The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-03-20
A Nice Little Ghost Story,

In a new volume by Rev. J. S. Woo
. entitled "Man and Beast here and her;
] after" occurs the following strikin
ghost-story, which the reader ma
credit or not, as he is accustomed to d
in regard to legends of this sort :
'There are, as we know, many pei
sons who cannot believe that, as the
put it, the living should be able to sc
the dead. Neither do 1 believe il
But as the spirit lives, though the ma
terial body no longer incloses it, surel
! there can be no difficulty in believing
that the living spirit within an earthl
body may see living spirit which ha
escaped from its material garment
, We do not doubt that after the dealt
of the body the spirit will live and SCI
other spirit, similarly freed from earth
and it is no very great matter that tn,
living should see the living, though on,
be still enshrined in it's earthly taber
nacle, and the other released from it
"This being granted-and it is no
very much to grant-it necessarily fol
lows that if the lower animals possess
spirit, they may be capable of spiritual
as well as material vision. That they
do possess this power, and that it car
be exercised, is shown by the story Of
BALKAN. There we find it definitely
stated not only that the ass saw the
angel, but that she saw him long before
her master did. Now, the angel, being
q spiritual being, could only see with a
spiritual eye; and it therefore follows
that, unless the story be completely
false, the animal possessed spirit, and
saw with the eye of that spirit.
81 should think that none who be-
lieve in the truth of the Holy Scriptures
(and I again remind the reader that
this book is only intended for those who
do SOY, could doubt that here is a case
which proves that the spirit of the ass
was capable of seeing and fearing the
spiritual angel. And if that be granted,
that the spirit which saw the angel par
ward eye, which saw material objects,
partook of their mortality. Shortly
| afterward, the eyes of the prophet were
| opened, and he also saw the angel but
it must be remembered that the eyes of
| the beast had been opened first, and
that she, her master, and the angel,
met for the time i- the same spiritual
plane.
"I have for O long time had in my
possession a letter from lady, in which
she narrates personal adventure which
has singularly close resemblance to
the Scriptural story of BALKAN. 1t had
been told me Immediately after threw
out nv sfeeler' in the common objects
of the country As had at that time
the intention of indicating the immor-
tality of the lower animals, ]. requested
the narrator to write it, SO that might
possess the statement authenticated in
her own handwriting.
cat the time of the occurrence, the
lady and her mother were living in an
old country chateau in France:
"sIt was during the winter of 49,
that 1 happened to be sitting by the
side of cheerful fire in my bedroom,
busily engaged caressing favorite cat
the illustrious Lady Catharine, now,
alas no more. She lay in pensive
attitude and q winking state of drowsi-
ness in my lap.
Although my room might be with
out candles, it was perfectly illuminated
by the light of the fire. There were
two doors-one behind me, leading into
an apartment which had been locked
for the winter, and another on the OPP
posite side of the room, which commu-
nicated with the passage.
"sMamma had not left me many min
utes, and the high-backed, old-fash-
Toned armchair, which she had occu-
pied, remained vacant at the opposite
corner of the fireplace. Puss, who lay
with her head on my arm, became more
and more sleepy, and 1 pondered on
the propriety Of preparing for bed.
"sOf a sudden became aware that
nimity. The purring ceased, and she
kaI cinu ortnma
of uneasiness. I bent down, and en-
but she instantly struggled to her feet
in my lap, and splitting vehemently,
with back arched and tail swollen, she
assumed mingled attitude of terror
and defiance.
"'The change in her position obliged
me to raise my head and on looking
up, to my inexpressible horror, then
perceived that little, hideous, wrinkled
old bag occupied mammals chair. Her
hands were rested on her knees, and her
body was stopped forward SO as to bring
her face in close proximity to mine.
Her eyes, piercingly fierce and SHIN
ing with an overpoW ering lustre, we're
steadfastly fixed on me. It was as if
fiend were glazing at me through them.
Her dress and general appearance de-
noted her to belong to the French
bourgeosie; but those eyes, SO wonder
fully large, and in their expression SO
intensely wicked. entirely absorbed my
senses, and precluded any attention to
detail I should have screamed, but
my breath was gone while that terrible
gaze 80 horribly fascinated me l could
neither withdraw my eyes nor rise from
my seat.
"'I had meanwhile been trying to
keep a tight hold on the cat, but she
seemed resolutely determined not to
remain in such ugly neighborhood, and
after some most desperate efforts at
length succeeded in escaping from my
grasp. Leaping over tables, chairs,
and all that came in her way, she re-
peatedly threw herself, with frightful
violence, against the top panel of the
door which communicated with the dis
used room. Then, returning in the
same frantic manner, she furiously
dashed against the door on the opposite
side.
My terror was divided, and /
looked by turns, now at the old woman,
whose great, staring eyes were con-
stantly fixed on me, and now at the cat,
who was becoming every instant more
frantic. At last the dreadful idea thst
the animal had gone mad had the effect
of restoring my breath, and I screamed
loudly.
"sMamma ran in Immediately, and
the cat, on the door opening, literally
sprang over her head, and for upward
of half an hour ran up and down stairs
as if pursued. turned to point to the
object of my terror; it was gone.
Under such circumstances the lapse of
time is difficult to appreciate, but /
should think that the apparition lasted
about four or five minutes.
"'Some time afterward it TRANSFERRED
that former proprietor of the house,
a woman, had hanged herself in that
very room.
1.-THE close and evidently unsus-
pected resemblance of this narrative to
the story of BALKAN is worthy of notice.
In both cases we have the remarkable