 was drowned in the ,seine in #ahdf1 after his body had been vainly sought1 a somnambule was applied to1 in whose hands they placed a portfolio belonging to him2 and being asked where the owner was1 she evinced great terror1 held up her dress as if walking in the water1 and said that he was between two boats1 under the ,pont des ,arts1 with nothing on but a flannel waistcoat3 and there he was found4 ,a friend of mine knows a lady who1 early one morning--being in a natural state of clairvoyance without magnetism--saw the porter of the house where her son lodged ascend to his room with a carving-knife1 go to his bed where he lay asleep1 lean over him1 then open a chest1 take out a fifty-pound note1 and retire4 ,on the following day1 she went to her son and asked him if he had any money in the house2 he said1 8,yes1 ,i have fifty pounds30 whereupon she bade him seek it1 but it was gone4 ,they stopped payment of the note2 but did not prosecute1 thinking the evidence insufficient4 ,subsequently1 the porter being taken up for other crimes1 the note was found crumpled up at the bottom of an old purse belonging to him4 ,dr4 ,ennemoser says that there is no doubt of the ancient ,sibyls having been clairvoyant women1 and that it is impossible so much value could have been attached to their books1 had not their revelations been verified4 ,a maid-servant residing in a family in ,northumberland1 one day last winter was heard to utter a violent scream immediately after she had left the kitchen4 ,on following her to inquire what had happened1 she said that she had just seen her father in his night-clothes1 with a most horrible countenance1 and she was sure something dreadful had happened to him4 ,two days afterward there arrived a letter1 saying he had been seized with delirium tremens1 and was at the point of death2 which accordingly ensued4 ,there are innumerable cases of this sort recorded in various collections1 not to mention the much more numerous ones that meet with no recorder2 and ,i could myself mention many more1 but these will suffice--one1 however1 ,i will not omit1 for1 though historical1 it is not generally known4 ,a year before the rebellion broke out1 in consequence of which ,lord ,kilmarnock lost his head1 the family were one day startled by a scream1 and on rushing out to inquire what had occurred1 they found the servants all assembled1 in amazement1 with the exception of one maid1 who they said had gone up to the garrets to hang some linen on the lines to dry4 ,on ascending thither1 they found the girl on the floor1 in a state of insensibility2 and they had no sooner revived her than1 on seeing ,lord ,kilmarnock bending over her1 she screamed and fainted again4 ,when ultimately recovered1 she told them that while hanging up her linen1 and singing1 the door had burst open and his lordship's bloody head had rolled in4 ,i think it came twice4 ,this event was so well known at the time1 that on the first rumors of the rebellion1 ,lord ,saltoun said1 8,kilmarnock will lose his head40 ,it was answered1 8that ,kilmarnock had not joined the rebels40 8,he will1 and will be beheaded10 returned ,lord ,saltoun4 ,now1 in these cases we are almost compelled to believe that the phenomenon is purely subjective1 and there is no veritable outstanding object seen2 yet1 when we have taken refuge in this hypothesis1 the difficulty remains as great as ever2 and is to me much more incomprehensible than ghost-seeing1 because in the latter we suppose an external agency acting in some way or other on the seer4 ,i have already mentioned that ,oberlin1 the good pastor of ,ban de la ,roche1 himself a ghost-seer1 asserted that everything earthly had its counterpart1 or antitype1 in the other world1 not only organized1 but unorganized matter4 ,if so1 do we sometimes see these antitypes8 ,dr4 ,ennemoser1 in treating of second-sight--which1 by the way1 is quite as well known in ,germany1 and especially in ,denmark1 as in the highlands of ,scotland--says1 that as in natural somnambulism there is a partial internal vigilance1 so does the seer fall1 while awake1 into a dream-state4 ,he suddenly becomes motionless and stiff3 his eyes are open1 and his senses are1 while the vision lasts1 unperceptive of all external objects2 the vision may be communicated by the touch1 and sometimes persons at a distance from each other1 but connected by blood or sympathy1 have the vision simultaneously4 ,he remarks1 also1 that1 as we have seen in the above case of ,mr4 ,c----1 any attempt to frustrate the fulfilment of the vision never succeeds1 inasmuch as the attempt appears to be taken into the account4 ,the seeing in glass and in crystals is equally inexplicable2 as is the magical seeing of the ,egyptians4 ,every now and then we hear it said that this last is discovered to be an imposition1 because some traveller has either actually fallen into the hands of an impostor--and there are impostors in all trades--or because the phenomenon was imperfectly exhibited2 a circumstance which1 as in the exhibitions of clairvoyants and somnambulists1 where all the conditions are not under command1 or even recognised1 must necessarily happen4 ,but not to mention the accounts published by ,mr4 ,lane and ,lord ,prudhoe1 whoever has read that of ,monsieur ,lon ,laborde must be satisfied that the thing is an indisputable fact4 ,it is1 in fact1 only another form of the seeing in crystals1 which has been known in all ages1 and of which many modern instances have occurred among somnambulic patients4 ,we see by the forty-fourth chapter of ,genesis that it was by his cup that ,joseph prophesied3 8,is not this it in which my lord drinketh1 and whereby indeed he divineth80 ,but1 as ,dr4 ,passavent observes1 and as we shall presently see1 in the anecdote of the boy and the gipsy1 the virtue does not lie in the glass nor in the water1 but in the seer himself1 who may possess a more or less developed faculty4 ,the external objects and ceremonies being only the means of concentrating the attention and intensifying the power4 ,monsieur ,lon ,laborde witnessed the exhibition1 at ,cairo1 before ,lord ,p----'s visit2 the exhibitor1 named ,achmed1 appeared to him a respectable man1 who spoke simply of his science1 and had nothing of the charlatan about him4 ,the first child employed was a boy eleven years old1 the son of a ,european2 and ,achmed having traced some figures on the palm of his hand1 and poured ink over them1 bade him look for the reflection of his own face4 ,the child said he saw it2 the magician then burnt some powders in a brazier1 and bade him tell him when he saw a soldier sweeping a place2 and while the fumes from the brazier diffused themselves1 he pronounced a sort of litany4 ,presently the child threw back his head1 and screaming with terror1 sobbed out1 while bathed in tears1 that he had seen a dreadful face4 ,fearing the boy might be injured1 ,monsieur ,laborde now called up a little ,arab servant1 who had never seen or heard of the magician4 ,he was gay and laughing1 and not at all frightened2 and the ceremony being repeated1 he said he saw the soldier sweeping in the front of a tent4 ,he was then desired to bid the soldier bring ,shakspere1 ,colonel ,cradock1 and several other persons2 and he described every