Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-07-05
AN ACTORS DOUBLE.

tations ut the Thirty-nino CLUB ana retail
ing tho usual second or third hand &c.
counts of deceased ladies' and gentlemen
showing themselves to their sorrowing
relatives.
at is strange the trick which our brains
will sometimes play Us " said DR.. Mac
phcrson. Il remember once seeing Il
ghost myself, and can tell you that the
sensation is n very curious one. 1t was
good many years ago, in my examination
days, and had boon sitting up until the
early hours examining. Everybody in the
house had long since gone to bed, where ]
ought TO have been myself 50 l was rath'
er surprised whom glanced up from my
book to sec somebody sitting mt the table
whcro myself had been few moments
before writing. felt quite startled for an
instant, until / recognized the intruder.
Ho was u lttlo ha2y, but l could see
plainly enough who it was. "
~ dead rulativo?" asked Major Den
nett. who was firm believer in the good
old fashioned ghost
Macpherson answered in his peculiarly
quiet way;
mo, it was myself The appearance OF
seeing ono's own ghost is not altogether
unusual, believe"
Now, ! DO not think your experience
was half 80 remarkable rs one Of mine,
said Gilhcr; Danc, the well known actor
md manac,c Of the Howard thcator, who
happened 10 ha there that night. Dane is
not a member Of the Thirty nine, but had
como with Macpherson Most of the brain
specialists friends are in the profession, a
fact which is perhaps duo to the year
which hc himself spent on tho stage as a
young man.
My story begins prosaically, said the
actor when We LEGGED to hear it. Il loss
tho latchkcy with which l let myself into
the theat,7 and took somebody clscs TO
the locksuith's to have q duplicate made
agreed to call i it the following morn
ine Is ! WAS ling up to town for rchcars-
al was living at putncy then and we
worc actively preparing play which Go
served "a bvit,r fate than 10 received, II
thought and preparation 20 for anything
for c..ino near making myself Ill over it.
was feeling out of sorts on the morning
that called for the latchAcy, and when
the locksmitl sWoro positively that he had
given mct!o tniuc Glrcady-that less than
ten minutes p- Yio9,ly had como in for
the key paid for II and taken IL away
with mel will confess that l lost my
temuor and stormcd AZ the fellow, but
story.
Ito seemed to have an idea that was
playin, practical joke, and the only re
suit of my talking was that l nearly lost
my train Il Waterloo 1t was moving
when / reached the platform, and l had to
run for tie cniy compartment of which
the door was open near tho end OF the
train.
1.-THE compartment contained two other
passengers, bat il ! glanced at them at
all noticed nothing except that each was
pretty we'll hidden behind daily paper.
had fortunately bought NY own paper
before calling at the locksnth 5, and
speedily followed tLoir example 80 far
tho story is painfully commonplace Now
comes The truly remarkable experience
which has stamped the doing5 Of that day
indclibly on my memory"
Tho actor paused to strike match and
relght his chcroOt, which be had allowed
to go out and We all watched him in 81
lcnco wondering what was coming Mac
phcrson only bad the air OF a man who
had heard tho story before.
Il had become rather interested in my
paper" Dane went on when the cigar was
alight again, "aad did not notice my
companions talking until one Of them
ually dawnod upon mo that the story he
was telling was ono that | consider my
own particular property, and when lis
tened it struck mc that the story was he
ing told not only i'm my exact words, but
also in ny own voice They say that u
man docs not recognize his own voice
when he hears iJ in tic phonograph, for
insJancc-b3t that is possibly the fault Of
tho monograph, and, at any rate, know
that l recognized mine instantly.
Tho story and the voice startled me,
but It Is difficult 10 describe my feelings
when l put down my paper to glance at
the narrator"
lit was yo6rsclit" asked Major bennett
excitcdly us the gc,or paused, and Dane
nodded
Yes, gentlemen, / saw seated at the
other end Of tho compartment by the win
dow, opposite lis companion, a figure that
was an exact facsimile Of tho reflection
which l see in my glass every day when l
have dressed for the part of a respectable
citizen. IL was myself complete in every
detail Of face and attire "
AN optical dclusion, supposed" sug-
gcstcd, and the actor shook his head.
mo; that was the first idea that oc-
CURED to me-that | had been working
and worrying too much over tho now
play and my brain had played mo a trick
The unconcernCd way In which the third
glanced at me encouraged me in the be-
lief, for the likeness, unless l was imagin-
ing 1t, was enough 10 attract instant at
tenton. | wondered whether there was
actually n man sitting and talking where
/ saw and heard my facsimile for the
third man, an everyday individual, had
not spoken word to him and might frolS
his expression have been listening to his
anccdotc or simply thinking. / was re-
licvcd when he laughed at tho point when
my double, as / began to call his com
panion, came 10 the joke Of the story, but
when he opened his mouth it was only TO
increase the mystery of the affair, for it
showed me that my double possessed my
name rs well rs my voice. my dress, my
face and figure.
Il began TO wonder, then, not whether
tho man at the window was reality, but
whether j was a reality myself, and 10
really would not have surprised me IL ]
had looked In mirror at that moment
and found IL reflect hack face that was