The Portland daily press., 1892-12-07

common experience IN our dstiai lHteI-
ludes, but always find it vexatious and
irritating to have persons walk through
me. And it happens SO often. OF course
it is easy enough to dodge those you
meet, and if you sail along over their
heads you have no trouble, but moving
in a crowd on its level you are almost
certain to find some one mistaklng you
for empty space come plunging through
you from behind or lurching into you
sidewise in your unguarded moments.
Both those things occurred to me that
unlucky morning. A fat German wom-
an, with a huge market basket on her
arm, almost wrecked me, and | had
scarcely got my disarranged parts col
lected and in place again when, in going
off the boat, pretty, delicate looking
young girl was jammed right into the
space I occupied. Hersensitive nervous
organization evidently felt my presence,
though she was unaware of the cause of
her sensation, for she shivered and wins
pered to a companion:
"Oh, Jennie, Eve got goosefesh all
over me! believe I'm catching cold.'
That incident, Ithink, hurt me worse
than the other It is distinctly unpleas-
ing to be shivered at by pretty girl
and spoken of as giving her goosefesh.
was sure would not have affected her
SO if had had my body on at the time
"a reflection which would have been
consoling but for the doubt it awakened
if | would ever again possess that anx-
iously desired materiality.
The day thus badly begun was des-
tined to like continuance. was in no
proper mental condition for the astral
plane. My perturbeds thoughts. full Of
concern about my loss, untitled me for
the calm self control should have had
and made me subject to all manner of
vicious illusions and painful impress
sions, artfully produced by the mali
cious sprites constantly besetting me-
Late in the afternoon, weary Of aim
less wandering about the town, vio-
lated a resolution / had firmly formed
the night before, which was that |
would never look upon Marian's face
again. It seems as if there were a sort
of fatality against a mans keeping the
resolutions he makes concerning wom-
en-. Doubtless if | had gone slowly to
her house, as my body would have had
to, memory and reflection would have
braced up resolution and turned my
steps aside, even from her door, to the
club; but having only to think of any
place in order to be there, if l wished
it, was actuallyin her parlor before
had time to remember | had abjured
her.
She was lying upon a sofa with her
face in its cushions, crying bitterly, and
an evening newspaper, dropped from
her hand, lay upon, the floor. My first
glance at the sheet caught the para
graph which had no doubt caused her
grief It was this:
HARRISBURG, Dec. lin sleeping car berth
on the Chicago ain arriving, here at three
a. m. a passens vas found dead. Papers in
his pockets enabled his Identification as John
Bentley, of New York. He was apparently
well when he boarded the train at Pittsburg.
Death is ascribed to heart failure. His body is
held to await claim by friends.
ssMay the blessing of the unlucky
light on the writer of that item," said
to myself. NWhy could not the wretch
have said where my body is hald to await
the claim of its best frien6?" won
dered if it was being held ION ice," hav-
ing slowly frozen out the little spark of
life I had left in it? If some sapient
country doctor, to make an imposing
spectacle of himself before a coroners
jury, would not want to cut it open and
take look at the heart, to be sure it
had failed? Either was quite possible.
Clearly had no time to lose if l was
ever to get that body back in reasonably
serviceable condition. But to find where
it was SHIELD" was the first thing. Per-
haps some other evening paper had fuller
particulars.
I was really sorry to have to leave
Marian in such bad spirits, notwith-
standing her blamable behavior the
night before, but could not do the slight
est good by staying. Momentarily for
getting was practically mere ghost.
l did try to tell her my views differed
in some important particulars from
those presented in the newspaper, but l
had no more voice than a mummy.
As l have learned by bitter experience,
an astralized person suffers under enor-
nous disadvantages in trying to read
the news. Having no material hands
with which to open and turn the papers
he has to depend upon those who have,
peering over their shoulders, crouching
down before them to get sight at the
under side, and in all sorts of undigni-
fed attitudes and inconvenient ways
adapting himself to their perverse meth
DDS of handling the sheets. It is simply
maddening to wait while fellow wades
slowly through long, labored editorial
on the tariff or increases the adding Of
his brain by perusal Of the baseball col
umn, and then, just at the moment
when you think he is about to turn to
the next page, see him fold the paper
and put it in his pocket. Eventually !
gave up in despair that way Of finding
out what had become of my body.
Then happy thought occurred to me.
'3My friend X.," reflected, sis one who
can be depended upon, if he has seen
that item, to take prompt and energetic
measures Most nrobably he is already