Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-03-15
From the st. James Gazette.

Some months ago there appeared in one Of the
monthly reviews a paper on THE Visions of
Sane Persons" contributed by Mr.. Cation. In
this article that distinguished writer brought
forward some cases which he seemed to think
remarkable, Of persons who, when they were in
the dark. saw strange apparitiOns. Not that
these persons imagined that what filled their
vision existed anywhere out of it. But these
phantOms had all the appearance Of external
objects, and were certainly not produced by any
effort of memory or imagination. but quite
involuntarily. One lady told how she used to
see in this way. from time to time showers of
red roses. which pleasantly turned into fight
of golden speckles spangles; the roses being
presented To her vision as distinctly as real
flowers in broad day might be. (And not only
so, but the lady says she used to smell their per-
fuIne too; but there's nothing like that in my
own experience.) And there were stories of
faces seen i'm the dark in like manner: not pic
lures in the memory. but seemingly standing off
upon the air for the eye to gaze upon. aud
coming and going as with a will and purpose of
heir own
What struck me most about all this when
read it was that Mr.. Cation should think it
strange enough to lay before the world as a Gu
riosity. For all my life had myself been famil-
lar with phantOms of this kind, and, without
much thought about the matter had assumed
that many if not most other people were equally
at home with them. The golden spangles l. too,
used to see when | was a child: only instead Of
turning into showers of roses. in my vision they
were transformed into focks of sheep running
rapidly down hill: as i'm distant landscape.
When the sheep got to the bottom of the hill
they faded into the darkness; and then the tiny
bright yellow spangleS appeared at the top
again. to be again transformed. There was not
much interest in that, however; though | dare
say since Mr. Cation thinks so, that as a visual
illusion it was curious. But as to the faces that
appear to my vision in the dark, that is another
matter. After having been haunted by them in
civil quiet way for many years, still find them
very interesting, indeed.
These faces are never seen except when the
eyelids are closed. and they have always an ap-
parent distance of four or five feet Though
they seem living enough and not mere pictures
or reflections. they look through the darkness
as if traced in chalk On black ground Color
sometimes they have. but the color is very faint.
Nothing more than face is ever seen; and eX-
cept for fraction of a moment. perhaps. not all
the face at one time. Here and there their lines
waver. fade and return. as ii drawn with pencil
of phosphorus but there is no phOsphOrc ap-
pearance about them; their general aspect is as
If their substance were OF pale smoke. These
faces In the dark always confront the vision
Only one have ever seen in profile; and this also
was singular in bearing certain resemblance to
some one whom knew in real life. For (to mel
the most remarkable thing to me about these Wis
iOnary faces is chat whilethey are always Ofastrik
inTly distinctive character they are like none
that can ever remember to have seen in life or
in pictures. Passing through the streets we
see hundreds of people with unfamiliar faces, of
whom yet We could not say that We have beheld
nobody like them before. But occasionally
some very strange. or striking. or what is called
original face meets our view and excites our
wonder. Now my faces in the dark are all Of
that character. As | look at them-fOr there
they are, plain to be looked at-and ask myself
who was ever like that?-I find no answer ex-
cept in fanced resemblance to some his
| tOrical or NEUROLOGICAL parsonage. Pos-
Sibly, Blake's visions were some such faces
as these, presented to his eyes in broad
daylight; l am inclined to think it may
have been SO. because his wonderful and
dreadful drawing. 1.-The Ghost of Flea, is pre-
cisely such a transcript as could have made by
the score, had possessed the artists skill and
his memory for transcription. My faces in the
dark are much more often Of men than of
women; they are rarely quite agreeable but
they are all extremely interesting (when they
can be endured). because they look like the
deeting embodiments of some passion OF some
mood Of the mind; usually not the best of moods.
There are some very noble faces among these
apparitions-I rather mean expressive Of
great nobility; but / have never seen amongst
them the mask of pity, or love. Or of any tender
emotion. Grief the most despairing, scOrn,
pride, hatred. greed, cunning inquiry, enviOus
or triumphant mockery-if Blake really did see
these faces either in daylight Or in darkness. he
must have had much more than his imagination
to draw upon when he depicted the passions.
These appartiOns are entirely independent Of
the will. The gold spangles and the flock al
sheep can generally call into vision when
please; but the faces come and 20 as pleases
them. You may be awake With your eyes
closed, thinking Of the weather or the last
change of government in France, and, as a
wreath Of smoke might rise. there is face in
the dark. II is useless to seek to retain it for
contemplation, or to attempt to recall it when
it has faded out. This you may greatly wish to
do; for sometimes the phantom has pro-
foundry meaning, or appealing, or revealing
look: but all your arts of imagination fail to
project it on the air again when it has once died
| away. Only for a few seconds does it ever re-
main, and It never returns. But what fire.
! quently happens is that one face changes to
| another after the manner of ''dissolving views"
| And the change is almost always for the worse.
| A face that begins by being strange and inter-
esting. ends by becoming something awful or
hideous beyond the power Of description and
| the will to describe.
| All that / need add. perhaps, is that though
these faces have been my familiars for many
| years, they have become neither more nor less
numerous; nor are they more frequent that l
have observed; nor do they change in character
| They appear pretty often, but they have never
| given me any disturbance. and / do not know
that their coming and going depends in any
measure on varying conditions of heath or ease
Maybe they do; but if SO / am not aware of it,
| Lastly, that my sight was not weak l must be-
| leye, since it has gone hardly through trying
| and almost ceaseless labor from my youth up
The Recent Walking Match.
HOW FAR CAN A NAN GO ON FOOT IN SIX DAYS?
| Hazaels performance of GOO miles in six DAYS.
| says the New York Sun. was clearly not the
limit of his ability. Before the close of the
race he told his hacker to bet ON his going 625
miles. No one could be found to take this bet,
| so he contented himself with 600 miles, though
there is not the slightest doubt that he could
/ have made the greater distance if there had
! been any special inducement. His hacker
| thinks he could have gone GAO miles in the six
days. For six-day race, as in all protracted
| struggles, Of course the quality Of muscular
endurance is the first requisite But that will
| be found useless unless there goes with it a
| strong digestion. John Ennis was certainly a
man Of extraordinary natural endurance and
! pluck, but he had to abandon his efforts to
make a fortune through go-as-you-please races,
| simply because his stomach would not 20 with
| him. After endurance and DIGESTION
! condition being always understood comes gait
Horses win with good and bad gaits; and SO also
| Ofthe men who have rolled up great scores some
| travel with ease. and with no apparent muscu-
lar exertiOn except what is direcly employed in
lOcomoton; and some 60 labOriOusly, with the
| expense OF a great deal of muscular effort that
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