The Portland daily press., 1892-12-07
CHAPTER II.

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 'selementalss 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. I have
not deemed it necessary in the course of
this narration to make any particular
mention of the jewellers 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
I shall have occasion to revert farther
on. But l 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
ssfunny."
With vague idea that might find
my body among the unclaimed baggage
or in the waiting room at the Harrisburg
depot, I eluded my tormentors and
fitted back there-only to suffer another
disappointment. It was nowhere to be
.een. The last passenger train for The
aight had gone by, the depot was dark
md the only person on the platform was
Waterman. / hoped some one would
come and open conversation with him,
N the course of which might casually
ind a 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 ssHey! Jim!' or playfully SHE'D
chunks of coal at him, social advances
10 which he responded by such ejacula-
lions, 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 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.
elijah" he exclaimed hurriedly,
with an air of suppressed excitement
and mystery, $50 n play the death gig.
Play it for all you's wuf."
"Man or woman?"
"Man. Died on the train dis mawnin. .
"'M'm."
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 form! would have
imagined that so common and natural
thing could not have failed to be at least
suspected by almost anybody.
Pondering upon the unpleasant con
sequences to me which might ensue If
there were not a timely correction of
that misunderstanding, | strolled alb
sentmindedly with the passengers
through the depot and aboard the. ferry
boat. Moving in this way sometimes
temporarily forget that l am not in my
body until some incident recalls me to