The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-14
ELLIOTT COUES ON GHOSTS.
A GkSUINELY SCIENTIFIC MAN VINO
SAID NE nan SkES ZEN.

E,rom a, l,neinna,i Enanir,r.

seen, lie SuiV -thosts Doht Wink, LN-
ccpt Financially, and Then Only
Figurativsiy About the Ghost Chill.
From ts Cincinnati Enquirer.
WAsuiNGToN, Jan o DR.. Elliott Coues, IN,
famous ornithologist and member OF the National
Academy Of Sciences, who died a week ago, Was
long recognized as tho foremost ad,ocaa Of be-
lief In the existence Of ghosts lie had promised
several Of has friends that, II able 10 do 50. he would
appear 10 them after his own demise, and now they
are waiting with no little interes, to see II he will
carry out his agreement Himself a ghost seer.
as he used To say, h enjoyed discussing the sub
iect Of phantoms in the same method Of cool
headed anal sis as he would apply 10 the classih-
cation Of birds or any other matter susceptible
OF approach by rational argument The writer
was 10 fortunate as 10 possess his friendship for
many years, and on many a Sunday afternoon
has spent an hour or two with him in his study,
over a pipe and a dish Of tea, talking spooks
Il have myself seen the ghosts Of a good many
dead persons" said the doctor to me one day.
Il remember one occasion, when ! had Just gone to
bed, thu light being turned out | was composing
myself 10 slumber, when | suddenly became aware
Of n presence in the room The impression con-
,eyed Ia my mind was that 1t was the presence Of
a certain person lately deceased, with whom | had
been on very intimate terms. In fact. | felt an
empowering sense Of the nearness of the indlvid-
ual in question
AT about thu same moment there arose slowly
from the ilour a nebulous mass OF what looked like
shining white vapor, which began To take shape
as did the smoke from the casket opened by the
fisherman in the Arabian Nights tale Gradu-
ally II assumed a more distinct outline unul It
presented a radiant image Of my friend The
l-.. - A.. 49, .-l e.. -
intelligihlc utterance a message from the depart
ed do not care to say what that message was
Il can assure you that the vision was no dream,
and the nature If the message was such as Ia
eliminate, TO my own satisfaction. at all events,
the theory Of halluc!nation What, then, was
this shape Of shining white vapor? Was II a hui
man soul? II is a question pregnant with intense
interest"
The doctor took enother pipeful Of tobacco,
lighted it, and. with u puff OF two, continued
Every afternoon at about 5 O'Clock ! lie down
on the sofa in my library for a brief rest before
dinner. Occasionally, while enjoying this re-
pose, though perfectly wide awake, there comes
upon me the peculiar sensation Of the ghost chill,
which | will presently speak Of ] wait with
| much attention and interest e. see what is going
to happen, aud Eresenty ! ind my own conscious
hess projected effectively, Hs ii were, SO that my
conscious sell stands out In the room and views
my body lying On the lounge About the latter
Is a bright light, which grows gradually until 1t
has filled ell the room, and my conscious self
finds itself surrounded by phantums, most Of them
Il persons who appear tu Re strangers 10 me while
others resemble acquainianCes who have long
been dead. They seem 10 walk about and con.
verse in the ordinary way, though not audilly.
All the time | am clearly aware II the situation,
! and make useful mental note # Whatever / oil.
serve, unnl after a few Elief moments the spec
tCle yani, hes and find myself ON the sofa again.
IT Is Obvious, II ghosts exist at all. that they
must w made # something My belief is that
they are In a sense sui sAnlial and possess semi.
material structure. II you aSl by what mean
semi material | will refer for illustrator to the
ether which IL understood To- occupy all space.
II has waves II known lengths and measured
velocity, which strike upon the retlna of the eye
and produce impressions Of light In short We
know n good deal about this ether, but nobody
ever saw a particle - II, inasmu,h as IL has not
lhe molecular constitution # ordinary matter.
ltls sent material ! have no notion Of he nature
81 the substances that make q ghost, Tut SUB
pose mat " hen a man dies n separates itself from
the gIosser Particles that &c mpose his physical
organirs ne latter decomposes, hut the spiritual
part 81 the individual does not neCeSSAr ly shA 70
that fate, icing composed Of finer stuff.
