Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-08-29
A Midsummer Moons Phantasm.
From Lippincotfs Mor,hly Magazine

tuCu, - very I6ir LDlDg on one oil
the oldest of subjects. Ny case il
different. have been trying all my
life TO believe in ghosts, and saw my
first four days ago. Toward noon
fell into doxe-very short and slight
it must have been--over my book.
No one was 10 the room, and the
door was closed. The book wa.
held up in the usual position, little
below the level OF the eye, in the
right hand. awoke-if the word
can be applied to what was so very
slight Sunderland saw limned
with perfect distinctness against the
page the head of a girl or boy six OF
eight years old, blue eyed, light
haired, and fair but not clear in com.
plexion. 1t was below life-size, no,
more than four inches in height
Only the head was visible, witho nj
nythlng below :he jaw. At first il
seemed perfectly solid, hut the lines
of print, which were still held up as
in reading, gradually showed them.
selves through the fading apparition
until it entirely died away. This
happened in about third OF min
ute, the beautiful little face continu
ing tho whole time TO gaze at nae
with calm but not sad expression
1t was not in full front, the right side
being turned to me in what is called
three quarter position. The light
which Illuminated it did not come
from the window, which was direct
ly behind mo and gave all the light
there was IN tho room, and yet the
impression was in DO respecs that OF
picture. Not for moment did
this Interpretation occur TO me,
strongly as did the evanescent char
acter OF the head initiate against
the idea Of reality. The fading was
most rapid at the occiput, and may
be said to have begun there, extend
ing to the right and upward. There
was no background or accessory OF
any kind. tho head being quite iso-
lated and detached, otjectively as
subJeo,ively.
The linoaments we're not those OF
any one of my acqunin lance. and ro-
called no countenance | had ever
seen. Ii tho appearance suggested
a young member of the family, it
was not because Of resemblance, but
from his being frequently in my
mind, and apt to be associated vita
any alarm due to tho ,inge Of super
stition from which none OF us are
wholly free. For the reason already
given it could not have heen q
"reminiscences OF picture. The shad-
ing and coloring we're too exact tor
anything painted. My easel was. it
is true, near BY, on the opposite side
of me, and on it were two heads OF
nearly the size of that | describe ;
but they were hard featured old
saints of deep mahogany hue, re.
lieved by a very dark background,
and therefore the exact antipodes oil
my shadowy visitant. On these
had been painting an hour or two
before and that is the solitary con-
! nection conceivable between the
spectre and anything tangible. The
reader will perhaps be inclined to
set it down as having been compli.
mentary to them. l do not think il
was; but were it so. the point main.
ly craving explanation remains I'm.
touched-that what saw was with
waking eye. 1t may have come
from the land Of dreams, or from g
remote outlaying province of it, bu,
its perceptible existence was entirely
in the realm of actuaIities. l was
not conscious, and had no recollec.
ton, OF having had dream. 1t i.
true that, according to theory
necessarily and in its nature incapa
BILE of being sustained by positivs
proof, we may have conscious dreams
and BIO always dreaming when ASLEEP
without knowing it. Persons who
rise at night, take pen and paper and
solve problems which had been the
worry of thir waking hours, and
return to their couch still asleep, pre-
sent cases analogous to mine in sc
far as their unconscious mental ac
! tivity leaves an outcome and expires
sion obvious to the senses. Another
parallel would be that of q sleep
walking artist who should when ir
q state of sornnambulism execute 9
picture. But neither case would b.
identical in principle with mine
The artist and the mathematician
would both have executed in theiI
sleep what they had laid the founda
ton of when awake. l, on the othel
hand, would, should transfer my
aerial sitter to canvas, simply pain
what / saw when wide awake, JUS
as 10 undertaking to reproduce any
other face from memory, whether
!, observed once for twenty seconds Oh
frequently and for longer periods.
IL is usual to explain the common
stories of phantoms by attributine
them to ocular illusion, aided or no
aided by the Imagination or by par
ticular conditions of the bodily Of
mental health. The eye of course il
never quite proof against deceptie n
but there needs some little materia
for it; IL my case there was abso
lutely none--no waving sheet OF
trees or clouds, nothing but thu
printed page; and that was visible
unchanged except by tho utterly in
harmonious and contrasted image be
fore it. My Imagination was not at
fected before, at the time, or after
My pulse may have been LITTLE
quickened for the moment, for 1 dit
not accept the appearance as mat
ter of course, as we do everything
however preposterous, in q dream
but, on the contrary, quite recog
nized its abnormal character. l know
of no existing cause OF especial o.
temporary liability to any deiusioI
of the kind. In short, though 1 hav'
not-and had not when l continued
after the disappearance to contem
plate, without . muscle, the bcol
against which the head had bee.
projected, and coolIy reflect upol
what had seen--the slightest be
lief that it was supernatural, | shoult