The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-02-02
THE TRANsMiGRATIoNIsTS.

lsms that at certain periods take hold of ,he popular mind has often been com men.ed upon Unlike the merely phys ical phenomena mental contagious are remarkable for their qthet and almost unsuspected diffusion. For illustration, the general public was startled some twenty-five years ago to suddenly learn tha, spirituallsm, then supposed 10 be the ephemeral cant oi a fe. mercenary charlatans had even then following of over SIX hundred thousand m this coun try. l. mus; also have amazed such theo.osian as Ialmage, for instance, to have the iact absolutely demonstrated tha; what may be called lngersollism has practically more adherents than all other American seets put together.
 Following the same rule, Ii will doubt less surprise many of our readers to learn tha, the theory Of the transmgration of souls has of late years obtained so many earnest subs fibefs to its doctrine that they may be said to form a distinct and rapidly increasing sect tofthemselves.
 Whether ,hs peculiar belief found its origin in Darwin's theories of evolution, or whether t was inspired by Lavater's unique proposition that every human tt1C OCAla AN4katlIi tSs0iiiOidu(C io NAlat of some animal of whose main character is,ics he person paitakes, 1t IS difficult to say. but Il Is certain tha, d large number of the best known and most distinguished personages of our day are firm though often unavowed adherents to the trans migration theory rhis IS the age of doubt, and every one must guess for him. sell.
 A the risk of offending some of these ersonlges. We pro aeed 10 mention a few in relation to their peculiar views concern ing the future destination of their immer- tai part.
 EX-Secre,ary James G,. Blaine firmly believes. though he admits IL but 10 a few intimate friends. that his future ex- is,ence will be Tn the shape of an oyster He carries his adherence to this appar- enily absurd conviction to such lengths that he never eats an oyster under any cncurast stances. and will even turn out of hs path rather than step upon the shell of one. While speaker, nothing annoyed NJ B.iine sa mach as ,o have some ot his JoNe-loving friends place few shells on his official seat. edge upwards.
 senator David D.,vis believes his soul will lransmis,aie into the body of crane. This swtr:atr,nsformatlon and change indeed"
 The late Adelaide Neilscn always as serted ,ha, her own soul once inhabited beetle. ThinS, pretty green and gold beetle, she once said 10 the writer
 General Custer believed that his ineor. poreal part belonged alternately to men and lions.
 Fanny Davenport claims to be the di- rect descendant, spiritually speaking oi camel. which odd fancy Is doubles: the origin of her mania for oamel's hail sha Sls.
 Nicholas Luning Is said to entertain some private theory concerning pig
 De Lesseps, the engineer. maintains that he is to be fish in the shadowy land of the future. though the theory oi natural selection would have suggested a mole.
 Dion Boucicault is possessed with the notion that he was formerly a fly.
 Hunger Walton. an enthusias, upon the ransmigra,ion theory, by the way, believes that one day he shall win the Derby as a herse-a Kentucky one a, that.
 Henry Winter Davis was ,ransmigra. tionis,. as were Lord palmerston, George Peabody, the late Coun, Chambord. Pro- lessor Smithson, and queerly enough, Boss Tweed. The latter doubtless set ou, to eiherially wind up as a butterfly, bu, we saw an loo pound prize hog at the Pe,aluma far that gazed round with an unmistakably What are you goin' to do about Il expression that filled us with profound awe.
 Miss leffreys Lewis firmly cherishes the conviction that her body is inspired by the soul of panther. Her rooms contain innumersble pictures of the jun gle king, and she is said to possess sew eral thousand dollars worth oftheir skins To see this clever exponent of the cleo trically emotional drama extended upon sofa in the twilight, her lissome figure covered by Bengal tiger rug and hel handsome eyes gleaming luminously from beneath her bangs is a sight calcu, lated to fill Gordon Cummings with joy, and make almost any hunter wish for his gun.
 Sam Ward, the genial King of tn, Lobby and the Prince of Diners Out entertains, in common with Non Moltke the idea that he will eventually become deer, although spider would seem te more aptly suggest the genius of the fore most stra,egist of any age Al all event. it is an easily verified fac, that Ward. will contains an explicit bequest for the maintenance of park of deer in royal comfort, one of which fortunate animal: he evidently counts upon becoming.
 Guiteau, of hated memory, IS said to have claimed descent from an eagle, al- though buzzard would better have sym. bolixed the eternal fitness of things.
 Gail Hamilton looks forward to a DOS, mortem career as setter dog-a happy choice.
 A young lady of Sacramento, in no wise presenting any evidences of un- souAdness of mind, fears death with un-