The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-09-08
REFORMATION m aAosrs.

1t Is curious to observe what re-
markable change in ghosts has been
effected by modern science. says the
Philadelphia Press The reader of
current literature Is well aware that
they have been exterminated, for
imaginative writers find the employ.
ment of supernatural machinery as
effective as ever Even the matter-of-
fact journalist knows the value of q
ghost and the members of the Psy-
chical society have double portion of
the old belief. The ghost of the nine.
teenth century is however. very differ.
ent from those Of an earlier date. He
has left off almost all OF his old fam
iastic tricks and taken on polish
suitable to his time. In the most
recently published volume of ghost
stories the most important appnration
and The one which will probably seem
tho most real to nine tenths of the
readers is the soul of the young gen.
tleman afflicted with the early Engli
cult which is tied to earth by yearn-
ing for br:c.a-brac. 1t hovers over the
remainder cups of set OF blue china
which the youth had been unable to
complete before his death.
In another story the obliging spirit
OF lover quits his body during sleep
in order to remove the anxiety of q
fair but fretting young widow. who
fears he has been drowned. These
are fair examples of the kind Of ghost
story which receives the most general
credcnce. One exhibits the ghostly
tendency to linger around the scenes
of pursuits which have become pas
sion; the other is an exaggerated
example of telepathy.
One feature of the new ghost is his
singular Indifference to the fate of his
bones. He never seems to care wheth-
or they are left to bleech on the noun
tain-side, cast into the sea, burned, or
buried. Yet that used to be his chief
solicitude. Disraeli, in the second Sc
ries of his 'Curiosities of Literature"
describes this trait with usual care and
exactitude. He says: Bodies. corrupt
ed in their graves. have arisen, partic-
ularly the murdered. for murderers are
apt to bury thor victims in slight
and hasty manner. Their salts, oxhal-
cd In vapor by means of their fermen-
tations, have arranged themselves on
the surface of the earth. and formed
phantoms which at night have often
terrified the passing spectator. as au-
thentic history witnesses. They have
opened the grave of the phantom and
discovered the bleeding corpse beneath;
hence it is astonishing how many
ghosts.may be seen at night after the
recent bat tie standing over their
oorpses" A field of the dead, dotted
with sentinel specters. is an idea on
which the imagination may run riot
Some peculiarikies of the ancient
ghost were highly useful and conven-
lent The obliging specter of the mis-.
or was often unable to wing its way to
hades until 1t disclosed to some one
the hiding-place of his hoard. On
some of the Pacific islands the ghosts
of dead buccaneers watched patiently
for years till some one came
to remove the buried treasure. Then
what q number of secret cabinets have
been unlocked. important papers found
hidden deeds laid bare, and crime de-
tected by the aid of ghosts. These
offices they have ceased to perform.
The phantom has also become much
less revengeful OF old murdered men
could not sleep in their graves until
they had instigated somebody to re-
venge. This was distinctly inconven-
tent for their spirits had no discretion.
They thought nothing of choosing the
most peaceable- minded men to execute
their bloody behests, and it was very
awkward for quiet man to be placed
in the dilemma of being either exposed
to the reproaches of a respected ghost
Or of committing a crime quite oppos-
ed to his usual habits.
1t was probably the injustice of the
case that brought Sir Thomas Browne
to the conclusion that 'these appari
lions and ghosts of departed persons
are not the wandering souls of men,
but the unquiet walks of devils. prompt
ing and suggesting us into mischief,
blood, and villainly; instilling End steal
ing into our hearts that Tie blessed
spirits are not at rest in their graves
but wander, solicitous of the affairs o
the world" II this be so it is comfort
ing to reflect that in our time the ennis
saries of Satan have other employment
than that of parading about under thu
mask of dead men revivified.
1t Is a belief of long standing tina
good or evil spirits may enter into 6
corpse. The lines in the Ancient Mar.
iner are familiar:
Start not thou wedding guestl
Twas not the soul Of these dead men
That to their corscs came again,
But q troop of spirits blest
No wonder that those who sharet
Sir Thomas Brownies belief CAREFUL,
avoided after nightfall cemeteries
churches, charnel- houses. and othe
dormitores of the dead where imps o
hell, clothed in the fleshy habiliment
of men, held nocturnal revelry. Burn
seems to have thought that while the
devils danced the dead men held thu
candle:
Collins stood round like open presses,
That show'd the dead in their last dresses;
And by some develsh contraip slight
Each In his cauld hand held light
Another marked difference between
the old ghost and the wrath of to-da,
Is that the latter is voiceless. TIL,
earlier gibbered and moaned. In bare
lonely woods. in haunted church an,
castle, they shrieked and screamed
We have heard of ghosts that moanes
\