The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1891-06-25
THE CRYSTAL

OW OF professor, NINE. SteiuberH.
As for myself, | was q quiet, old fash
toned teacher Of languages, and the
place suited me. Among my pupils was
the daughter Of q rich widow lady, iv-
ing in Washington squire. which was the
height Of fashionable aspiration in those
days Ny department was instruction
In the German language, and In Ella
Cameron found q pupil 20 completely
and naturally imbued with the mysti-
cism deemed peculiar TO the Germans
and the orientals that I found she
grasped the instinct Of that grandly e1-
pressiye language as an infant learning
its mother tongue. There was German
blood somewhere in the long pedigree
OF Elias ancestors.
Ella Cameron had inherited sufficient
Of the natural Scotch intellectual force
30 give her balance without bunting
the subtle senibilities Of her mind.
One day there came TO our house .
foreign gentleman IN board. No one
knew his nationality, and TO this day I
am ignorant Of II. He spoke English
nuently and dramatically correct, but
with such an accent As he might have
learned by being educated abroad; yet
he was not an Englisnman, for he said
%. His German was perfection, his
French Partisan, his Italian and Spanish
amArvel. As for his age, he might have
been thirty VI he might have been fifty.
Naturally enough, with our assimila-
ting tastes, education and pursuits, and
through the kind intervention Of Nine
Steinberg, Paul Stolberg and I became
soon acquainted and then intimate.
Great men," he would say, ARE but
the embodiment Of an abstraction. and
A. purely accidental a. anything within
the meaning Of the word"
These and similar enunciatiOns he
would give utterance TO, not In any dog
matte or self sufficient spirit, but simply
as stating the result Of his study and ex-
perience.
Most cultivated and educated persons
I have met have possessed hobbies OF
some sort, and Stalberg's hobby was the
collection Of crystals. His collection,
however. was certainly the finest l ever
saw, containing specimens Of quartz,
spar and other minerals, and even the
diamond In various forms They were
arranged in his cabinet under glass, and
numbered several hundred. Besides
these. he had in another case collection
of magnets. comprising about fifty, and
also Of all siZrs. Such q curious COZ
catenatiOn Of tastes surprised me, and I
remarked upon il, asking why he had
selected two such diverse objects for col
lection.
Not 20 diverse as yOu think, my dear
friend" said he. 'fOr I, mt least, think
that where two powers, apparently diff
ferent in form and character. produce
the same results, II exercised in the same
manner, there must be cOnsanguinity
somewhere"
THE magnet attracts" said I, land
the crystal. excited by friction, will do
the same, but 30 will . glass bottle or .
stick Of sealing wax"
He smiled. and going 10 his crystal
cabinet selected from il one Of the larger
ones; then he said, as he returned 10 my
side, ''Sit easily in your chair while l
show You something else the crystal will
do, and mark your sensations" | took
an easy position, resting my hands on
the arms Of the chair, and waited.
Seating himself directly in frOnt Of me,
he raised the crystal with both hands
and at about q distance OF six inches
from my person, drew Il slowly, perpeu-
dicularly before me, from my head TO my
feet. As he did ~ noticed q sensation
as Of light breeze blowing upon me.
The operation was repeated, and this
time felt n pleasant drOwsiness creep
over me, the cool wind still blew upon
me, and seemed TO Sc nothing but the
crystal, which assumed q larger appear
ance and became luminous at the angles
A third pass, and il occurred TO me that
I would mention this luminous appear
snce, which was increasing; but on try
ing 10 do 70 l found I could not speak or
move, and with dim fancy that was
rude To fall asleep under such circum-
stances became insensible.
When became conscious the window
was open. and the cool October wind
blowing upon me; my forehead was wet,
and my chair had been wheeled in front
Of the window. StOlberg sat by me.
and observed that he looked psler than
usual and anxious.
What h the natter said L
Nothing he replied. Il do not care
to wait until yOu should come naturally
out Of your coma, % ! used physical
meal, To awaken you. What do you
think Of the power Of the crystal nowT-
replied that I had never heard % IL
before. and described my sensations 10
him; but he did not pay much attention,
and his mind seemed distraught.
But bow Is IL about the mAgnety'
aid I, ''yOu have not yet proved 30 me
any identity between thess two f0rcea"
Zone experiment q this sort h enough
for an evening" he replied; ''on another
occasion I viii convince you that the
magnet Possesses precisely the same
power; but tell me-yOu have . pupil
whom I should much like 10 meet-Mis
Camerun.-
was surprised that he should have
heard Of her, and aid 90
"YOu mentioned her name when 700
Ncfc uuucT INC tuuuct,Cc VI US CIysh&As
he replied.
$50. then, said I. this power h allied
10 that Of animal mAgnetismr
ut produced . Kindred result by . DIFF
ferent means But this Mis Cameron,
a. I judge from your remarks, must Be
peculiar characser-what ! should call
sublimAtedr'
"YOu are right, though ! had no ides
Of TALKING In my sleep. or telling tales
ont Of school; but really would hke
you 10 sc her and conveFss with her,
Stolberg expressed the pleasure u /
would give him 10 meet her. and I prom-
led 10 make IN arrangement 10 that end
when I gave her my lesson On the fol-
lowing day.
Ny description Of my friend. and my
assurance q his scholarly attachments,
reused sufficient curiosity In my pupil 10
render hsr eager 10 - him So m sp-
pointmens wa made, with the consent
Of her mother, for the following day.
and, punctuAl 10 TIE hour. We entered
krsL Cnmerun's drawing room
Ths lsaies appeared immediately after,
md. presssting my frisnd, what Wa my
uururies 10 nsaiefias Camerun sn1&rnfy