The Republican journal., 1869-05-27
A NIGHT IN THE GHOST-WORLD.

erately acquainted with human opinions, that
there is almost universal belief in ghosts. Or
| if that is Il too broad and vulgar way of eX-
| pressing the belief let us rather say, q uni
versal feeling verging on belief, if not reach
/ ING it, that there are certainly ''more things
/ in heaven and earth than our daylight phi
oeophN accepts OF or account for; that there
are revelations from a world unseen by the
carnal eye, unheard by the carnal ear which
come to the seeing and hearing faculties of
the spirit in certain states of mind and body
which are alone susceptible of this inter
course: that these revelations assume divers
forms, ii may be Of strange sights and sounds,
vivid dreams, sudden and ovcrpowering i'm
pressions, apparitions, ghosts, spirit-knock-
ngs. call them what YOU please, which
compel the belief that the ghost world with
which we are unquestionably surrounded,
| mpinges occasionally on the familiar, or on
what we call the actual. Just as strange and
rare birds from another tar-otf cline are some
times driven by storms on our coasts.
| This is a subject to which have paid some
attention. Without as far as can discover,
any prejudice to warp my judgment, or any
want of such Il careful and cautious induction
as detective might bestow in tracing out the
i'll the incest balance, have collected several
unquestionable ,ttcts, in which have no hesi-
tation whatever in publicly acknowledging g
my belief; and shall, therefore, devote the
rest OF this paper to a narrative, which the
reader may rest assured is strictly t1ue and
then shall leave him to Judge for himself as
to how far such mysterious phenomena as it
records can he accounted for
\ friend Of mine, a medical man, was on a
fishing expedition with an Old college aC-
/ quantance, an army surgeon, whom he had
not met for many years, from his having been
in India with his regiment. MDonad, the
army surgeon. was Il thorough Highlander,
slightly timged with what is called the super
stition OF his countrymen, and at the time
speak of was liable to rather depressed spirits
from an unsound liver. His native air was,
however, rapidly renewing his youth; and
when he and his old friend paced along the
banks OF the fishing stream in lonely part
Of Argyleshirc, and sent their lines like airy
gossamers over pools, and touched the water
over salmon nose, so temptingly that the
best principled and wisest fish could not resist
the bite, MDonald had apparently regained
all his buoyancy Of spirit They had been
fishing together for about a week with great
success, when MDonald proposed to pay a
visit TO q family he was acquainted with,
which would separate him from his friend for
some days But whenever he spoke of their
intended separation, he sank down into his
old gloomy state at one time declaring that
he felt as if they were never to meet again.
My friend tried to rally him, but in vain.
They parted at the trouting stream MDon-
aids route being across mountain pass, with
which. however, he had been well acquainted
in his youth, though the road was lonely and
wild in the extreme. The Doctor returned
early in the evening to his resting-place, which
was a shepherds house lying on the very
| outskirts OF the ''settlements,' and beside 4
toaming mountain stream. The shepherds
only attendants at the time were two herd lads,
and three dogs, Attached to the hut, and
communicating with it by a short passage
was rather a comfortable room which 1.-the
Laird had fitted up to serve as a sort of lodge
for himself in the midst Of shooting ground
and which he had put for a fortnight at the
disposal Of my friend.
Shortly after sunset Oh the day mention
the wind began to rise suddenly to gale the
rain descended in torrents and the night be
came extremely dark. The shepherd seemed
uneasy, and several times went to the door tC
inspect the weather. AT last he reused the
fears of the Doctor for MDonald's safety, by
expressing the hope that by this time he was
''owre that awful black moss, and across the
red burn" Every traveller in the Highlands
knows how rapidly these mountain streams
4 dark night ..The black moss and red burn
We're words that We're never after forgot by
the Doctor from the strange feelings they
produced when first heard that night fo1
there came into his mind terrible thoughts and
torebodings about poor MDonad, and re-
proaches for never having considered his
possible danger in attempting such Journey
alone. In vain the shepherd assured him that
he must have reached a place of safety before
the darkness and the storm came on A pre-
sentiment which he could not cast off made
him so miserable that he could hardly refrain
from tears. But nothing could be done to re-
lleve the anxiety now become painful.
The Doctor at last retired to bed about mid
night. For Il long time he could not sleep
The raging Of the stream below the small
window, and the Muds of the storm, made
HIM teVerish and restless. But at last he fel
INTO sound and dreamless sleep. Out of this
however, he was suddenly reused by pecu-
mar morse IN his room,-not very loud, but
utterly indescribable. He heard tap, tap. tap
at the window; and he knew, from the rela-
ton which the wall of the room bore to the
: rock, that the glass could not be touched by
human hand. After listening for a moment
ana forcing himself to smile at his nervous
ness, he turned round, and began again tC
seek repose. But now noise began, too dis
tilNI 'tilu lou'l W lllttkt Slcc possible. Start
ing and sitting up in bed, he heard repeated
in rapid succession, as if some one was spit
ting in anger, and close to his bed-sFit fit
ht"' and then Il prolonged ''whir-r-r'' from
another part of the room, while every chain
began to move, and the table to Jerk. The
Doctor remained in breathess silence. with
every faculty intensely acute. He frankly
confessed that he heard his heart beating, fol
the sound was so unearthly, SO horrible, an6
something seemed to come so near him, thai
he began seriously to consider whether ornot
he had some attack Of fever which affected
his brain,-for remember, he had not tasted q
drop OF the shepherds small store of whiskev
He felt his own pulse, composed his spirits
and compelled himself to exercise calm iude
mcnt. Straining his eyes to discover any.
thing, he plainly saw at last a white obiee
moving but without sound, before him. He
knew that the door was shut and the window
also. An overpowering conviction than seizec
; him, which he could not resist, that his fren6
MDonald was dead! By an effort he seizeo
a luciter-box on chair beside him, and struck