Did II over occur 10 You that we ourselves
n m"y c Ss mSy,hiS IN snrI " %%T!$ o, Unseen ,pfSc ln,s
or on our walks abroad, by invisible phantoms
81 the dead? II has been estimated that for every
81 that, II the spiritual bodies II all preserve cN-
istence here alter death, we survivors ara but .
e9mRarauve lew passing 4 brief term Of years
palpable swarm Of beings iECorpureal. Indeed,
my, own notion Is that It is only the very rare
and exceptional ghost that makes itself visible
70 me llying, and that such a phenomenon Is 10
he regarded as wholly extraordinary.
" have reason nOw 10 think that there is
no such thing a. the highly couvrutionalIed
ghost represented by tradition and described
IN popular nCtlons the corpse Ike apparItlun
which enters by preference at the struke 81 mid
nlght, dressed IN a winding sheet. smelling Il
NE grave ana dragging a %clankIng chain through
the sliding panel lust by the door, while the cam
dies burn blue and the dogs howl disnally.
according I" my own observation and To the
testimony Il many other reliable persons who
have observed such phenomena, the real spectre
u a dead person shows few signs Of life, resemb
ling a magic lantern picture more than anything
else, TO which = u readily comparable. II does
not speak or use It's limbs, its methods VI locOmo.
ton, when II moves, being q gliding, It's clothed
not In n winding sheet, but in garments such
as were worn IN life by the indi yidual # wLom
IL is the eidoIon, or image. 1t appears by daylight
as often rs at night, but never with any pnrp0ss
in It's actions that Is. at all comprehensive DC
caslonally II Is self luminous. In most cases
disappears through n door or wall, but often
1t simply fades away II shadpwy mist Some.
times the phantasnGl figure IS seen as though
illuminated on y dark background, sometimes
the contour is indistinct, and resembles a lumln,
Gus cloud; sumelmeS there b no figure at all, but
merely q diffused glow"
The doctors pipe had gone out lie took a
match from the skull II an Indian chief. Which
served him as a match box, and lighted i, again.
Said he,
Each Of us, | believe, has in him a ghost, which
ordinarily Is confined to the precincts # the body
When | dl" my ghostleayes my body permanentlv,
and, having don" 50, perhaps 1t may continue
To- be the vehicle and means Of expression Of con
sclulls VIII, memory and understanding ST
PAU says: There Is n natural body and a spiritual
body. II ~ ofthe spiritual body that | speak
our bodily senses take CugniIance II no forms
Of matter except those which are in A c.rt,ln Je
gree Il condensation, but, as have already said
the spiritual body may be II n more rarIiied and
tenu0us substance, The non appearance ufchosts
TO US may be n question, not Of the existence If
%spectres, but Of the aCuteness NJ our rercep,iyr ncll-
ties My own experience Is that the coming Of
an apparltion is always preceded by a curious
sensation which ! call the 'ghos, chill When
this symptom arrives, the threshold Of conscious.
ness seems to be shifted Ia the extent Of rendering
possible a perception Of something ordinarily
invisible he change is usually very brief
lasting only n few seconds, during which the mani
! ~feStHtiOn occurs.
Since childhood | have found myself Possessed
OF an organism IN which the threshold If CON
seriousness, Is markedly capable II such shifting
On several occasions | have been aware Of the
presence ri The spiritual bodies Of deceased persons
who gave To- me Information that was moi other
wise ohtalnable, and who conveyed 10 my mind
n conviction of their identity The eyidentinl
value uf these experiences is wholly t.rSnnni
Of course, lnaSmuch as they are not subject 60 ths
ordinary Processes Of yerIiication.
In each of MS there is an inner Individuality
which differs wholly in It's CHARACTERISTICS frnr,
our other self II Is not subject 10 the law of grayi.
tltlon and II cannot b. mechanically affected
10 its injury or benefit II does not derend Tor
its being upon The wellare or survival of the body
1t inhabits II Is cal able Of changing lis Location
by It's own yolliIpn under certain circumstances
such as VIII presently mention, though probable
not exactly IN accordance with our ideas of trans.