The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-22

N'tAAS HtAss anu hL6u remover was IOuDQ ID
be trembling all over" All this while
sleeping" II we are 20 take the words of
the witness. But at least such careless
testimony must not go for TOO much Dur
ing the disturbances at the cemetery of
AnTeLsbuTg, when the collins were over
turned in locked vaults, and the case was
Investigated by an officiel commission,
horses OF country people visiting the ceme-
terry were often so alarmed and excited that
/ they became covered with sweat and FOAM"
Before we believed there were ghosts IN
such case we should wish to know several
things: Were the country people so ex-
cited as to drive furiOusly! Were they so
excited as to become poor witnesses! Were
the circumstances such as to make strange
story swell and grow! l am quite sure that.
as precautionary measure, any one exam
lining this testimony should read Virgils
description OF Faunn or the old story Of
tho Five Black CroWs'-why may | not
by this time say SIX.
One more cass cited by Mr.. Wallace in
the Arena is OF a female figure seen by
three persons floating over a hedge ten feet
above the ground, when the horse suddenly
stopped and shook with fright. Ihave my
self seen too many Of these floating females
although there may be question of sex
IN ghost-to believe in any Of them. A
puff of white mist has fooled me better yet,
bush covered with white flowers Being
somewhat short-sighted, 1 remember with
vexatlon stoning and shouting at clump
OF bushes which in the twilight l mistook
for my wandering cows. DR.. Hastings,
the celebrated musician, was so
short-sigbted that, running into
an old cow, he pulled of his
beaver RalIantly and said, 81 beg your
pardon. madsml" Mr.. Wallace insists that
In the demonstration Of spiritual presences
there are crucial cases. "They show us
Enthusiastically that large numbers Of phan-
tasms, whether visual or auditory, and
even when only perceptibe to one of the
persons present, are objective realities;
while the terror displayed by the animals
that perceive them. AID their behavior, so
unlike that in the presence of natural sights
and sounds, no less clearly prove that,
though objective, the phenomena are not
normal, and are not to be explained as in
any way due to trick or misinterpreted
natural sounds" The point in the case
is one that is assumed. Mr.. Wal
lace skilfully covers the issue,
which is whether the terror dis
played by the animals really was, in any
case, unlike that in the presence of natural
sights and sounds. This is what believe is
not proved. A dog is very sensitive to the
human emotions displayed about him; he is
above all creatures the echo of his master
The real question is therefore showed back,
to whether the people saw anything extra
| natural. l will not say they did not, but l
say we are not called on to believe that
they did, without the most irrefragable
testimony. By far better is it to turn to the
| argument that "Phantasms can be photo
graphed, and are therefore objective real
| tiles" The kodak may be of great value in
| the case, because then there is opportunity
for cool review Of facts
L am deeply sympathetic with the pur-
pose OF the testimony given. |, too, sin
cerely wish to demonstrate that spirits do
exist, tangible and visible at times, aud
that by that witness we, too. have assur-
ance Of higher sort of after life. l will
turn to q case somewhat different, and
which seems to me to have more weight
than the others in demonstrating spirit
Phenomena. A writer IN the ReIiqiO-
Philosophical Journal says:
"a few years ago one OF my sons brought
home 5weeks-old puppy of the Irish wa
ter spaniel breed. He was brought up as a
family pet, and became great favorite.
He had more real character than any other
dog ever saw. When about 2years old
he broke through the ice III the park and
was drowned. The family mourned him
sincerely. and personally felt the bereave-
ment. My nights ere often wakeful, and
fell in the habit of wondering if all that
intelligence aud aRection-that curiously
original character-had gone out forever.
liz bbA u hbUtb "a tuoulDk AuIO q pAt6 Vi
wood shavings in the back yard, for sport.
and then carrying the bits in his curly
hair everywhere We scolded him till
he formed the habit of shak-
ing himself with vehemence after his
game, and then marching in as if he had
done his duty. Some weeks after his death
l returned from a few calls; the dog was
entirely out Of my mind. The housemaid
let me in. ] went straight TO the library for
letters. stood in the middle of the library,
and the maid stood in the hail, facing me.
and deliy ering a message; when, just out
side the staircase door, we heard a sound,
exactly the sound of ROmeo's bangles, that
led both of us simultaneously TO start and
scream. The dog she cried. he was
shaking himself l said, and | fully ex-
pected to see him. We examined for the
cause of the noise, and tried all expedients
to reproduce it, but in vain. To me. since
then, Romeo is in a comfortable dog
heaven" | like such a story, and such a
pleasant faith, but really this is a case that
needs cross-questioning. If Romeo could
shake his bangles once. why not oftener7
Did the maid possibly have visitor9
The subject, however, is whether dog sees
ghosts, not whether they can reappear
themselves, although by parity Of reason
ing one proves the other. l am ready to
believe that sensation may not be the same
in its functional breadth in other animals
as in man. That is point not difficult to
yield. The sense of smell is not only in
| dogs and cats more acute, but so much so as
to be incomprehensible to U.s. While we
have developed brain and reasoning power,
they remain in a vastly closer sense
relation to nature. Within that range
is it possible or not possible, that
they directly sense things and condi-
tions that we have no knowledge Of through
| our senses? A cat smells bit of meat
through three doors and rooms. A dog
smells his masters tracks five days after
passing. A hawk sees his food or
prey when to us it is invisible. horse
senses prairie fire fifty miles away. We
have here a field of study that should be
iudiciously studied. Do apparitions or
ghosts come inside the range of animal
senses aud not inside ours2 So far We can
only say that. in spite of all that has been
brought forward. the question is not proven.
1t Is a case Of noils SeQuituT.