The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-30

IN our garuen. SIT, Wnefe you toiu me.
whereabouts in the garden ?' chimed
| in AmenGa, who happened to be standing
| by; under the gooseberry bushes!
"Yees-everywhere."
| That is what he had done; he had taken
| the stable lantern aud searched the garden
| tor it.
| But the day when he broke even his own
| record for foolishness happened about
| three weeks later. MacShaugnassy was
| staying with US at the time, and on the
| Friday evening he mixed us a salad. ac-
| cording to q recipe given him by his aunt.
| On the Saturday morning everybody was,
| of course, very ILL., Everybody always is
! very i'll after partaking of any dish pre-
| pared by MacShaugnassy. Some people
| attempt to explain this fact by talking
| glIbly of cause and effect" Macshaug-
| nassy maintains that it is simply coin
| cidence.
How do you know" he says, that you
wouldn't have been i'll if you hadn't eaten
| any? You're queer enough now, anyone
can see, and I'm very sorry for you. but.
| for all that you can tell, if you hadn't
| eaten any of that stuff, you might have
| been very much worse-perhaps dead. In
| all probability, it has saved your life"
| And for the rest of the day. he assumes
| towards you the attitude of man who has
| dragged you from the grave.
| The moment Jimmy arrived l seized
| hold of him.
Jimmy" said, "you must rush off to
| the chemists Immediately. Don't stop
| for anything. Tell him to give you some
| thing for colic-the result of vegetable
| poisoning. 1t must be something very
| strong, and enough for four. Don't for
| get, something to counteract the effects of
vegetable poisoning. Hurry up, or it may
| be too late"
My excitement communicated itself to
| the boy. He tumbled back into his punt
and pushed off vigorously. Watched him
land and disappear in the direction of the
| village.
Half an hour passed. but Jimmy did not
| reappear. No one felt sufficiently energetic
to go after him. We had only just
strength enough to sit still and feebly
abuse him. At the end of an hour we
were all feeling verv much better. At the
had not returned when he ought to have,
and were only curious as to what had be-
come of HIM.
In the evening, strolling through the
village. we saw him sitting by the open
door of his mothers cottage, with shawl
wrapped around him. He was looking
worn and ill.
"Why. jimmy" I said. "what's the
NATTER Why didn't you come back this
morning."
Il couldn't, SIR" Jimmy answered, II
was SO queer. Mother made me go to
bed
"You seemed all right in the morning."
/ said, whats made you queer?"
''What Mr.. Jones give me, sir; IL upset
me awful"
A light broke in upon me.
What did you say, Jimmy, when you
got to Mr.. Jones shop?" asked.
Il told i'm what you said, sir, that e
the effects of vegetable poisoning. And
that 1t was to be very strong and enough
for four"
'And what did he say? ''
Il said that was only your nonsense,
sir, and that I'd better have enough for
one to begin with; and then he asked me
if I'd been eating green apples again."
"And you told him?"
"Yees, sir, told i'm I'd 'ad few, and
e said 1t served me right, and that e 'oped
it would be warning to me. And then e
put something fzzy in glass and told me
to drink it,
"And you drank it?''
at never occurred to you, Jimmy, that
there was nothing the matter with you
that you were never feeling better in your
life, and that you did not require any
medicine?'
mo, sir"
Ibid one single scintilla of thought of
any kind occur to you in connection with
the matter. Jimmy, from beginning to
end2"
mo, SIR"
People who never met Jimmy disbeieve
this story. They argue that its premises
are in discord with the known laws gov
ernlng human nature, that its details do
not square with the average of probable
ity. People who have seen and conversed
with Jimmy accept it with simple faith.
There are many other anecdotes con.
corning Jimmy that could relate, but the
fear lest they might not be believed debars
me.
The advent of Jephson-which I trust
the reader has not entirely forgotten, it
was, he may remember, this episode that
started me talking about Jimmy--cheered
us up considerably. Jephson was ALWAYS
at his best when other things were at their
worst. 1t was not that he struggled in
Mark Iapley fashion to appear most cheer
| full when most depressed; it was that
petty misfortunes and mishaps genuinely
amused and inspired him. Most of us can
recall our unpleasant experiences with
amused affection; Jephson possessed the
robus,er philosophy that enabled him to
enjoy his during their actual progress.
| He arrived drenched to the skin, chuck
| ling hugely at the idea of having come
down on visit to a houseboat in such
| weather.
| Under his warming influence the hard
lines on our faces thawed, and by supper
| time we were, as all Englishmen and
| women who wish to enjoy life should be,
| independent of the weather.
Later on, as if disheartened by our in
| difference, the rain ceased, and we took
| our chairs out on the deck, and sat watch
ing the lightning. which still played in
| cessantiy. Then, not unnaturally, the
| talk drlfted into sombre channel, and we
| began recounting stories dealing with the
| gloomy and mysterious side of life
Some of these were worth remembering,
| and some were not. The one that left the
| strongest impression on my mind was a
tale that jephson told us.
had just been relating somewhat
| curious experience of my own. | met a
man IN the Strand one day that knew
very well, as | thought. though had not
seen ham for years. We walked together
| TO Charing Cross, and there we shook
hands and parted. Next morning spoke
| OF this meeting to mutual friend and
then learnt. for the first time, that the
| man had died six months before
The natural inference was that l had
| mistaken one man for another an error
that. not having good memory for faces.
frequently fall into. What was remark
| able about the matter. however. was that
throughout our walk had conversed with
the man under the impression that he was
| that other dead man, and whether by
| coincidence. his replies had never once
| suggested To me my mistake.
| AS soon as | finished speaking Jephson
who had been listening very thoughtfully,
| asked me II l believed in sDiritualispi 30
| Its fullest extent"
mat is rather large question" an
! swered W hat do you mean by spirit
| ualism 10 its fullest extent?" -
| We'll, do you believe that the spirits of