The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-14
GARFIELD'S GHOST HUNT.
MAS aBOUT 10 VISIT 4 HAUNTED
HOUsE WHEN sHOI.

H. " Smnlley Had Interested himssit In .
Ghost In Astoria and the President Had
Arranged for q secret Trip There on
~. Way Home From Williams College.
Apopos Of the statement made by tho Rev In.
HILLS 4 plymouth Church. concerning a myste-
rious visit Of Abraham Lincoln " Henry Ward
Beecher In Brooklyn lust before the Instance Of
tho Emancipation Proclamation, there u another
h, Of history IN something the nms line. That
also involved a clandssuns yisis Of a Presidsn, u
the United Sratss 10 n houss on the other side Of
the Eas. River The visit a. Q matter Of fact,
did not take place, for a uaEic event that startled
the whole world prevented IL But II was all fully
planned, and would have bscn carried out 10 The
letter but for the tragedy In question. There
was, however. q difference In the nature OF tho
rwo mysterious Presidential visits which was per-
haps characteristic Of the men Lincoln's Grand
was To seek advice on a step Of grave national i'm
por.ancs; the other Presidents Grand was 10 zee
a ghost
The late Eugene Virgil Smallsy. Editor Of tho
Northeastern Naed,ins, who died In 81 Paul about
rwo weeks ago, was a party ~ the queer Presi-
dontial trip In question. and II grew out Of a curl
Gus series Of coincidence incident 70 Mr., Sinai
leys close personal relations with the President
and " certain characteristics common 70 them
boG. The story Is one Of tie many interesting
"reminiscences Of public men. Of which MI. Small
ley could havo made a most entertaining book
had he chosen TO do %,
During the dine Mr.. SmAllsy was the Washing
ton correspondent Of a New York newspaper he
bore a strong personal resemblance 10 James A.
Garfield. Garfield WAS not PreAdcns then. but
he was none the less one OF the great men In Wash
ington at the time, a man who always attracted
attention On the streets and In public places
The resemblance between Smalley and tho
Congressman from Ohio was 80 great that the
one was often mistaken for the other, with many
amusing episodes as a natural consequences II
was more a resemblance In generoltties thnn In
detail. Their features were unlike, hut they wero
Of much the same size and build, their boards
were alike in color and form. and the general
contour Of their heads was very sinilar.
But tho resemblance was not merely physical
They had many habits Of mind and sympnthiss
10 common. a circumstance, among others, which
made them warm friends There was in Gar
fields rather poetic temperament a strong vein
of mysticism. a fondness for the occult which
needed little cultivation TO have led Gu!teau's
victim into paths which other men Of great talent
and strong Imagination have followed until led
Wy II ' SNInhk nA'i INV uSiS INV
phile G au,ier says there Is In every mans mind
q certain dark chamber where bats Of superstition
Turk, only needing the right kind Of prod to -,
them f~uttsring their uncanny wings, obscurtng
the reason with all sorts OF dark shadows and queer
phantonS
In the case Of G arneld this dark chamber was
large, and the door was easily opsned, II q die
Greet and sympathetic hand touched the spring
Mr. Smalley's mind was precisely similar In
construction In this respect, and the more untrarn.
melled conditions Of the new spaper correspondents
lie, as compared with the politicians, gave him
the privilege Of an indulgence In mystic expert.
ment which was denied TO Gen Garfield Yet
the two had many Quie, conferences on me sub
iect. and each found in the other a sympathetic
confdant
Az about the time Of Gen Garfeld's in%augura-
Ton there was much stir among New York spirit
ualists over certain str range occurrences said TO
be taking place in a house In Astoria The owner
Of this, a hard headed business man who had
amnssed a large fortune in the distinctly material
occupation Of making pig iron. had had the mis-
fortune tie winter before 10 lose a very beautiful
daughter whom he idolized. She died in Florida
after a lingering illness The shock utterly shat.
tered her fathers nerves lie brooded upon his
loss until Il became the fixed idea Of his life He
tried 20 absorb himself in business, ard, after a
time, did succeed in freeing his mind from his
sorrow while actually In his downtown business
Office, But the moment he entered his beautiful
home, quite a princely pl,c" ot thu old fashioned
sort, with wide grounds, and n fine lava In the
rear, sweeping down 20 the East Riyer-the old
grief came back TO lin with all its crushing weight
At least IL did until q strange event occurred
which he at frs; told only in confidence 10 a few
intimate friends and which, with other equally
strange events that followed, seemed to make
quite another man Of him and 10 almost reconcile
him to his loss
The eSuaoriinGry story hc tod his friends
was this He had gone 10 his home ono after
noon earlier than usual II was IN February,
a sunny day and srlll hight md cleHr when he
reached the gate, q has crumbs lie had heen
unusually absorbed that day IN an important
business matter and lis mind was still intent
upon il when he entered his grounds. Tur el-
mos, the first time, he believed. since his daughters
loss did come 10 upp-eSs him rs he entered his
doorway, She was quite cut # his mind when
he walked into the large front parl"r and started
to 20 through Tie open sliding doors to the rear
parlor, the windows 4 which overlooked the
lawn reaching down b. the river
And one "f those windows IN Lrr ~favorite
in every detail q feature erd peso WAS the vision,
that. with his mind TOR the moment unhurdened
as IL was finn the sense II his ! 81, he for an in
stsn' felt no surprise at seeing her wherrn lie hnd
seen her hundreds If times before. lie advanced
q step tow ard her, whereat she looked %lAughingly
nnl brightly at him, but held up a wJninc finger
which brought him ~ Il sthndStll with. for The
first time, n realization Il all that had hctalleu
and e the overw helming character Il what he
saw. ur thought he saw, teiu 70 him. lie said
20 himself as he stood there that II must he that
he only thought he saw IT, TIE lid fuunda-
zion Il had "nusc On which his practical mind
was rrarpN t,Id him tia, II must ir that he only
his eyes and rubbed them hard TO brush the hal
lurina'inn away But when Ne opened them
ngain there was the bright vision eill smiling
At him lul with both her hands nov busy weaving
p curious tlmy lHCe which rolled slowly 70 her
feet In n sort 4 feocy spray which dimmed and
melted ont 4 sight
Again he sicrtad forward and again the warn
ing finger went up aud the lace weaving STOPPED.
And he noticed that as the busy hands ceased
faster and with 1t the vision itself grew DINNER
When I've stopped the bands flew back 10 the
rhrrtiy lHCo and the vision shone out stronger
and clearer unul the very living presence If the
beautiful girl who was dead wns lefore him.
Now when 2 solid manufacturer 4 nir iron
begins telling stories like this 10 his friends in
the trade, il is quite easy 10 guess what thoSn
thought II i'm this case and sAid IT,, hut sNid il
only in pity fer a grief that had trad such haliu-
CinatiunT But the strange narrative raachcl
other and more sympathetic cArs and ca M, nj
lost to Nj SmRiley, WHO was greatly Interested
in a. To AZ the quHcks and sham mediums"
,hr uThuut tho country II care rs n trumuet
70 n war horse, They rGll'cl in battalioug and
phalanycs The conf matt. n wos perfect n
man Il rrr1t wealth with his nlnl wide non
= h,Nn ptfp 4 "a flows And .I E4ttr.. 60. 49,.