person and thing so exactly as to be entirely satisfactory4 ,during the operations the boy looked as if intoxicated1 with his eyes fixed and the perspiration dripping from his brow4 ,achmed disenchanted him by placing his thumbs on his eyes4 ,he gradually recovered1 and gayly related all he had seen1 which he perfectly remembered4 ,now this is merely another form of what the ,laplanders1 the ,african magicians1 and the ,schaamans of ,siberia1 do by taking narcotics and turning round till they fall down in a state of insensibility1 in which condition they are clear-seers1 and besides vaticinating1 describe scenes1 places1 and persons1 they have never seen4 ,in ,barbary they anoint their hands with a black ointment1 and then holding them up in the sun1 they see whatever they desire1 like the ,egyptians4 ,lady ,s---- possesses somewhat of a singular faculty1 naturally4 ,by walking rapidly round a room several times1 till a certain degree of vertigo is produced1 she will name to you any person you have privately thought of or agreed upon with others4 ,her phrase is3 8,i see0 so and so4 ,monsieur ,laborde purchased the secret of ,achmed1 who said he had learned it from two celebrated scheicks of his own country1 which was ,algiers4 ,monsieur ,l4 found it connected with both physics and magnetism1 and practised it himself afterward with perfect success2 and he affirms1 positively1 that under the influence of a particular organization and certain ceremonies1 among which he can not distinguish which are indispensable and which are not1 that a child1 without fraud or collusion1 can see1 as through a window or peep-hole1 people moving1 who appear and disappear at their command1 and with whom they hold communication--and they remember everything after the operation4 ,he says3 8,i narrate1 but explain nothing2 ,i produced those effects1 but can not comprehend them2 ,i only affirm in the most positive manner that what ,i relate is true4 ,i performed the experiment in various places1 with various subjects1 before numerous witnesses1 in my own room or other rooms1 in the open air1 and even in a boat on the ,nile4 ,the exactitude and detailed descriptions of persons1 places1 and scenes1 could by no possibility be feigned40 ,moreover1 ,baron ,dupotet has very lately succeeded in obtaining these phenomena in ,paris1 from persons not somnambulic selected from his audience1--the chief difference being that they did not recollect what they had seen when the crisis was over4 ,cagliostro1 though a charlatan1 was possessed of this secret1 and it was his great success in it that chiefly sustained his reputation2 the spectators1 convinced he could make children see distant places and persons in glass1 were persuaded he could do other things1 which appeared to them no more mysterious4 ,dr4 ,dee was perfectly honest with regard to his mirror1 in which he could see by concentrating his mind on it2 but1 as he could not remember what he saw1 he employed ,kelly to see for him1 while he himself wrote down the revelations3 and ,kelly was a rogue1 and deceived and ruined him4 ,a friend of ,pfeffel's knew a boy1 apprenticed to an apothecary at ,schoppenweyer1 who1 having been observed to amuse himself by looking into vials filled with water1 was asked what he saw2 when it was discovered that he possessed this faculty of seeing in glass1 which was afterward very frequently exhibited for the satisfaction of the curious4 ,pfeffel also mentions another boy who had this faculty1 and who went about the country with a small mirror1 answering questions1 recovering stolen goods1 c4 ,he said that he one day fell in with some gipsies1 one of whom was sitting apart and staring into this glass4 ,the boy1 from curiosity1 looked over his shoulder and exclaimed that he saw 8a fine man who was moving about20 whereupon the gipsy1 having interrogated him1 gave him the glass2 8for10 said he1 8,i have been staring in it long enough1 and can see nothing but my own face40 ,it is almost unnecessary to observe that the sacred books of the ,jews and of the ,indians testify to their acquaintance with this mode of divination1 as well as many others4 ,many persons will have heard or read an account of ,mr4 ,canning and ,mr4 ,huskisson having seen1 while in ,paris1 the visionary representation of their own deaths in water1 as exhibited to them by a ,russian or ,polish lady there3 as ,i do not1 however1 know what authority there is for this story1 ,i will not insist on it here4 ,but ,st4 ,simon relates a very curious circumstance of this nature1 which occurred at ,paris1 and was related to him by the duke of ,orleans1 afterward regent4 ,the latter said that he had sent on the preceding evening for a man1 then in ,paris1 who pretended to exhibit whatever was desired in a glass of water4 ,he came1 and a child of seven years old1 belonging to the house1 being called up1 they bade her tell what she saw doing in certain places4 ,she did2 and as they sent to these places and found her report correct1 they bade her next describe under what circumstances the king would die1 without1 however1 asking when the death would take place4 ,the child knew none of the court1 and had never been at ,versailles2 yet she described everything exactly--the room1 bed1 furniture1 and the king himself1 ,madame de ,maintenon1 ,fagon1 the physician1 the princes and princesses--everybody1 in short1 including a child1 wearing an order1 in the arms of a lady whom she recognised as having seen2 this was ,madame de ,ventadour4 ,it was remarkable that she omitted the dukes de ,bourgogne and ,berry1 and ,monseigneur1 and also the duchess de ,bourgogne4 ,orleans insisted they must be there1 describing them2 but she always said 8,no40 ,these persons were then all well1 but they died before the king4 ,she also saw the children of the prince and princess of ,conti1 but not themselves--which was correct1 as they also died shortly after this occurrence4 ,orleans then wished to see his own destiny2 and the man said1 if he would not be frightened he could show it to him1 as if painted on the wall2 and after fifteen minutes of conjuration1 the duke appeared1 of the natural size1 dressed as usual1 but with a couronne ferme or closed crown on his head1 which they could not comprehend1 as it was not that of any country they knew of4 ,it covered his head1 had only four circles1 and nothing at the top4 ,they had never seen such a one4 ,when he became regent1 they understood that that was the interpretation of the prediction4 ,in connection with this subject1 the aversion to glass frequently manifested by dogs is well worthy of observation4 ,when facts of this kind are found to be recorded or believed in1 in all parts of the world1 from the beginning of it up to the present time1 it is surely vain for the so-called savants to deny them2 and1 as ,cicero justly says in describing the different kinds of magic1 8,what we have to do with is the facts1 since of the cause we know little4 ,neither10 he adds1 8are we to repudiate these phenomena1 because we sometimes find them imperfect1 or even false1 any more than we are to distrust that the human eye sees1 although some do this very imperfectly1 or not at all40 ,we are part spirit and part matter3 by the former we are allied to the