The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-06-16
A Thrilling Experience.

TWO young Engllshmen sailed to-
getaer on board Cunard steamer from
Liverpool for New York a short time
ago They had never met before, but
eney happened to come together in the
iirst evening on board, and finding that
thes had great deal in common, soon
became something more than mere ac-
y uSlntances. 1t was rough passage,
anu they were seldom able to get on
ueck, so they spent most of their time
Piaylng ecarte. 1t was between the
oeas of one of their games, and the one
WI. ~ was sitting on the bunk (whom we
WIN call MIR. Az was shutting the cards,
wnen both became aware that third
person was standing at the cabin door
LOOKING at them,
u food God, Jackr' exclaimed Mr..
D. jumping up from the couch, chow
On ,e earth did you get here?"
me figure at the door said nothing,
put quietly turned around and walked
away again. The boat was rolling
Dadly, and when B. had done tumbling
over the portmanteau and had made his
%ayto the door some few seconds had
elapsed. A. was naturally somewhat
astonlshed at the mysterious Interrupt
tlon and the way his friend had treated
IT, 50 he threw the cards on the bed,
anu hanging on to the door, scrambled
OUT after him. When he got into the
passage he saw B. standing some ten
vars OIL looking up and down in be-
wilered kind of way, and nobody else
in sght.
y.I'SSJho was itP" asked A., as the other
can't siowfy back to him after question
ing the steward. II have not seen him
on board before"
''He was my brother, and he is not
on board vas the startling answer.
l left him in Liverpool, and l know he
can't have com away"
Nonsense, my dear fellow; it must
have been somt one of the passengers.
| certainly don't believe it was your
brother. He WIS as utterly unlike you
as one man can be unlike another. He
was tall and youare short, he was fair
and you are dark, he was stout and you
are slim, and youl faces are completely
different"
Yes, 1 know. l call him my
brother, but he is really my half
brother. His name is c., and we are
totally unlike eachDther. But that man
was my half-brothr, Jack c., as sure
as l am standing here, or-his ghost. :"
Well, there was 10 more ecarte that
afternoon; none of the officers or pas
sengers had seen anybody answering to
the description of the supposed c., and
he never appeared again until they
reached New York.
When they landed, B. found cable
message telling him that his half-brother
was dead.
Now, so far, this incident was not
different from score of others which
have been reported and published at
various times, and, beyond the fact that
the apparition was seen clearly by two
persons, it supplies no further evidence
of the existence or appearance of ghosts
or " doubles than has been adduced
over and over again. But there was a
sequel to this which leads CHASTITY cir
cumstantiality to the whole affair, and
makes it very hard to laugh the matter
off as mere optical illusion.
A. lost sight of B. entirely, few days
after arriving in America. While the
former went west at once the latter
stayed in New York three or four days
! l4pd len recrossed to England. Two
yeas had passed before A. went back
agan, and he had pretty well given up
pulling over the mystery, when one
dayls he was walking along Piccadilly
he sw the man who had appeared in
the tate-room that day coming to meet
him
Pardon me, sir" he began, sis not
you name G. Pr
Yes" was the answer, my name is
c., out must confess you have the adj
varage over me.
4 dare say. 1 only saw you once
betre, and that was on board the
steamship Papua in mid-Atlantic.
Good heavens! Then your name is
A. and you were with my half-brother,
Chrlie B., when he saw Jack, No,
tina was not THAT was my brother.
Wewere exactly alike, and were con-
finally being taken for one another.
Charlie is utterly different-but then
Ja& and l took after our father.
wia you would turn in here" he said
pointing to a club house close at hand,
lard tell me all about that day. You
know, of course, that Jack died that
yer afternoonp"
c, yes, A. knew it well enough, but
the horrible difficulty was this: He had
never seen Charlie B. until he met him
on board ship, and had never seen
either the brothers G.. at all. The only
knowledge which he had of their feat
ures, or could have, was from that one
short glimpse on board ship. Whom
had he seen then? Scarcely another
person altogether, when the remem-
brance of his features enabled him to
recognize his brother If it was an
optical illusion it was very wonderful
one that could so picture a face which
he had never seen before; and if it was
not an optical illusion. what was it?-
N. Y. Tribune.
Tin top cake: One egg, one table,
of butter, one cupful of sugar,
Z