The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-03-07

| part, was established. Not that had
any reason (as long as this venerable
| person remained in the body to sup
| pose that lie ever noticed me, but by
| some subtle connection this small,
white haired, infirm, yet yivaciQus fig
ure Of an old clergyman became asso-
ciateI with my idea and recollection Of
the place. One day especially (about
noon. as was generally his hour 1 am
| perfectly certain that had seen this
! figure of old DIR. Harris and taken my
| customary note Of him, although re-
member nothing in his appearance at
| all different from what l had seen on
many previous occasions.
But that very evening friend said
| TO me, Ibid you hear that old DR.. Har-
ris is dead?" NO." said very quiet
ly, "and it cannot be true, for / saw
him ut the Athcnnum today" "You
must be mistaken" rejoincd my friend.
''He is certainly dead" and confirmed
| the fact with such special circum-
| stances that could no longer doubt IT.
| My friend has often since assured me
| that seemed much startled nt the in
| telligence, but as we'll as can rocollect
1 believe that was very little disturb
| ed IL ut all. but set down the apparition
as mistake of my own or perhaps the
| interposition Of familiar idea into the
| place and amid the circumstances with
which had been accustomed to asso-
clate it.
The next day as ascended the steps
| Of the AthenRum remember thinking
within myself, "Wcll, 1 never shall see
old DR.. Harris again.! With this
thought In my mind as 1 opened the
door Of the reading room I glanced to-
| ward the spot and chair where DR..
Harris usually sat, and there to my
astOnishment, sat the gray, infirm fig
ure of the deceased doctor reading the
newspaper, rs was his wont. His own
death must have been recorded that
very morning in that very newspaper.
1 have no recollection Of being greatly
discomposed at the moment nor indeed
that felt any extraordinary emotion
whatever. Probably If ghosts were in
the habit Of coming among us they
would coincide with the ordinary train
OF affairs and melt into them so TAMIL
iarly that we should not be shocked at
their presence. At all events, 80 it was
in this instance. I looked through the
newspapers as usual and turned over
the periodicals, taking about as much
interest in their contents as ut other
times. Once or twice no doubt I may
have lifted my eyes from the page to
look again ut the venerable doctor, who
ought then to have been lying in his
coffin dressed out for the grave, but
who felt such interest in the Boston
Post as to come back from the other
world to read it the morning after his
death. One might have supposed that
he would have cared more about the
novelties Of the sphere to which he had
just been introduced than about the
politics he had left behind him.
The apparition took no notice Of me
nor behaved otherwise In any respect
than on any previous day. Nobody
but myself seemed to notice him. and
yet the old men round about the fire
beside his chair were his lifelong ac-
quaintances. who were perhaps think
ing Of his death and who in day or
two would deem 1t a proper courtesy
to attend his funeral.
I have forgotten how the ghost Of
DR.. Harris took it's departure from the
Athennum on this occasion or, in fact,
whether the ghost or went first. This
equanimity and almost Indifference on
my part-the careless way In which
glanced at so singular O mystery and
left it aside-is what now surprises me
as much as anything else IN the affair.
From thn: time FOR IL long while
thereafter--for weeks at least and
know not but for months-I used to see
the figure of DR.. Harris quite as fire.
quently as before his death. It grew
to be so common that ut length I re-
garded the venerable defunct no more
than any other Of the old fogies who
basked before tile fire and dozed over
the newspapers.
1t was but q ghost, nothing but thin
air, not tangible nor appreciable nor
demanding any attention from q man
of flesh and blood! cannot recollect
any cold shudderings, any awe, any
repugnance, any emotion whatever,
such as would be suitable and deco
rous on beholding yisitant frcsn the
spiritual -oriSi. 1t is very strange,
but such is the truth. It appears ex-
cessively odd to me now that 7 did not
adopt such means as readily might
to ascertain whether the appearance
Auu Soiiu 6uUStuuCe oT WIS uereiy
gaseous and vapory. might have
brushed against him, have jostled his
chair or have trodden accidentally Oh
his poor old toes. might have snatch
ed the Boston Post-unless that were
an apparition, too-out Of his shadowy
hands. I might have tested him in q
hundred ways. but did nothing Of the
kind.
Perhaps was loath to destroy the
illusion and to rob myself Of SO good a
ghost story, which might probably
have been explained In some very
commonplace way. Perhaps, after all,
had a secret dread OF the old phenom-
enon and therefore kept within my
limits with an instructive caution
which mistook for Indifference. Be
this as It may, here is the fact: I saw
the figure day after dav for q consid.