The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-08-17
DISEMBODIED SPIRITS.
Ghost Stories Founded Upon Some
what Remarkable Facts.
The Glorified Image Of u Dying Wo.
mana Spscter That Must Have.
Crossed the Atlantic-The
Shell OF the Human
Chrysalis.


| New York Mercury
The writer was present at small gathers
Ing Of earnest men in the parlors OF well
known physician on the West Side few days
since. The conversation gradually took d
spiritualistic turn, when the host surprised his
hearers by stating that he had been practice
ing medicine for over forty years. and that
he had certainly seen the soul sidolon or
spirit Of at least fifty persons during that
period There was q general murmur Of fn-
credulity, and one gentlemen remarked. ut
was all imagination, OF course" The doctor
repudated that theory. Had been theoniy
witness to these spectral FORMS he said, II
might attribute the appearance to some abb
normal condition OF my system" He them
related the following curious experience, with
| the special request that his name should not
| be made public In connection with any neWaS
| paper article:
| About six months since he was summoned
to the bedside OF mn aged lady who had been
an occasional patient Of his. The Taatron,s
| two married daughters were present, and. nj
| though they are both middle-aged women.
they apparently did not suspect that tfeif
mother was so close upon the shore OF tho
dark river. The extremitieB were cold; the
features were pinched and paliid; the heart
alternately beat and huttered with fabored
slowness. The doctor Informed the ladies'
| that their
| MOTHER WAS NEARING HER END.
and that all he could do would be to exhibit
stimulant which would afford temporary re-
lief by driving the blood from the heart 10 the
| extremities. s
The stimulant was administered In tea
spoonfuls, with the result predicted. Next
| day, however, when he called he found the old
| lady was sinking fast. She was quite uncou-
seriousness. Her energies appeared to be en-
| tirely lulled. She was moved by none OF these
dreams which impel the dying life tomurmur
out the names OF friends or the occupationA
and recolections Of past life. She was leaving
the world as unconsciously as fourseore years
ago she had entered It, She lay on bed On
the parlor floor; or, TO be more specific, her
| bed was placed in the intermediate room bY~s
them by folding doors. The doctor took 8
seat near the foot Of the bed. The eldest
daughter occupied similar position. There
was nothing further to be done but To walt
toward evening. The light Ia the apartment
| was subdued but sufficfen. to see every fold
and wrinkle perfectly.
AS the doctor and the elder daughter eAta
there sadly gazing the former began to per
ceive 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 gradual upheayal Of the bed clothes, a.
mattress below. Gradually this weird expAlI-E
| sion assumed the form Of o human befng IE4
became, In fact, the duplication Of the dying
woman. There were the features. the form,
everything perfect; only
| TILE SPECTRAL, OR SOUL FACE,
was turned toward the dying, actual facos|
and about six inches from 1t. The doctor
gazed steadfastly at the two forms, wonders
ing whether the daughters were vouchsafe4
the same revelation. Suddenly she started
Immediately the vision disappeared. Th6
bed clothes subsidized. The old lady was dead
No remark was made by the physician ak|
the time, but, after the funeral, which be 4tes
tended, he asked the daughter what occaslone0
the sudden exclamation Just as her mothe6|
died. She described the appearance OF the
eldolon, It's position, It's ethereal hue, Just ~
the doctor had seen 1t. AS she remarked, eIeI
seemed to be glorious image OF her mother IS
The doctor Is one Of those men who pride
themselves On the fact that nobody can fool
them, and hence bis testimony on this stub,
ject is the more extraordinary. He AYERS, ae.
has been already stated. that he has seen Oh
least fifty ghosts, IL ghosts these death-bed
apparitions can be designated. Sometimes
he has seen the soui-form lowering dlreefIx
over the dying person, suspended In the AtxSI
as 1t were, sometimes be had seen Ii SkallfS#
ing at the head Of the bed and at other ttrie
1t has taken the form OF a duplicate sIeepe
as In the case OF the venerable lady already
described. The physiclan's vision 10 remaIEs2
ably Keen and he Is perfectly assured that IN
was not the victim Of any optical or Other
!, Illusion It is hts opinion that quite n CO.,
siderable proportion Of mankind beneId tI1o6G
SPIRITUAL APPEAgANCEs,
but that they are prevented from admfttdnT
the fact from dread OF ridicule. III this b6 S94
there must be some popularity Of constft553
ton and temperament which beStoW6 tht
ghostly vision.
Francis Crosse, the antiauary immortaIix6l
by Burns, has summed up many OF tHf
Wondrous attributes Of ghosts, In the exist
ence OF which ne appears to have been tirII
believer. "The spirit OF a person deceased
he writes, ZIG either commissioned to return
for some special errand, such as the dl&
coyery OF a murder, to procure restitp(
j, ton OF lands, or money uDjn84y
withheld from an orphan or widow
3 for, having committed some injustice Whit[
i living, cannot rest till that Is redresgea
, Sometimes the occasion Of spirits reviSik1n1
this world is to inform their heir in VIZ
. secret place or private drawer in an old frtn
I they had hid the title deeds OF the estaNs
Some ghosts of murdered persons VIC
bodies have been secretly buried can not De t.
ease till their bones have been taken I'D 443
| deposited in sacred ground with all the xz6
of Christian burial" The last tllustrau9
!, | accords with the experience Of Gerald AS
U sey. the poet. He was persIstsntly nau4
:, by ghost at his house In Porto 6eAoS
| Edinburgh. until he dug under LIe L.
stone and discovered human s9eieLo.9sss
being transferred to sanctfed RIonazss
Massey has alleged over MS sfsls7ss1e
: ghost troubled him no more. S55
I Much Dirty work 30 D0s
r cincinnati EnaufrarJ
r. h.s heen discovered that the sagnak