spiritual world and to the absolute spirit2 and as nobody doubts that the latter can work magically1 that is1 by the mere act of will--for by the mere act of will all things were created1 and by its constant exertion all things are sustained--why should we be astonished that we1 who partake of the ,divine nature and were created after ,god's own image1 should also1 within certain limits1 partake of this magical power8 ,that this power has been frequently abused1 is the fault of those who1 being capable1 refuse to investigate1 and deny the existence of these and similar phenomena2 and1 by thus casting them out of the region of legitimate science1 leave them to become the prey of the ignorant and designing4 ,dr4 ,ennemoser1 in his very learned work on magic1 shows us that all the phenomena of magnetism and somnambulism1 and all the various kinds of divination1 have been known and practised in every country under the sun2 and have been intimately connected with1 and indeed may be traced up to the fountain-head of every religion4 ,what are the limits of these powers possessed by us while in the flesh--how far they may be developed--and whether1 at the extreme verge of what we can effect1 we begin to be aided by ,god or by spirits of other spheres of existence bordering on ours--we know not2 but1 with respect to the morality of these practices1 it suffices that what is good in act or intention1 must come of good2 and what is evil in act or intention1 must come of evil3 which is true now1 as it was in the time of ,moses and the prophets1 when miracles and magic were used for purposes holy and unholy1 and were to be judged accordingly4 ,god works by natural laws1 of which we yet know very little1 and1 in some departments of his kingdom1 nothing2 and whatever appears to us supernatural1 only appears so from our ignorance2 and whatever faculties or powers he has endowed us with1 it must have been designed we should exercise and cultivate for the benefit and advancement of our race3 nor can ,i for one moment suppose that1 though like everything else1 liable to abuse1 the legitimate exercise of these powers1 if we knew their range1 would be useless1 much less pernicious or sinful4 ,of the magical power of ,,will1 as ,i have said before1 we know nothing2 and it does not belong to a purely rationalistic age to acknowledge what it can not understand4 ,in all countries men have arisen1 here and there1 who have known it1 and some traces of it have survived both in language and in popular superstitions4 8,if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed1 ye shall say unto this mountain1 #8,remove hence1' and it shall remove2 and nothing shall be impossible to you4 ,howbeit1 this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting40 ,and1 veuillez et croyez--will and believe--was the solution ,puysgur gave of his magical cures2 and no doubt the explanation of those affected by royal hands is to be found in the fact that they believed in themselves2 and having faith1 they could exercise will4 ,but1 with the belief in the divine right of kings1 the faith and the power would naturally expire together4 ,with respect to what ,christ says1 in the above-quoted passage1 of fasting1 numerous instances are extant1 proving that clear-seeing and other magical or spiritual powers are sometimes developed by it4 ,wilhelm ,krause1 a doctor of philosophy and a lecturer at ,jena1 who died during the prevalence of the cholera1 cultivated these powers and preached them4 ,i have not been able to obtain his works1 they being suppressed as far as is practicable by the ,prussian government4 ,krause could leave his body1 and1 to all appearance1 die whenever he pleased4 ,one of his disciples1 yet living1 ,count von ,eberstein1 possesses the same faculty4 ,many writers of the sixteenth century were well acquainted with the power of will1 and to this was attributed the good or evil influence of blessings and curses4 ,they believed it to be of great effect in curing diseases1 and that by it alone life might be extinguished4 ,that1 subjectively1 life may be extinguished1 we have seen by the cases of ,colonel ,townshend1 the dervish that was buried1 ,hermotinus1 and others3 for doubtless the power that could perform so much1 could1 under an adequate motive1 have performed more3 and since all things in nature1 spiritual and material1 are connected1 and that there is an unceasing interaction between them1 we being members of one great whole1 only individualized by our organisms1 it is possible to conceive that the power which can be exerted on our own organism might be extended to others3 and since we can not conceive man to be an isolated being--the only intelligence besides ,god--none above us and none below--but must1 on the contrary1 believe that there are numerous grades of intelligences1 it seems to follow1 of course1 that we must stand in some kind of relation to them1 more or less intimate2 nor is it at all surprising that with some individuals this relation should be more intimate than with others4 ,finally1 we are not entitled to deny the existence of this magical or spiritual power1 as exerted by either incorporated or unincorporated spirits1 because we do not comprehend how it can be exerted2 since1 in spite of all the words that have been expended on the subject1 we are equally ignorant of the mode in which our own will acts upon our own muscles4 ,we know the fact1 but not the mode of it4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,conclusion4 ,,of the power of the mind over matter1 we have a remarkable example in the numerous well-authenticated instances of the stigmata4 ,as in most cases this phenomenon has been connected with a state of religious exaltation1 and has been appropriated by the ,roman church as a miracle1 the fact has been in this country pretty generally discredited1 but without reason4 ,ennemoser1 ,passavent1 ,schubert1 and other eminent ,german physiologists1 assure us that not only is the fact perfectly established1 as regards many of the so-called saints1 but also that there have been indubitable modern instances1 as in the case of the ecstaticas of the ,tyrol1 ,catherine ,emmerich 7commonly called the ,nun of ,dulmen71 ,maria ,morl1 and ,domenica ,lazzari1 who have all exhibited the stigmata4 ,catherine ,emmerich1 the most remarkable of the three1 began very early to have visions1 and to display unusual endowments4 ,she was very pious2 could distinguish the qualities of plants1 reveal secrets or distant circumstances1 and knew people's thoughts2 but was1 however1 extremely sickly1 and exhibited a variety of extraordinary and distressing symptoms1 which terminated in her death4 ,the wounds of the crown of thorns round her head1 and those of the nails in her hands and feet1 were as perfect as if painted by an artist1 and they bled regularly on ,fridays4 ,there was also a double cross on her breast4 ,when the blood was wiped away1 the marks looked like the puncture of flies4 ,she seldom took any nourishment but water2 and1 having been but a poor cow-keeper1 she discoursed1 when in the ecstatic state1 as if inspired4 ,i am well aware that on reading this1 many persons who never saw her1 will say it was all imposture4 ,it is very easy to say this2 but it is