The Washington times., 1895-01-20
The HGt0r's D0UbI6.
tBy Herbert Flowerdew,I

lBy Herbert Flowerdewl
Il do not think your experience was half
so remarkable as one OF mine," said Gilbert
Dane. the well-known actor and manager OF
the Howard Theater, who happened to be at
the Thirty-nine Club the other night. while
Dr. MACPHERSON was relating ghost story
of double. Dane is not a member of the
Thir:y-nine. but had come with MACPHERSON.
Most of the brain specialists friends are in
the profession. a fact which is perhaps due to
the year which he himself spent on the stage
as a young man.
MY story begins prosaicly," said the ac-
tor. when we begged TO hear it. II lost the
latchkey with which let myself into the
theater and took somebody else's TO the lock-
smiths to have duplicate made. l agreed
to call for il the following morning as l was
going up to town for rehearsal. l was living
at Putney then. and we were actively pre-
pairing play which deserved a better fate
than Il received il thought and preparation
go for anything. fer came near making my
sell i'll over it. / was feeling out of soris on
the morning that called for the latchkey
and when the locksmith Swore positively that
he had given me the thing already-;hat less
than ten minutes previously / had come in
for the key. paid for it, and taken it away
with me. will confess that lost my tenn
per and stormed ar the fellow, but | could
not get him TO bulge line from his story.
He seemed 10 have an idea that / was play
ing q practical joke. and the only result of
my talking was tnat | nearly lost my train TO
Waterloo. 1t was moving when l reached
the platform, and had to run for the only
compartment of which the door was open,
near the end of the train.
The compartment contained two other pas
sengers, but il glanced at them at all. noticed
nothing except that each one was pretty we'll
hidden behind daily PAPER. L bad fortu-
nately bought my own paper before calling
at the locksmiths, and | speedily followed
their example.
'I had become rather interested in my pa
per" and did not notice my companions
talking. until one of them started telling an
anecdote. Then il gradually dawned upon
me that the story he was telling was one that
L considered my own particular property, and
when l listenei it struck me that the story
was being told, not only in my exact words,
but also i'll my own voice. They say that n
man does not recognize his own voice-when
he hears it in the photograph, for instance,
but that is possibly the fault OF the phono-
graph. aud at any rate, know that recog-
nized mine instantly.
1.-The story and the voice startled me, but
IL 10 uItllcuIL 10 UeScTiU0 my IGSilDRS Hutu L
put down my paper to glance at the mar
rator."
1T was yourself? asked Major bennett, ex-
citedly, as the other actor paused and Dane
nodded.
''Yes. gentlemen. saw seated at the other
end OF the compartment by the window, op-
posite his companion, figure that was an
exactfacsimile of the reflection which I see
in my glass every day when I have dressed
for the part of a respectable citizen. 1t vas
myself. complete in every detail of face and
attire"
''An optical illusion. 1 suppose?'' sug-
gested; and the actor shook his head.
mo; that was the first idea that occurred
to me-that / had been working and worry
ing too much over the new play, and my
brain had played me trick. The uncon-
cerned way in which the third man glanced
at me encouraged me in the belief, for the
likeness, unless [ was imagining it. was
enough to attract instant attention. [ won
dered whether there was actually a man sit
ting and talking where | saw and heard my
facsimile, for the third man, an every day
individual, had not spoken word to me.
and might, from his expression, have been lis
tening to his anecdote or simply thinking L
was relieved when he laughed at the point
when my double as | began to call his COM
panion came to the joke OF the story, but when
he opened his mouth it was only to increase
that my double possessed my name, as well
as my voice, my dress. my face and figure.
II began to wonder, then, not whether the
man at the window was reality, but whether
l was reality myself, and it really would
not have surprised me if / had looked in q
mirror at that moment and found it reflect
back face that was strange to me. 1t is
strange how quickly single phenomenon
will sometimes change all ones fixed opin-
ions on the subject of the supernatural. l
felt that l must speak to the men if only to
prove whether was awake or dreaming. and
l seized the opportunity OF Introducing N.Y.
self offered by hearing my double called by
my name.
Excuse me-, said, addressing him. but
I heard your friend just now call you Mr..
Dane. / wonder whether we are related at
all, for that happens to be my name, and we
seem to bear striking similarity to one
another
".My double turned and surveyed me
through his single eyeglass in exactly the
same manner as that with which l should
have surveyed stranger who addressed me
in the train.
az really do not know whether We are re-
lated. he said, in a voice use when want
to- be slightly patronizing. i am Gilbert
Dane. of the Howard Theater,' and he aetu-
ally handed me one of my own cards.
There was something in the substantial
nature of the familiar bit of pasteboard that
brought back little OF my common sense and
relieved me from the state of stupefaetion
into which the phenomenon had driven me.
"sCome this is very clever trick said,
with smile which, am afraid, was rather