Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-03-18

WHILE we are on the subject Of
ghosts, which unfortunately, the mass
OF plain common sense people some
how can never manage to get a sight
Of. we must confess that there is a not
inconsiderable1 number who believe
in them most religiOusly. We under
stand that, springing mostly from the
hot-bed Of the isms, and somewhat
inhabiting the Empire as well as the
Keystone State, there was es-
timated to be not less than a million
profound believers in spiritism in
1886. They actually saw immaterial
ghosts, and numbers could call them
Up and catechise them at viii. They
touched them and talked with them,
heard what they said, and received
reports of conversations held with
Webster, Clay, Calhoun and Jackson,
the purport of which proved cOnclu-
sivelv that the minds of those venera-
ted statesmen had undergone q pro-
cess Of dilutiOu 10 somewhat homo
pathic pr0p0rtiOns-beeu "watered'
or otherwise deteriOrated, since their
change of residence. a few silly peO-
pie express doubts Of the reality
Of those SEPARATIONS, ridicule the
testimony Of the v~eraciOus witnesses
who have seen, felt, handled and had
familiar intercourse with invisible,
immaterial, impOnderable and unap-
p~roachable ghosts. And the result
has been the O~UtgrOwth Of an abOmi-
nable seeptlcism OF late years as TO the
whole subject And even intelligent
men have been heard to declare their
belief that an the ghosts of ancient
and modern times were and are mere
fsncies aud illusions of the ~disOrdered
senses. Thus the sacred testimony is
set aside ia their minds, and it is made
evident that some few will doubt the
most miraculous things, and prove
wicked enough to dispute the mean
ing Of the Rochester knOckings, or
even to deny the supernatural won
ders produced at viii by the Daven-
port brothers, OF the rickety ghost Of
Brinkley College. 1t is astonishing to
see how little faith some people have.
We subjoin the following extract from
Applet0n's CyclopU1ia:
The great mass Of mankind never
perceive aDparitiOns, and are unable
10 perceive them, even when they are
said to be present and TO be sensible
30 the sight, hearing and touch Of
those Who have the peculiar faculty
OR disease OF ghOst-seeing. This fac
ultv does not belong to man in his
normal state; il is a junction Of abnOr-
NAL c~erebnatiOn. Our knowledge IN
regard TO which svery unsatisfactory
I'm many important particulars. A
large proportion Of persons IA the
states of insanity Including detiriloa
tremsHs), sOmnambulism and dream
ing, and a very small proportion OF
those in the possession OF their nor
NAL consciousness, perceive apparI-
tons. These apparitiOns, seen IN du-
ferent states, all appear to bear a
great resemblance to each other. They
may be divided into classes according
10 the manner in which they are per
ceiyed. The largest class is of those
which are seen; the second class in
cludes those which are only heard By
their voice, step, or the rustling Of
their garments (t0r the divine, angelic
aud human apparitiOns usually
dressed ina the fashion supposed to be
L-.a.nrnHn A. HHrHn a.
tiOn), the third class makes impres.
sions on the ens Of touch; and the
fourth class is Of those which are per
ceived By two or o of the said
senses; for, Of course, smell and taste
are not used for ~perCeiving ghosts any
more than for perceiviBg real human
beings. Visible appariuon5 are usu-
ally smOke-like ln appearance, and
more or less transparent; but the inn
pressions made by some on thesenses
of hearing and touch are precisely
similar 70 the impressions made by
objects whose reality is admitted by
all. ASPIRATIONS may be again di-
vided into those which are supposed,
when perceived, TO be mere illusions
Of sense, and those which are sup
posed 20 be objective realities. Per-
haps the most noted case of an appa-
ritiOn known to be nlusOFy s that Of
Nic0lai, q bookseller of Berlih who
read a paper on his experience with
apparitiOns before the Royal Academy
al Berlin, in 1893. While he was III.
the sDectars Of number of human
beings appeared 70 him day after dav
f,r several months. Some Of these
we're the phantasm5 Of living friends,
mt most were strangers. The same
f0lras came 60 visit him daily, fol-
Ioa1ed him about, spoke to him and %
eseh other, SO that he could hear
fbem distinctly, and moved about
Ike living persons. Finally, 10 gel
ia al their presence, he submitted tC
be Ieeched; and, a he lost blood, they