The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-09
SEEING GHOSTS.

not man, but boy. The character of a
mans ancestry can best be determined by
studying his children. Indeed, faint out
lines of the evolution of the entire human
race are discernible in the development of
every child. Thus science has discovered q
hint of arboreal existence in the infants
| mode of locomotion and the small boys
propensity for climbing. Possibly the boys
Unborn superstition and credulity only rep
resent a later period in the upward prog
ress of mankind. Whatever may be the
explanation it is a fact that every normal
boy, no matter what happens to be his sta
ton, must pass through a stage of SUI
preme and primitive superstition. AS a
babe he is made to believe the legend of
Santa Claus. Then, one day he learns-no-
body knows how-that the mystic, shadowy
woods, which have always had a subtle fas-
cination for him, are people with a host Of
tiny gnomes and fairies. Later his eyes
open wide at the wonder of a pink little
baby brother sent direct from heaven,
and, ere long, he is brought face to face
with the terrible mystery of death. 1t is
not until he has reached the age of ten or
twelve that he is formally introduced to
the gloomy world of phantoms, of ghosts
and hobgoblins. 1t is usually the hired man
who acquaints him with these horrors.
10 the DOy the IlreQ man Is ever a Won
derful parsonage. He has had such a
wealth of worldly experience and he is al
ways ready to impart information. One
summer night he and the boy go fishing
together. The hired man is an expert with
the rod-as witness the marvellous tales he
can tell of the fish he has caught-and he
says 'if you want to ketch the big uns
allus go at night" They have fished a long
while in silence, and the boy is growing
drowsy, when suddenly the hired man whis-
pers huskily: Les go home, sonny; / think
1 see a ha'nt down yander." The boy has
no idea what a 'ha'nt' is, but his COM
panion's manner betokens something dread
full. 1t is not until they have come with
in sight of home that he ventures to in
quire: What is a ha'nt, Eph?"
"A ha'nt? Why kin it be that you don't
know about ha'nts?' exclaims Eph in
feigned establishment.
rs it something like a cattymount? % per-
sists the boy after a pause.
""Cattymounts! Why I'd ruther tackle a
hundred cattymounts n one ha'nt. Ha'nts
air lowed to be the remains of dead folks
that's been kil~led-somethin' like sperrits
only more skeery. It's my opinion they's
been a Indian killed down there sometime
an he's a-ha'ntin' the crick, -" and the
AiiI man sues Ou " CApdlldlO upon the
subject.
That night the boy retires in fear and
trembling and for months thereafter the
grewsome spirit hosts hover constantly
near him. He cannot go into the barn after
dusk without seeing uncanny sights and
hearing strange sounds. Ghosts which less
observant eyes would have overlooked are
revealed to him on every side. He awakes
at the awful hour of midnight to behold
strange objects in his lonely room. Sinister
eyes CLEAN like fire from stygian corners,
ghostly rappings are heard behind the
wainscoting and the black air is famed by
the futter of invisible wings. If a few
spectral moonbeamS chance to creep in at
the window, they only seem to render the
gloom more CHASTITY. 1t is a desperate or
deal; and yet the boys pride will not permit
him to flee, for there is nothing even in the
spirit world he fears so much as the scorn-
full jeers of his elder brother. So he draws
the covers over his head and bravely falls
asleep. 1t is vain for his parents to ex-
postulate with him during this period-for
is not one bound to believe his own eyes?
And how about the testimony of the hired
man?
One rainy day while rummaging in the
garnet, he falls upon Il musty volume of the
AAoOIdh AN4SAAc II hOlh HE IdlCN
feast and revel as it has never done before.
Days thereafter he wanders through the
woods in search of the secret entrance to
Aladcin's cave and he would not be in the
least surprised if bird or beast should adj
dress him in polite English. He wonders if
the dingy, brass ring upon his finger may
not be a magic talisman, and rubs it hope
fully, expecting its genii to appear to do
his bidding. Every night he dreams of
Staying a monster dragon and rescuing a
beautiful, enchanted princess-who always
markedly resembles a certain little girl he
knows at school. Are these purely acct
dental fancies of a childish imagination. or
are they the natural and logical heritage
bequeathed him by some forgotten but val
orous ancestor of the romantic days of
chivalry?
Having learned its wondrous possibilities,
the boy is likely to delve further into the
literature of the garnet and to unearth an
other prize in a copy of the Pilgrims
Progress To him it is not an a~llegory,
but a vivid tale of adventure, and he de-
yours ii with a boys hearty r~elish-except
the dissertations between Christian and his
garrulous companions, which he skips.
dwelling the longer upon the fiery battle
with Apolyon. The Slough of Despond is
pasture, and the Giant Despair, Doubling
Castle and the Valley of the Shadow of
Death are all hideous realities in his elastic
mind. Perhaps it is Just as well that they
impress him thus now, and perhaps life will
teach him that they were realities after all.
But the boys medieval period passes