The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-10-14
By ]. H. CONNELLY.


w. a. - 8 ,Il70
5zA~ .9B
M9j first gldnce at the sheet cdugtt the
paragraph arhtch had caused her grief.
The predicament was distressing in
itself, and rendered actually exasperat-
ing by the unsympathetic conduct of
those who, discovering my plight,
: swarmed about and jeered me. From
the malicious ''elementals" l could not
of course expect anything better, but
was panied by seeing among them and
emulating their heartlessness some
astralized visitors from the material
plane whose unbecoming glee was not
restrained by the consideration that
their own bodies might also have been
lost to them at that very moment for
aught they knew to the contrary. Ihave
not deemed it necessary in the course of
this narration to make any particular
mention of the dwellers on the astral
plane, or of the temporarily astralized
persons like myself whom encountered
there, as my experiences were simply
those every one has, with the exception
of this incident and one other to which
shall have occasion to revert farther
on. But cannot let pass without rep
rehension the behavior of the astralized
persons who clustered around me on
the train that morning and declared
they found my unhappy situation
'funny."
With vague idea that I might find
my body among the unclaimed baggage
or in the waiting room at the Harrisburg
depot, eluded my tormentors and
fitted back there-onlyto to suffer another
disappointment. 1t was nowhere to be
seen. The last passenger train for the
night had gone by, the depot was dark
and the only person on the platform was
watchman. | hoped some one would
come and open conversation with him,
in the course of which l might casually
find clue to what had been done with
my body, for of course he would be very
likely to know. But the only persons
who came were brakemen on the top of
moving freight trains, who simply
shouted "Hey! Jim!" or playfully SHE'D
chunks of coal at him, social advances
to which he responded by such ejacula-
tions, profane or otherwise, as the occa-
sions seemed specifically to demand.
An inexplicable fascination tempted
me to follow and haunt the car in which
had last seen my body, which l sought
to excuse to myself by hope the porter
might when he walked say something in
my presence about it. So he did. In
the Jersey City depot, while the passen-
gers were leaving the train and he was
gathering up the soiled linen, he sud
denly stopped, threw open window
and beckoned to him dingy platform
sweeper
: "'Lijah," he exclaimed hurriedly,
with an air of suppressed excitement
and mystery, go N play the death gig.
Play it for all you's wuf."
"Man or woman?"
"Man. Died ON the train dis mawnin -
"'M'm,"
f That was all. They resumed their
duties. My supposed demise was to
them simply an inspiration for policy
, play. l don't know when any little
thing ever depressed me more. So;
was deemed dead Strange that some
one had not sense enough to discover
the fact of my having simply strolled
away in my astral forml would have
imagined that SO common and natural a
thing could not have failed to be at least
suspected by almost anybody.
Pondering upon the unpleasant con.
sequences to me which might ensue il
there We're not timely correction OF
! that misunderstanding I strolled alb
sentmindedly with the passengers
through the depot and aboard the ferry
boat. Moving i'll this way sometimes
: temporarily forget that l am not in my
body until some incident recalls me tc
recognition of the fact. 1t is perhaps
hardly worth speaking of, being such 9
, common experience in our astral inter.
ludes, but l always find it veXatious and
irritating to have persons walk through
me. And it happens so often. OF oourst
it is easy enough to dodge those you
; meet, and if you sail along over theil
T heads you have no trouble, but moving
; in crowd on its level you are almost
certain to find some one mistaking you
for empty space come plunging through
you from behind or lurching into yor
, sidewise in your unguarded moments.
Both those things occurred to me that
, unlucky morning. A fat German wom
= an, with huge market basket on hel
arm, almost wrecked me, and | haG
scarcely got my disarranged parts col
e lected and in place again when, in going
= off the boat, a pretty, delicate loolSips
E young girl was jammed right into tht
space | occupied. Her sensitive nervous
organization evidently felt my presence
though she was unaware of the cause Of
her sensation, for she shivered and whis
pered to companions:
"Oh, Jennie, I've got goosefesh al
over me! believe I'm catching cold"
That incident, think, hurt me worse
L than the other. 1t is distinctly unpleas
? ing to be shivered at by pretty CIR
y and spoken of as giving her goosefesh
was sure would not have affected hel
$ so if l had had my body on at the timt
"a reflection which would have beer
= eonsoling but for the doubt it awakened
If would ever again possess that anx
] iously desired materiality.