as absurd as presumptuous to pronounce on what they have had no opportunity of observing4 ,i never saw these women either2 but ,i find myself much more disposed to accept the evidence of those who did1 than of those who only 8do not believe1 because they do not believe40 ,neither ,catherine ,emmerich nor the others made their sufferings a source of profit1 nor had they any desire to be exhibited--but quite the contrary4 ,she could see in the dark as well as the light1 and frequently worked all night at making clothes for the poor1 without lamp or candle4 ,there have been instances of magnetic patients being stigmatized in this manner4 ,madame ,b4 von ,n---- dreamed one night that a person offered her a red and a white rose1 and that she chose the latter4 ,on awaking she felt a burning pain in her arm1 and by degrees there arose there the figure of a rose perfect in form and color4 ,it was rather raised above the skin4 ,the mark increased in intensity till the eighth day1 after which it faded away1 and by the fourteenth was no longer perceptible4 ,a letter from ,moscow1 addressed to ,dr4 ,kerner1 in consequence of reading the account of the 8,nun of ,dulmen10 relates a still more extraordinary case4 ,at the time of the ,french invasion1 a ,cossack having pursued a ,frenchman into a cul de sac--an alley without an outlet--there ensued a terrible conflict between them1 in which the latter was severely wounded4 ,a person who had taken refuge in this close and could not get away1 was so dreadfully frightened1 that when he reached home1 there broke out on his body the very same wounds that the ,cossack had inflicted on his enemy6 ,the signatures of the ftus are analogous facts2 and if the mind of the mother can thus act on another organism1 why not the minds of the saints1 or of ,catherine ,emmerich1 on their own8 ,from the influence of the mother on the child1 we have but one step to that asserted to be possible between two organisms not visibly connected for the difficulty therein lies1 that we do not see the link that connects them1 though doubtless it exists4 ,dr4 ,blacklock1 who lost his eyesight at an early period1 said that1 when awake1 he distinguished persons by hearing and feeling them2 but when asleep1 he had a distinct impression of another sense4 ,he then seemed to himself united to them by a kind of distant contact1 which was effected by threads passing from their bodies to his1 which seems to be but a metaphorical expression of the fact2 for1 whether the connection be maintained by an all-pervading ether1 or be purely dynamic1 that the intertraction exists between both organic and inorganic bodies1 is made evident wherever there is sufficient excitability to render the effects sensible4 ,till very lately1 the powers of the divining-rod were considered a mere fable2 yet1 that this power exists1 though not in the rod1 but in the person that holds it1 is now perfectly well established4 ,count ,tristan1 who has written a book on the subject1 says that about one in forty have it1 and that a complete course of experiments has proved the phenomenon to be electric4 ,the rod seems to serve1 in some degree1 the same purpose as the magical mirror and conjurations1 and it is also serviceable in presenting a result visible to the eye of the spectator4 ,but numerous cases are met with1 in which metals or water are perceived beneath the surface of the earth1 without the intervention of the rod4 ,a man1 called ,bleton1 from ,dauphiny1 possessed this divining power in a remarkable degree1 as did a ,swiss girl1 called ,katherine ,beutler4 ,she was strong and healthy1 and of a phlegmatic temperament1 yet so susceptible of these influences that1 without the rod1 she pointed out and traced the course of water1 veins of metal1 coal-beds1 salt-mines1 c4 ,the sensations produced were sometimes on the soles of her feet1 sometimes on her tongue1 or in her stomach4 ,she never lost the power wholly1 but it varied considerably in intensity at different times1 as it did with ,bleton4 ,she was also rendered sensible of the bodily pains of others1 by laying her hand on the affected part1 or near it2 and she performed several magnetic cures4 ,a person now alive1 named ,dussange1 in the ,maonns1 possesses this power4 ,he is a simple1 honest man1 who can give no account of his own faculty4 ,the ,abbs ,chatelard and ,paramelle can also discover subterraneous springs2 but they say it is effected by means of their geological science4 ,monsieur ,d----1 of ,cluny1 however1 found the faculty of ,dussange much more to be relied on4 ,the ,greeks and ,romans made hydroscopy an art2 and there are works alluded to as having existed on this subject1 especially one by ,marcellus4 ,the caduceus of ,mercury1 the wand of ,circe1 and the wands of the ,egyptian sorcerers1 show that the wand or rod was always looked upon as a symbol of divination4 ,one of the most remarkable instances of the use of the divining-rod1 is that of ,jacques ,aymar4 ,on the #eth of ,july1 #afib1 a man and his wife were murdered in a cellar at ,lyons1 and their house was robbed4 ,having no clew whatever to the criminal1 this peasant1 who had the reputation of being able to discover murderers1 thieves1 and stolen articles1 by means of the divining-rod1 was sent for from ,dauphiny4 ,aymar undertook to follow the footsteps of the assassins1 but he said he must first be taken into the cellar where the murder was committed4 ,the procurator royal conducted him thither2 and they gave him a rod out of the first wood that came to hand4 ,he walked about the cellar1 but the rod did not move till he came to the spot where the man had been killed4 ,then ,aymar became agitated1 and his pulse beat as if he were in a high fever2 and all these symptoms were augmented when he approached the spot on which they had found the body of the woman4 ,from this1 he1 of his own accord1 went into a sort of shop where the robbery had been committed2 thence he proceeded into the street1 tracing the assassin1 step by step1 first to the court of the archbishop's palace1 then out of the city1 and along the right side of the river4 ,he was escorted all the way by three persons appointed for the purpose1 who all testified that sometimes he detected the traces of three accomplices1 sometimes only of two4 ,he led the way to the house of a gardener1 where he insisted that they had touched a table and one of three bottles that were yet standing upon it4 ,it was at first denied2 but two children1 of nine or ten years old1 said that three men had been there1 and had been served with wine in that bottle4 ,aymar then traced them to the river where they had embarked in a boat2 and1 what is very extraordinary1 he tracked them as surely on the water as on the land4 ,he followed them wherever they had gone ashore1 went straight to the places they had lodged at1 pointed out their beds1 and the very utensils of every description that they had used4 ,on arriving at ,sablon1 where some troops were encamped1 the rod and his own sensations satisfied him that the assassins were there2 but fearing the soldiers would ill treat him1 he refused to pursue the enterprise further1 and returned to ,lyons4 ,he was1 however1 promised protection1 and sent back by water1 with letters of