The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1892-01-23
DO DOGS SEE GHOSTS?
FOR IF BRUTES SEE GHOSTS THEN
THERE MUST BE GHOSTa

Examples to Prove That Dogs Have
Been Frightened IN Houses In Which
Spirits Were Said to Have Appeared.
( Question Of Animal Immortality.
Some time ago had something to say
ON animal immortality. In that article
briefly referred to the argument, now
not uncommon, that some animals ap-
pear to have intercourse with beings, or
forms and states of being, unseen by u.s.
This on the face of it is not improbable;
but it may be stretch of our own i'm
agination to assume that this is vision
OF ghosts. But if it can be shown first
that, as Wallace afirms, objective phan-
tasms appear to men sometimes, and to
dogs sometimes, then it would be hardly
fair to assume that men are to have q
spirit life hereafter and the dog not 1t
might become necessary for Us to shove
back our dividing line between immor-
tails and nonimmortals, and take over on
our side at least some of the beasts. Is
the Indian right who III Popes language,
believes ''his faithful dog will bear him
company in the spirit land? There
seems, however, to be conviction in
the minds of some Observers that dogs
not only sometimes. but at all times, see
and hear what we DO not hear
First Of all. in justice. let us get the
facts, or the averred facts. In Rod and
Gun appears the following letter: ''Sir.
there is reason to believe that animals
can see spirits. AT any rate, have a
very remarkable fact TO relate. There
Is In Devonshire a large rambling old
house, which has long had the reputa-
tlon of being haunted. Family after
family tried to make it their home one
after another they gave il up, al for t..
same reason - that was frequent srec-
trail ongoincs in one q the corriGo.~
Sometimes the ghost was Sect TX -1-.
member of the household. while II was
invisible TO others close w" which. 81.
course, would indicate thar the saeir1.
OF not seeing. depended on the ocUla~|
condition Of the family. At least .
skeptic would strongly urge that H.
probabilities We're il favor 81 visual d.
fusion. Sometimes mysterious sounds
showed the ghost to he about. whil9 he
was not visible to any Of the watchers.
A SCARED DOG.
Hearing easily follows hysterical see
Ing. / have myself seen wires and lamps
when knew none existed. The fam
lily that last occupied the house thought
fierce dog might settle the problem.
On the superstition that human trick
ster was at the bottom Of the disturb
ance On the first night of the dogs
residence the spectral ratings were
heard. The watchers took the dog to
the corridor. True to the instincts of
his nature he rushed to the front. bark
ing savagely. Suddenly, when half way
through the corridor. the dog stopped
and gazed upward in evident terror
His tail dropped, and then he retreated
trembling. But to thu human eye
nothing was visible" This story is
authenticated as coming from persons Of
unquestioned veracity and excellent
powers of judgment
If you Will excuse me for turning
aside from the main thought | will give
one or two illustrations to show that
ghost seeing is not SO improbable as YOU
have judged. Fanny kerble tells Us
that when residing in Rittenhouse
square her maid, sitting 81 that she
faced and could see the staircase aud
upper landing. saw the doo- Of her ls-d
room open. and an elderly woman il 3
flannel dressing gown. with bonnet az
her head, come out. walk the whole
length Of the pass2-e. and then return
y IL L.
maid knew her mistress was down stairs.
and also was confident that 10 such T..r-
son as she saw could bt III the hous+-
Havin- good nerves the woman did not
at first tell Miss k-r.ile what she .-a,:
seen. hut rans2cked the TOoIns to see If
she could SOLE the puzzle, all the TINE
AFRAID her mistress would be distur u;4l
Is some similar apparition. She after
ward came on a portrait IN the h0c>e
suddenly that was an exact copy Of her
ghost. \ good chance. Of course, for an
imaginative maid, or a cunning one. to
work up fine yarn. Yet il is something
that Miss Kernble believed the girl did
see an apparition.
STRANGE CASES.
h[ At'WcA LII R1A S|A4A6C Nc~1C; LII Wv
ing John Wesley, is Of great value be-
cause it links both man and beast in the
sensing Of apparitions. Mr. Wesley says:
'fSoon after our large mastiff dog came
and ran to shelter between US While
the disturbances continued he used to
bark and leap and snap on one side and
the other, and that frequently before any
person in the room heard any noise at all.
But after two Or three days he used &C
tremble and creep away before the noise
began And by this the family knew il
was at hand; Eor did the observation
ever fail TIE testimony here is Ger
tainly credible merely as honest assever-
alton. but we are free to judge whether
il was some electric or magnetic phe-
nomenon that the dog felt or was ghostly
presence.
A very strange case is reported by Mr..