Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-02-27

penalty due to my presumption. Tho
flights Of genius should be respected.
not checked, By MATERIAL hand"
That is nonsense; / am not a
genius; aud yeu must forgive mo for
nay rudcness," said Carriston, simply.
After waking some distance IN silence,
he spoke again:
wish when you are with mo YOU
would try and stop ne from getting
into that state. It docs me no good.
Seeing he was in earnest, promised
to do my best, and was curious enough
to ass him whittier his thoughts wan
derod during those abstracted mo-
ments.
"a can scarcely tell you,' he said.
Presently he asked. speaking with hcsi-
tation; II suppose you never feel that
under certain -circum-
stances which you can not explain
you might be able to see things which
are invisible to others?''
ITO see thinss9 What things?"
Things, as said. which no one else
can see. You must know there are
people who possess this power"
Il know that certain people have as
serted they possess what they call
second sight; but the assertion is too
yet" said Carriston, dreamily, "a
know that if did not strive to avoid it,
some such power would come to me-
''9oH an too ridiculous, Carriston,"
said. ''s-onle People see " hat Others
don t. because they have longer sight
You may. Of course, imagine anything.
But your cyes-handsomc eyes they
are, too-contain certain properties,
known as humors and lenses, therefore
in order TO see
Eyes, yes" interrupted Carriston; II
know exactly all you are going to say.
You, man of science, ridicule every
thing which breaks what you are
pleased to Gall the law of Nature. Yet
take all the understandable tales told.
Nine hundred .,d ninety nine you ex-
pose TO SCOTT or throw grave doubts
upon, VI: ts>e thcusAndth rests on evil
| dence which can not be upset OF dis
puted. The possibility of that one
proves the pos 'bility of all
Not at al: but enough for yom
| argument said, amused at The boy q
wild talk.
You DOCTORS" he continued. with
| that delicious ar of superiority so often
assumed by laylnen when they are in
| good health, put too much to the
| credit of diseased Imagination"
mo doubt; it's n convenient shelf on
which to put difficulty. But go on -
! The body is your province, yet you
can't explain why cataleptic patient
| should hear watch. tick when it is
| placed against his foot
'.Nor you: nor any enc, But per-
haps it may aid you to get rid of your
publishing theories if I tell you that
catalepsy, as you understand it, is q
disease not known to US; in fact, it does
! not exist"
He seemed crest-fallen at hearing
this. But what do you want to
prove?" 1 asked. :'What have you
seen yoursclfs''
''Nothing, tell you. And I pray l
may never see anything"
After tn he seemed inclined to shirk
the subject, but pinned him to it, l
was really anxious to get at the true
| state of his mind. In answer to the lead
ing questions with which I rlied him,
Carriston revealed an yneunt of super
| stition which seemed utterly childish
and out of place beside the intellectual
faculties which he undoubtedly pos
| sessed. So much SO, that at last felt
more inclined to laugh than ia argue
with him.
Yet was not altogether amused by
his talk. His wild arguments AMI
wilder beliefs made me fancy there
must be weak spot somewhere in is
brain-evcn made me fear lest iis end
might be madness, The thought made
me sad; for, with the exception of the
eccentricit ties which l have mentioned,
reckoned Carrsion the pleasaRtcst
friend ! had ever made HIS amiable
nature his good looks and perfect
breeding had 'endoared the young man
to me; so much so that 1 resolved
during the remainder of the time we
should spend together, to do all could
toward talking the nonsense out Of him
My efforts were unay ailing. kept {
sharp lookout upon him, and let hin
fall into no more mysterious reveries
but the curious idea that he possessed
or could possess some gift above hu
man asRture Was 700 firmly rooted to b.
| diSpl sced. On all other subjects h
argued fairly and was open to reason
On this one point he was immovable
When I could get him to notice nay at
tacks NJ all, hisAanswer was:
"You doctors, clever a. you are with
the body, know as little of psycholog,
rs you did three thousand years age"
When the time came for me to folC
| up my easel and return to the drudger,
Of life, l parted from Carr.ston witt
much regret One of those solemn, bu
often broken, promises ia join togethe
next year in another sketching tou
| passed between us. Then 1 went bacl
to London, and during the subsequen
months, although Isaw nothing of him
1 often thought of my friend Of tn
! Nutumn.
Hf.
In the spring of 1865 I went oown t.
} / Rournemouth, to see for the last tim
an old friend who was dying of con
: sumption. During great part of til
| journey down l had for a travelling
companion well-dresscd, gcntlemanl
man of about forty years Of age. w
, | vUoro o1ope in the comma rtueOk an,