recommendation4 ,on reaching ,sablon1 he said they were no longer there2 but he tracked them into ,languedoc1 entering every house they had stopped at1 till he at length reached the gate of the prison1 in the town of ,beaucaire1 where he said one of them would be found4 ,they brought all the prisoners before him1 amounting to fifteen2 and the only one his rod turned on was a little ,bossu1 or deformed man1 who had just been brought in for a petty theft4 ,he then ascertained that the two others had taken the road to ,nimes1 and offered to follow them2 but as the man denied all knowledge of the murder1 and declared he had never been at ,lyons1 it was thought best that they should return there2 and as they went the way they had come1 and stopped at the same houses1 where he was recognised1 he at length confessed that he had travelled with two men who had engaged him to assist in the crime4 ,what is very remarkable1 it was found necessary that ,jacques ,aymar should walk in front of the criminal1 for when he followed him he became violently sick4 ,from ,lyons to ,beaucaire is forty-five miles4 ,as the confession of the ,bossu confirmed all ,aymar had asserted1 the affair now created an immense sensation2 and a great variety of experiments were instituted1 every one of which proved perfectly satisfactory4 ,moreover1 two gentlemen1 one of them the controller of the customs1 were discovered to possess this faculty1 though in a minor degree4 ,they now took ,aymar back to ,beaucaire1 that he might trace the other two criminals2 and he went straight again to the prison-gate1 where he said that now another would be found4 ,on inquiry1 however1 it was discovered that a man had been there to inquire for the ,bossu1 but was gone again4 ,he then followed them to ,toulon1 and finally to the frontier of ,spain1 which set a limit to further researches4 ,he was often so faint and overcome with the effluvia1 or whatever it was that guided him1 that the perspiration streamed from his brow1 and they were obliged to sprinkle him with water to prevent his fainting4 ,he detected many robberies in the same way4 ,his rod moved whenever he passed over metals or water1 or stolen goods2 but he found that he could distinguish the track of a murderer from all the rest1 by the horror and pain he felt4 ,he made this discovery accidentally1 as he was searching for water4 ,they dug up the ground1 and found the body of a woman that had been strangled4 ,i have myself met with three or four persons in whose hands the rod turned visibly2 and there are numerous very remarkable cases recorded in different works4 ,in the ,hartz1 there is a race of people who support themselves entirely by this sort of divination2 and as they are paid very highly1 and do nothing else1 they are generally extremely worthless and dissipated4 ,the extraordinary susceptibility to atmospheric changes in certain organisms1 and the faculty by which a dog tracks the foot of his master1 are analogous facts to those of the divining-rod4 ,mr4 ,boyle mentions a lady who always perceived if a person that visited her came from a place where snow had lately fallen4 ,i have seen one who1 if a quantity of gloves are given her1 can tell to a certainty to whom each belongs2 and a particular friend of my own1 on entering a room1 can distinguish perfectly who has been sitting in it1 provided these be persons he is familiarly acquainted with4 ,numerous extraordinary stories are extant respecting this kind of faculty in dogs4 ,doubtless not only our bodies1 but all matter1 sheds its atmosphere around it2 the sterility of the ground where metals are found is notorious2 and it is asserted that1 to some persons1 the vapors that emanate from below are visible1 and that1 as the height of the mountains round a lake furnishes a measure of its depth1 so does the height to which these vapors ascend show how far below the surface the mineral treasures or the waters lie4 ,the effect of metals on somnambulic persons is well known to all who have paid any attention to these subjects2 and surely may be admitted1 when it is remembered that ,humboldt has discovered the same sensibility in zoophytes1 where no traces of nerves could be detected2 and1 many years ago1 ,frascatorius asserted that symptoms resembling apoplexy were sometimes induced by the proximity of a large quantity of metal4 ,a gentleman is mentioned who could not enter the mint at ,paris without fainting4 ,in short1 so many well-attested cases of idiosyncratic sensibilities exist1 that we have no right to reject others because they appear incomprehensible4 ,now1 we may not only easily conceive1 but we know it to be a fact1 that fear1 grief1 and other detrimental passions1 vitiate the secretions1#i and augment transpiration2 and it is quite natural to suppose that1 where a crime has been committed which necessarily aroused a number of turbulent emotions1 exhalations perceptible to a very acute sense may for some time hover over the spot2 while the anxiety1 the terror1 the haste1 in short1 the general commotion of system1 that must accompany a murderer in his flight1 is quite sufficient to account for his path being recognisable by such an abnormal faculty1 8for the wicked flee when no man pursueth40 ,we also know that a person perspiring with open pores is more susceptible than another to contagion2 and we have only to suppose the pores of ,jacques ,aymar so constituted as easily to imbibe the emanations shed by the fugitive1 and we see why he should be affected by the disagreeable sensations he describes4 ,the disturbing effect of odors on some persons1 which are quite innoxious to others1 must have been observed by everybody4 ,some people do actually almost 8die of a rose in aromatic pain40 ,boyle says that1 in his time1 many physicians avoided giving drugs to children1 having found that external applications1 to be imbibed by the skin1 or by respiration1 were sufficient2 and the homeopaths occasionally use the same means now4 ,sir ,charles ,bell told me that ,mr4 ,f----1 a gentleman well known in public life1 had only to hold an old book to his nose to produce all the effects of a cathartic4 ,elizabeth ,okey was oppressed with most painful sensations when near a person whose frame was sinking4 ,whenever this effect was of a certain intensity1 ,dr4 ,elliotson observed that the patient invariably died4 ,herein lies the secret of amulets and talismans1 which grew to be a vain superstition1 but in which1 as in all popular beliefs1 there was a germ of truth4 ,somnambulic persons frequently prescribe them2 and absurd as it may seem to many1 there are instances in which their efficacy has been perfectly established1 be the interpretation of the mystery what it may4 ,in a great plague which occurred in ,moravia1 a physician1 who was constantly among the sufferers1 attributed the complete immunity of himself and his family to their wearing amulets composed of the powder of toads1 8which10 says ,boyle1 8caused an emanation adverse to the contagion40 ,a ,dutch physician mentions1 that in the plague at ,nimeguen1 the pest seldom attacked any house till they had used soap in washing their linen4 ,wherever this was done it appeared immediately4 ,in short1 we are the subjects1 and so is everything around us1 of