The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-03-19
A Nice Little Ghost Story.

AFTER" occurs the following striking
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 per
sons who cannot believe that, as the,
put it, the living should be able to se'
the dead. Neither do I believe it
But as the spirit lives, though the ma
terial body no longer incloses it, surely
there can be no difficulty in believing
that the living spirit within an earthly
body may see living spirit which ha:
escaped from it's material garment
! We do not doubt that after the death
of the body the spirit will live and see
other spirit; similarly freed from earth,
and it is no very great matter that the
living should see the living, though one
be still enshrined in its earthly taber-
nacle, and the other released from it.
'This being granted-and it is not
very mueh 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 can
be exercised, is shown by the story Of
Balaam. 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
spiritual being, could only see with a
spiritual eye; and it therefore follows
that, unless the story be completely
| false, the animal possessed a spirit, and
saw with the eye of that spirit.
''I should think that none who be-
lieve in the truth of the Holy Scriptures
land [ again remind the reader that
this book is only intended for those who
do so), 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,
l do not see how any one can doubt
that the spirit which saw the angel par
took of his Immortality, just as her out
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 in the same spiritual
plane.
"I have for long time had in my
possession letter from a lady, in which
she narrates a personal adventure which
has a singularly close resemblance to
the Scriptural story of Balaam. 1t had
been told me Immediately after threw
out my 'feeler' in the common objects
of the country As [ had at that time
the intention of vindicating the immOr
tality of the lower animals, [ requested
the narrator to write it, so that l 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:
It was during the winter of 18-
that happened to be sitting by the
side of a cheerful fire in my bedroom,
busily engaged caressing a favorite cat
the illustrious Lady Catharine, now,
alas no more. She lay in pensive
attitude and 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 Op
pOsite side of the room, which cOmmu
nicated with the passage.
"' Mamma had not left me many min
utes, and the gh-backed, old-fash-
ioned 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 pondered on
the propriety of preparing for bed.
OF a sudden L became aware that
something had affected my pets equa-
nimity. The purring ceased, and she |
exhibited rapidly-increasing symptoms !
of uneasiness. l bent down, and en-
deavored to coax her into quietness ; |
but she instantly struggled to her feet |
in my lap, and splitting vehemently, |
with back arched and tail swollen, she |
assumed q 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, l then |
perceived that a little, hideous, wrinkled |
old hag 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 OverpOG ering lustre, we're |
steadfastly fixed on me. It was as if |
fend were glaring at me through them. |
Her dress and general appearance de-
noted her to belong to the French |
but those eyes, SO wonder
fully large, and in their expression so
wicked, entirely absorbed my
senses, and precluded any attention to
detail. I should have screamed, but
my breath was gone while that terrible
gaze so horribly fascinated me; could
neither withdraw my eyes nor rise from
my seat.
"'I had meanwhile been trying to
keep 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
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 l
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 that
the animal had gone mad had the effect
of restoring my breath, and 1 screamed
loudly.
"'Mamma 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. I turned to point to the
object of my terror it was gone.
Under such circumstances the lapse of
time is difficult to appreciate, but I
should think that the apparition lasted
about four or five minutes.
''' Some time afterward it transpired
that foEner proprietor of the house,
a woman, had hanged herself In that
very room.
1.-THE close and evidently unsus-
oected resemblance of this narrative to
5he story of Balaam is worthy of notice.
In both cases we have the remarkable
'act that the animal was the first to see
5he spiritual being, and to show by its