Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-11-20
MY BKornER'S GHOST.

Supernat lral spiritual phenomena' ana
the probability Of promoultionS not IN
accord with the recognized order OF things
can be charged to my education. sup
pose | was introduced to this mundane
planet in the same manner rs are all Its
Inhabitants, but as soon after this protein
tiouS event as posslble-as soon rs my
brain was capable of receiving impress
sions and Of forming mental plctureS.trom
the eeouence of my instructors, am sure
my ife's path diverged from the ordl-
nary tread,
My mother was AN easy-golng soul,
whose chief aim in life was to please
everybody, heself included, with the least
possible exertion, mental or physical. 1t
was her plan to correct my department,
not by the rcd, the Sparing of which Is
supposed to spoil the child, but rather 10y
a SYSTEMATIC recital of Hans Christian
Anderson 5 and other fairy tales, and 10y
drawing analogies with myself and the
authors heroes as component features,
This served tahl me with Il superstlhouS
nervousness e the unseen hlliputs | knew
lowered near me, and who were devlSlng
innumerahle rewards to bestow on me
whenever | should attain the necessary
moral excellence, and, in the interim were
inAictng numerous punlshments for my
transgreSslOuS.
My mothers adjutant was Kate an Irish
nurse who wore French cap and a
metamorphoSed Gallo brogue. Kate was
also firm believer in FAIRIES and Ives, and
her thrilling rarrations of the doings of
the Banshee gave me the shudders. So
unfavorably did Hates Irish fairies COM
pare with Mr.. Anderson's German
brownies that early formed a deep root,
ed aniipathy to everything Irish. could
! hardly forgive my mother for being born
in Wicklow, and my father for being one
of 'the last of tie Irish kings. Once IN
after life, lapSed from this dislike and
married an Irish girl,
My father had, III early lite, been a
naval officer until he married a far com
petence, after which he reformed, set up
in business as politician and church
member The latter aVocatlOn | always
! though he found incumbent on the former
vocation. Like all men who ever went
! down to the sea in suips, he was profound
| " superstitious. If his boots or his hat
we're tight in the morning he would lay
the misft to his luck If black cat
| howIed on the back fence at night, he
could not sleep until he had thrown his
boots bootjack, and two stanzas of a
Haytian anthem, starting "blank, blank
! the luck at the feline OtheIlO. He
also carried a rabbits foot and the family
| purse.
1t will thus be seen | had an acquired
and hereditary taste for the unknown, and
was fit "subject' for theosophy, when
at the age of 20, | met and loved Miss
| Sadie Schneider, October 80, the daughter
of well-to.do grocer. Notwithstanding
! Miss SChneider's respectable and prosaic
parentage, that young lady was a PRO-
found theosophist and spirituaIlst. 10
| please my IeutooniC immorlata was IN
duced into the religion of 'enilkhten.
ment. =" TO further please the divine
! Sadie ! threw my whole soul into the new
work, and advanced to such high degree
! that ! became one of the favored lay
men," ! let my hair grow long and my
finger nails grow black until my general
| tout ensemble was decidedly negllgee, but
my mind "dcveoped' until could see
more omens and Signs in everyday life
than could Kiowa squaw.
Though, as | have told, my father was
| highly superstitious, yet strange to LAY
he disapproved of my devotion to what he
| termed "a lot OF blank nonsense, and
/ often asked me why in the name OF com
mon sense / could not be like my brother,
| Billy. who was "a man, man, sir; while
you, granny. are only fit to be cook on a
canal boat, his greatest term of reproach
| My mother, too, would gently assent as to
my fitness only for the culinary de-
partment mentioned Yet | was firm in
my faith.
| Now this brother William, who twas a
man, was four years my senior, and was
what the "enliQhtened" called a Golfer. He
made fun of all my theories and rldlculed
me to his companions, who, like himself.
| could not understand the mysterious, and
whose minds Craved no more spiritual food
| than a Kentuckidn, end who cared TO look
no deeper into the future than the next
card out of the box Ina fact, William
and his companions were worse than scot
| fers, they were vandals. Once ] got our
| supreme medium and prophet 10 work with
! William and his colleague, James Reid,
but they enticed the poor prophet into a
saloon and while under some vile influence
the guileless man sang "Croppies, lie
down." For this song his eyes were con
fused until they resembled damson plums
After that the enlightened" washed
their hands of brother and his com
panions.
After several months Of this riotou5 life
William, who was a civil engineer, was
sent by mis- employers to Chihuahua, Mexi-
co, to superintend some mimi operations
Aside from his wildness and levity William
was good brother 10 me, and it panied
me to be separated from him for the first
time in my life / remember well the
night he and Reid, who went with him,
said farewell. Goodbye, granny, old
boy. Take good care of father and moth
er, and give up your spiritual nonsense. ]
tell you what ! will do. II your theory Is
true and ! should meet with an accident
that is, you understand, get killed will
come back and tell you. Now promise me
you will 20 no deeper until come back in
body or spirit. All right; that's enough
Goodbye" Then his wicked companion,
Reid, said with a grin that il there Wa no
duty on ghosts and be should die, be too.