all manner of subtle and inexplicable influences3 and if our ancestors attached too much importance to these ill-understood arcana of the night-side of nature1 we have attached too little4 ,the sympathetic effects of multitudes upon each other1 of the young sleeping with the old1 of magnetism on plants and animals1 are now acknowledged facts3 may not many other asserted phenomena that we yet laugh at be facts also1 though probably too capricious in their nature--by which ,i mean1 depending on laws beyond our apprehension--to be very available8 ,for ,i take it1 that as there is no such thing as chance1 but all would be certainty if we knew the whole of the conditions1 so no phenomena are really capricious and uncertain3 they only appear so to our ignorance and shortsightedness4 ,the strong belief that formerly prevailed in the efficacy of sympathetic cures1 can scarcely have existed1 ,i think1 without some foundation3 nor are they a whit more extraordinary than the sympathetic falling of pictures and stopping of clocks and watches1 of which such numerous well-attested cases are extant that several learned ,german physiologists of the present day pronounce the thing indisputable4 ,i have myself heard of some very perplexing instances4 ,gaffarillus alludes to a certain sort of magnet1 not resembling iron1 but of a black-and-white color1 with which if a needle or knife were rubbed1 the body might be punctured or cut without pain4 ,how can we know that this is not true8 ,jugglers who slashed and cauterized their bodies for the amusement of the public were supposed to avail themselves of such secrets4 ,how is it possible for us1 either1 to imagine that the numerous recorded cases of the ,blood ,ordeal1 which consisted in the suspected assassin touching the body of his victim1 can have been either pure fictions or coincidences8 ,not very long ago1 an experiment of a frightful nature is said to have been tried in ,france on a somnambulic person1 by placing on the epigastric region a vial filled with the arterial blood of a criminal just guillotined4 ,the effect asserted to have been produced was the establishment of a rapport between the somnambule and the deceased which endangered the life of the former4 ,franz von ,baader suggests the hypothesis of a vis sanguinis ultra mortem1 and supposes that a rapport or communio vit may be established between the murderer and his victim2 and he conceives the idea of this mutual relation to be the true interpretation of the sacrificial rites common to all countries1 as also of the ,blutschuld1 or the requiring blood for blood4 ,with regard to the blood ordeal1 the following are the two latest instances of it recorded to have taken place in this country2 they are extracted from 8,hargrave's ,state ,trials30-- 8,evidence having been given with respect to the death of ,jane ,norkott1 an ancient and grave person1 minister of the parish in ,hertfordshire where the murder took place1 being sworn1 deposed1 that the body being taken up out of the grave1 and the four defendants being present1 were required each of them1 to touch the dead body4 ,okeman's wife fell upon her knees1 and prayed ,god to show token of her innocency4 ,the appellant did touch the body1 whereupon the brow of the deceased1 which was before of a livid and carrion color1 began to have a dew1 or gentle sweat on it1 which increased by degrees till the sweat ran down in drops on the face1 the brow turned to a lively and fresh color1 and the deceased opened one of her eyes and shut it again1 and this opening the eye was done three several times2 she likewise thrust out the ring1 or marriage finger1 three times1 and pulled it in again1 and blood dropped from the finger on the grass4 8,sir ,nicholas ,hyde1 the chief justice1 seeming to doubt this evidence1 he asked the witness who saw these things besides him1 to which he1 the witness1 answered1 #8,my lord1 ,i can not swear what others saw1 but ,i do believe the whole company saw it2 and if it had been thought a doubt1 proof would have been made1 and many would have attested with me4 ,my lord1' added the witness1 observing the surprise his evidence awakened1 #8,i am minister of the parish1 and have long known all the parties1 but never had displeasure against any of them1 nor they with me1 but as ,i was minister4 ,the thing was wonderful to me1 but ,i have not interest in the matter1 except as called on to testify to the truth4 ,my lord1 my brother1 who is minister of the next parish1 is here present1 and1 ,i am sure1 saw all that ,i have affirmed4'0 ,hereupon1 the brother1 being sworn1 he confirmed the above evidence in every particular1 and the first witness added1 that having dipped his finger into what appeared to be blood1 he felt satisfied that it was really so4 ,it is to be observed1 that this extraordinary circumstance must have occurred1 if it occurred at all1 when the body had been upward of a month dead2 for it was taken up in consequence of various rumors implicating the prisoners1 after the coroner's jury had given in a verdict of felo de se4 ,on their first trial1 they were acquitted1 but an appeal being brought1 they were found guilty and executed4 ,it was on this latter occasion that the above strange evidence was given1 which1 being taken down at the time by ,sir ,john ,maynard1 then sergeant-at-law1 stands recorded1 as ,i have observed1 in ,hargrave's edition of 8,state ,trials40 ,the above circumstances occurred in the year #afbh1 and in #afhh the blood ordeal was again had recourse to in the trial of ,sir ,philip ,stansfield for parricide1 on which occasion the body had also been buried1 but for a short time4 ,certain suspicions arising1 it was disinterred and examined by the surgeons1 and1 from a variety of indications1 no doubt remained that the old man had been murdered1 nor that his son was guilty of his death4 ,when the body had been washed and arrayed in clean linen1 the nearest relations and friends were desired to lift it and replace it in the coffin2 and when ,sir ,philip placed his hand under it1 he suddenly drew it back1 stained with blood1 exclaiming1 8,oh1 ,god60 and letting the body fall1 he cried1 8,lord1 have mercy upon me60 and went and bowed himself over a seat in the church1 in which the corpse had been inspected4 ,repeated testimonies are given to this circumstance in the course of the trial2 and it is very remarkable that ,sir ,john ,dalrymple1 a man of strong intellect1 and wholly free from superstition1 admits it as an established fact in his charge to the jury4 ,in short1 we are all1 though in different degrees1 the subjects of a variety of subtle influences1 which1 more or less1 neutralize each other1 and many of which1 therefore1 we never observe2 and frequently when we do observe the effects1 we have neither time nor capacity for tracing the cause2 and when in more susceptible organisms such effects are manifested1 we content ourselves with referring the phenomena to disease or imposture4 ,the exemption1 or the power1 whichever it may be1 by which certain persons or races are enabled to handle venomous animals with impunity1 is a subject that deserves much more attention than it has met with2 but nobody thinks of investigating secrets that seem rather curious than profitable2 