The Princeton union., 1879-08-13
FIFTY DISEMBODIED SPIRITS.

Ghost Stories Founded Upon Somewhat Re-
markable Facts-The Glorified Image of a
81 Dying woman-A Spccter That Must Have
Z Crossed the Atlantic. si5I g&<sg ,ail&
New York Mercury. .inf ..s'r.... ..... ,. r.
~ The writer was present at small gath
er1ng Of earnest men in the parlors Of IS
well known physician on the West Side
a few days since. The conversation grad
ually took . spirualistic turn, when the
host sur rprised his hearers by stating that
he had been praetieing medicine for over
forty years, and that he had certainly
seen the soul eidolen, or spirit, Of at least
fifty persons during that period. There
was g general murmur of incredulity,
and one one gentleman remarked: ct was
all imagination, i'm Of course :, The doctor
repudiated that theory. sssHad I been
the only witness to these spectral forms, .
he said, Il might attribute the appear
ance to some abnormal condition of NV
system He then related the following
curious experience, with the special re-
quest that his name should not be made
public in connection with any newspaper
article ..... . .,,ra.n,.. =. .....', ',..'li4..
About six months since he was sum-
nloned to the bedside of an aged lady
who had been an occasional patient of
his. The matron's two married daue ehters
We're. present, and, although they were
both middle-aged women, they apparent
~ did not suspect that their mother was
so close upon the shore of the dark river.
The extremities were cold; the features
were pinched and palid; the heart alter
nately beat and huttered with. labored
slowness. The doctor informed the ladies
that their mother was nearing her end,
and that ali he could do would be to cx-
hibit stimulent which would afford
temporary relief by driving the blood
from the heart TO the eNtremeties. t.&
The stlmulant was administered in tea
spoontuls, with the result predicted.
Next day, however, when he called he
found the old lady was sinking fast. She
was quite unconscious. Her energies ap-
peared to be entirely lulled.s She was
moved by none of these dreams which
impel the dying life to murmur out the
names of friends or the occupations and
recollcctions of past life She was leay-
ing the world as unconsciously as four
score years ago she had entered it. She
lay on bed on the parlor floor: or, to be
more spefic, her bed was placed IN the
Intern Mediate room between the two par
lors, and separated from them by folding
doors. The doctor took seat near the
foot of the bed. The eldest daughter oc-
cupied a similar position. There was
nothing further to be done but to wait for
the end. 1t was in the afternoon, merg
ing toward evening. The light in the
apartment was subdued, but sufficient to
see every fold and wrinkle perfectly.
AS the doctor and the elder daughter
sat there sadly gazing the former began
to perceive a peculiar change in the bed
clothes. The dying woman lay on the
further side Of the large bed. On the
side nearest him there was a gradual up
heaval Of the bed-clothes, as ifsome form
were slowly rising from the mattress be-
low. Gradually this weird expansion as
sumed the form of o human being. It
became, in fact, the duplication Of the
dying woman. There " ere the features.
the form, everything perfect; only the
spectral, or soul face, was turned to-
ward the dyln9, actual face, and about
six inches from it, The doctor oszed
steadfastly at the two forms, WONDERING
whether the daughter were youchsafed
the same revelation. Suddenly she started
up, crying :"Oh, doctor! do you see that9.'
Immediately the vision disappeared. The