The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-03-11

'IFFIN, OHIO, THUR
anything blocdshot and feverisl
there ? No / avoid your glance
| Look me straight in the eye. Now
give your professional Judgment"
L must have grinned in a mannel
Z most ex2speratiDg tn an earnest in
I quirer as l gaZed into Toms honest
face and calm blue eyes, and felt ;
pulse full, strong, and perfectly Tegn
lar in its beat, as my sense told me
! quite below seventy-eight.
'I don't know as I can trust you
Tom," said ], laughing. "You are
doubtless, as mad ss a March hare
but probably, there is nothing here tC
excite display OF your mania"
''Its no fOoling matter" responded
my friend. 81 want to know exactly
what you think whether you SCI
anything strange about me-"
"Dear old fellow" said /, at last, &
/ little troubled, "your head is as sound
as a nut, and dnn't you go tO crack il
with such bOtherstiou. There is nc
surer way TO get the hypo than tC
| think about it,"
"Well, l believe you," said Tom.
"But that settles the question. Ii
Pm not going crazy, | know what
I am"
"What's that ?"
"FlOOred"
"Eh ?I
"Smitten Smashed Done up en-
tirely SpoOney On a ghost ~ ejacu-
lated Tom, as if to exhaust the syDO-
nyms of slang in aiding my c0mpre-
heDsiOn.
Now, as neither Tom nor myself
was even approaching that condition
of material prosperity which is
thought a necessary precedent OF mat
rimOny, it should, perhaps, have been
considered an act OF profound dis
cretion on bis part to fall in love, il
fall he must, with a creature so mex
pensiYe and tangible as ghost; but
the statement was none the less
strange aud possibly alarming. 1t
certainly required explanation.
That's about the long and short OF
T." continued Tom, leaning back his
head and sending the smoke through
his nostrils toward the ceiling. 'Il
Pm subject to illusions and that sort
Of thing, Pm all right I; it is only an
insane imagining. If my head is
clear, as you say it is, then won't an
swer for myself. The first time saw
her at Madame LAstra's--"
"YOu don't mean to say you've been
running after that sort of humbug,
Tom" exclaimed in amazsment.
81 mean to say exactly that" re-
piled he; Hand l don't know about
its being q humbug, either or, that a
lawyer hasn't as much right to inves-
tigate psychicsl phehomena as a ply
sician. But was going 70 say that
the first time / went to one of those
Undertaking seances 1 fell in love
with that girl.".
"Then she's isn't a ghost ?;'
"OhI you know what mean. They
call it materialiZed spirit. don't
mind talking to you about her, Roger,
and l have been bursting to talk to
some one. 1 find 1 can't keep it to
myself; she is really growing fond Of
me-"
ga true spirit love.n
"And isn't that the truest kind
She always wears my flowers now
when she appears and Madame says
that If / am not there she seems more
shadowy and sad. Two weeks ago she
let me kiss her hand, and when had
a private sitting she really p1t her
cheek against mine. II it were not
for those touches | should think with
you that it is all hum6ug; but they
thrill me now. Then L thought, per-
II n H. In.
Perhaps you can't tell. Are you sure?
But your brain is clear enough, and
you shall come with me and see for
yourself" .--. -
"When 2" .-s fft
''This evening"" answered Tom,
pulling out his watch. "Madame be-
gins her seance at s. W. shall have
Just fifteen minutes to get there"
The doorway before which Tom
halted me was the entrance to one of
those semi-public buildings in which
rooms may be hired for any cOnceiva-
ble purpose on payment of rent week.
~ in advance, whether one may wish
to use them for preaching, for manu-
or for lodging. There was
evidently a photographers room in
the upper story, for padlOcked shut
ters hid what must have been a re-
display of "art" just inside
the wall of the passage. The words
Office" Knocked the pass
er in brilliant letters on one side; and
opposite swung a flattened representa-
ton of the human leg, which, when
viewed in profile, illustrated the le-
gend of "Gaiters made to Order" and
when seen edgewise painfully suggest
ed victim of the torture of the iron
boot. There was of course a dentist
up one flight, and the sign of patent
of some sort Was very fresh
at the foot of the staircase.
The street lamp shone brightly, or
the modest tin plate tackled on one of
the jambs of the doorway, announcing
Madame Estelle LAstra, Clairvoy-
ant" would have been invisible. Tom
preceded me up the stairs, turned to
the right through a close darkness
that seemed to make itself smelt, and
another flight at the top of
which swung a dim kerosene lamp,
oily rays Cn two cards OF the
showcase order, one of which read
Madame Estelle L'Astra, Business
and Healing Medium ~ and, the 9TH
er, "Seance Tonight ;" while the
hand of an uuprofessiOnal letterer had
added in riekety print beneath, "Walk
In"
"As [ followed ny companion
through the door, which he opened as
if familiar with the peculiar weakness
es of the loose knot aud the rattling
latch, there smote upon my senses
that Odor, indescribable in words,
which is found only in apartments
bearing more than their share of tile
burdens of daily human existence.
There was a suggestion of tea and
toast in the air, with possibly some
thing fried a sofa-bed and curtain
ed recess, which was doubtless a lava
tory, limited other family uses of the
room faint favor of wet gingham
fioated in from the umbrella-stand in
the entry to mingle with the scent of
the lamps and when to these were
added the burdened eXhalations of
some dozen persons already assembled
for the exhibition, it did not seem al
together incredible that from such an
a spirit having synthetic
power could easily gather the means
OF naturalization.
"Fifty cents admission, if you
please" said large and not unkindiy
looking woman as we passed into this
home of mysteries, advancing with an
assumed dignity Iudicrousiy out of
keeping with the nature of her de-
mand. "Ah Mr.. Bolter am glad
to see you. We had a beautiful Sc
ance last evening. They were all so
harmonious. We don't often get the
conditions so perfect I; harmony is so
essential. There was lady here who
received a wonderful test. 1t was her
brother, killed two years ago by the
Indians in Arizona. l was under the
control of Big Mountain, and he de-
scribed it exactly. He gave the ini-
tials of the name-J. V. R.-whieh
sre very uncommon initials. Lillian
didn't seem in good spirits last night
and couldn't materialiZe, only her
hands. 1t was a great dissppoint-
ment. Do you know she tells me she
is never so strong as when you are in
the room. She draws a great deal
from you, and that is relief to me
it is so exhausting TO my magnetism
to keep up the supply of her currents
when she materializes."
During the progress of this profes-
sional monologue, l had opportunity
to regard the person who had such IA
miliar relations with the unseen.
,rvoz n 4aII