besides which1 to believe these things implies a reflection on one's sagacity4 ,yet1 every now and then1 ,i hear of facts so extraordinary1 which come to me from undoubted authority1 that ,i can see no reason in the world for rejecting others that are not much more so4 ,for example1 only the other day1 ,mr4 ,b4 ,c----1 a gentleman well known in ,scotland1 who has lived a great deal abroad1 informed me1 that having frequently heard of the singular phenomenon to be observed by placing a scorpion and a mouse together under a glass1 he at length tried the experiment2 and the result perfectly established what he had been previously unable to believe4 ,both animals were evidently frightened1 but the scorpion made the first attack1 and stung the mouse1 which defended itself bravely1 and killed the scorpion4 ,the victory1 however1 was not without its penalties1 for the mouse swelled to an unnatural size1 and seemed in danger of dying from the poison of its defeated antagonist1 when it relieved itself and was cured by eating the scorpion1 which was thus proved to be an antidote to its own venom2 furnishing a most interesting and remarkable instance of isopathy4 ,there is a religious sect in ,africa1 not far from ,algiers1 who eat the most venomous serpents alive1 and certainly1 it is said1 without extracting their fangs4 ,they declare they enjoy the privilege from their founder4 ,the creatures writhe and struggle between their teeth2 but possibly1 if they do bite them1 the bite is innocuous4 ,then1 not to mention the common expedients of extracting the poisonous fangs1 or forcing the animal by repeated bitings to exhaust their venom1 the fact seems too well established to be longer doubted1 that there are persons in whom the faculty of charming1 or1 in other words1 disarming serpents1 is inherent1 as the psylli and marsi of old1 and the people mentioned by ,bruce1 ,hassequist1 and ,lempriere1 who were themselves eye-witnesses of the facts they relate4 ,with respect to the marsi1 it must be remembered1 that ,heliogabalus made their priests fling venomous serpents into the circus when it was full of people1 and that many perished by the bites of these animals1 which the marsi had handled with impunity4 ,the modern charmers told ,bruce that their immunity was born with them2 and it was established beyond a doubt1 during the ,french expedition into ,egypt1 that these people go from house to house to destroy serpents1 as men do rats in this country4 ,they declare that some mysterious instinct guides them to the animals1 which they immediately seize with fury and tear to pieces with their hands and teeth4 ,the negroes of the ,antilles can smell a serpent which they do not see1 and of whose presence a ,european is quite insensible2 and ,madame ,calderon de la ,barca mentions1 in her letters from ,mexico1 some singular cases of exemption from the pernicious effects of venomous bites2 and further relates1 that in some parts of ,america1 where rattlesnakes are extremely abundant1 they have a custom of innoculating children with the poison1 and that this is a preservative from future injury4 ,this may or may not be true2 but it is so much the fashion in these days to set down to the account of fable everything deviating from our daily experience1 that travellers may repeat these stories for ages before any competent person will take the trouble of verifying the report4 ,however1 taking the evidence altogether1 it appears clear that there does exist in some persons a faculty of producing in these animals a sort of numbness1 or engourdissement1 which renders them for the time incapable of mischief2 though of the nature of the power we are utterly ignorant1 unless it be magnetic4 ,the senses of animals1 although generally resembling ours1 are yet extremely different in various instances2 and we know that many of them have one faculty or another exalted to an intensity of which we have no precise conception4 ,galen asserted1 on the authority of the marsi and psylli themselves1 that they obtained their immunity by feeding on the flesh of venomous animals3 but ,pliny1 ,elian1 ,silius ,italicus1 and others1 account for the privilege by attributing it to the use of some substance of a powerful nature1 with which they rubbed their bodies2 and most modern travellers incline to the same explanation4 ,but if this were the elucidation of the mystery1 ,i suspect it would be easily detected4 ,it is observable that in all countries where a secret of this sort exists1 there is always found some custom which may be looked upon as either the cause or the consequence of the discovery4 ,in ,hindostan1 for example1 in order to test the truth of an accusation1 the cobra capello is flung into a deep pot of earth with a ring2 and if the supposed criminal succeeds in extracting the ring without being bitten by the serpent1 he is accounted innocent4 ,so the sacred asps in ,egypt inflicted death upon the wicked1 but spared the good4 ,dr4 ,allnut mentions that he saw a negro in ,africa touch the protruded tongue of a snake with the black matter from the end of his pipe1 which he said was tobacco-oil4 ,the effects were as rapid as a shock of electricity4 ,the animal never stirred again1 but stiffened1 and was as rigid and hard as if it had been dried in the sun4 ,it is related of ,machamut1 a ,moorish king1 that he fed on poisons till his bite became fatal and his saliva venomous4 ,clius ,rhodiginus mentions the same thing of a woman who was thus mortal to all her lovers2 and ,avicenna mentions a man whose bite was fatal in the same way4 ,the boy that was found in the forest of ,arden1 in #aefc1 and who had been nourished by a she-wolf1 made a great deal of money for a short time1 after he was introduced to civilized life1 by exempting the flocks and herds of the shepherds from the peril they nightly ran of being devoured by wolves4 ,this he did by stroking them with his hands1 or wetting them with his saliva1 after which they for some time enjoyed an immunity4 ,his faculty was discovered from the circumstance of the beasts he kept never being attacked4 ,it left him1 however1 when he was about fourteen1 and the wolves ceased to distinguish him from other human beings4 ,however1 my readers will1 ,i think1 ere now have supped full with wonders1 if not with horrors--and it is time ,i should bring this book to a conclusion4 ,if ,i have done no more1 ,i trust ,i shall at least have afforded some amusement2 but ,i shall be better pleased to learn that ,i have induced any one1 if it be but one1 to look upon life and death1 and the mysteries that attach to both1 with a more curious and inquiring eye than they have hitherto done4 ,i can not but think that it would be a great step if mankind could familiarize themselves with the idea that they are spirits incorporated for a time in the flesh2 but that the dissolution of the connection between soul and body1 though it changes the external conditions of the former1 leaves its moral state unaltered4 ,what a man has made himself1 he will be2 his state is the result of his past life1 and his heaven or hell is in himself4 ,at death we enter upon a new course of life1 and what that life shall be depends upon ourselves4 ,if we have provided oil for our lamps1 and fitted ourselves for a noble destiny and the fellowship of the great and good spirits that have passed away1 such will be our portion2 and if we have misused our talent1 and sunk our souls in the sensual pleasures or base passions of this world1 we shall carry our desires and passions with us1 to make our torment in the other--or perhaps be tethered to the earth by some inextinguishable remorse or disappointed scheme1 like those unhappy spirits ,i have been writing about--and that perhaps for hundreds of years2 for1 although they be evidently freed from many of the laws of space and matter1 while unable to leave the earth1 they are still the children of time and have not entered into eternity4 ,it is surely absurd to expect that because our bodies have decayed and fallen away1 or been destroyed by an accident1 that a miracle is to be wrought in our favor1 and that the miser's love of gold1 or the profligate's love of vice1 is to be immediately extinguished1 and be superseded by inclinations and tastes better suited to his new condition6 ,new circumstances do not so rapidly engender a new mind here1 that we should hope they will do so there3 more especially as1 in the first place1 we do not know what facilities of improvement may remain in us2 and in the second1 since the law that like seeks like must be undeviating1 the blind will seek the blind1 and not those who could help them to light4 ,i think1 too1 that if people would learn to remember that they are spirits1 and acquire the habit of conceiving of themselves as individuals1 apart from the body1 that they would not only be better able to realize this view of a future life1 but they would also find it much less difficult to imagine1 that1 since they belong to the spiritual world on the one hand1 quite as much as they belong to the material world on the other1 that these extraordinary faculties1 which they occasionally see manifested by certain individuals1 or in certain states1 may possibly be but faint rays of those properties which are inherent in spirit1 though temporarily obscured by its connection with the flesh--and designed to be so1 for the purposes of this earthly existence4 ,the most ancient nations of the world knew this1 although we have lost sight of it1 as we learn by the sacred books of the ,hebrews4 ,according to the ,cabbalah1 8,mankind are endowed by nature1 not only with the faculty of penetrating into the regions of the supersensuous and invisible1 but also of working magically above and below1 or in the worlds of light and darkness4 ,as the ,eternal fills the world1 sees1 and is not seen1 so does the soul 7,n'schamach7 fill the body1 and sees without being seen4 ,the soul perceives that which the bodily eye can not4 ,sometimes a man is seized suddenly with a fear1 for which he can not account1 which is because the soul descries an impending misfortune4 ,the soul possesses also the power of working with the elementary matter of the earth1 so as to annihilate one form and produce another4 ,even by the force of imagination1 human beings can injure other things2 yea1 even to the slaying of a man60 7,the new platonist1 ,paracelsus1 says the same thing47 ,the 8,cabbalah0 teaches that there have in all times existed men endowed with powers1 in a greater or less degree1 to work good or evil2 for1 to be a virtuoso in either1 requires a peculiar spiritual vigor3 thence1 such men as heroes and priests in the kingdom of ,tumah 7the kingdom of the clean and unclean74 8,if a man therefore sets his desires on what is godly1 in proportion as his efforts are not selfish1 but purely a seeking of holiness1 he will be endowed1 by the free grace of ,god1 with supernatural faculties2 and it is the highest aim of existence1 that man should regain his connection with his inward1 original source1 and exalt the material and earthly into the spiritual40 ,the highest degree of this condition of light and spirit is commonly called 8the holy ecstasy10 which is apparently the degree attained by the ecstatics of the ,tyrol4 ,i am very far from meaning to imply that it is our duty1 or in any way desirable1 that we should seek to bring ourselves into this state of holy ecstasy1 which seems to involve some derangement of the normal relations between the soul and body2 but it is at least equally unwise in us to laugh at1 or deny it or its proximate conditions1 where they really exist4 ,it appears perfectly clear that1 as by giving ourselves up wholly to our external and sensuous life1 we dim and obscure the spirit of ,god that is in us--so1 by annihilating1 as far as in us lies1 the necessities of the body1 we may so far subdue the flesh as to loosen the bonds of the spirit1 and enable it to manifest some of its inherent endowments4 ,ascetics and saints have frequently done this voluntarily2 and disease1 or a peculiar constitution1 sometimes does this for us involuntarily3 and it is far from desirable that we should seek to produce such a state by either means1 but it is extremely desirable that we should avail ourselves of the instruction to be gained by the simple knowledge that such phenomena have existed and been observed in all ages2 and that thereby our connection with the spiritual world may become a demonstrated fact to all who choose to open their eyes to it4 ,with regard to the cases of apparitions ,i have adduced1 they are not1 as ,i said before1 one hundredth part of those ,i could have brought forward1 had ,i resorted to a few of the numerous printed collections that exist in all languages4 ,whether the view ,i acknowledge myself to take of the facts be or not the correct one--whether we are to look to the region of the psychical or the hyperphysical for the explanation--the facts themselves are certainly well worthy of observation2 the more so1 as it will be seen that1 although ghosts are often said to be out of fashion1 such occurrences are1 in reality1 as rife as ever3 while1 if these shadowy forms be actually visiters from the dead1 ,i think we can not too soon lend an attentive ear to the tale their reappearance tells us4 ,that we do not all see them1 or that those who promise to come do not all keep tryst1 amounts to nothing4 ,we do not know why they can come1 nor why they can not2 and as for not seeing them1 ,i repeat1 we must not forget how many other things there are that we do not see3 and since1 in science1 we know that there are delicate manifestations which can only be rendered perceptible to our organs by the application of the most delicate electrometers1 is it not reasonable to suppose that there may exist certain susceptible or diseased organisms1 which1 judiciously handled1 may serve as electrometers to the healthy ones8 ,as my book is designed as an inquiry1 with a note of interrogation ,i characteristically bid adieu to my readers4 ,c4 ,c4 ----- #i ,in the 8,medical ,annals10 a case is recorded of a young lady whose axillary excretions were rendered so offensive1 by the fright and horror she had experienced in seeing some of her relations assassinated in ,india1 that she was unable to go into society4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected4 ,where multiple spellings occur1 majority use has been employed4 ,punctuation has been maintained except where obvious printer errors occur4