Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-27

But you can, by chemistry, out of the burnt
dust of that flower, raise spectrum of the
flower just as 1t seemed in life. 1t may be
the same with the human being. The soul
has as much escaped you as the essence or
elements of the flower. Still you may have
spectrum Of it, And this phantom,
though in the popular superstition 1t is
held to be the soul Of the. departed, must
not be COMPOUNDED with the true soul; 1t Is
but the eidolon Of the dead form. Hence,
like the best-attested stories of ghosts or
spirits, the thing that most strikes us is
the absence Of what we held to be the soul;
that Is, Of superior emancipated intelli-
gence. These apparit1onS come for little or
no object-they seldom speak when they do
come; If they speak, they utter no idea
above those of an ordinary person on earth
American spirit-seers have published vol
umes of communications in prose and verse
which they assert to be given in the names
Of the most illustrious dead-Shakespeare,
Bacon-heaven knows whom.
"Those communications, taking the best,
are certainly not whit Of higher order
than would be communicated from living
persons Of fair talent and education; they
are wondrously inferior to what Bacon,
Shakespeare and Plato said and wrote when
on earth. Nor, what is more noticeable do
they even contain an idea that was not on
the earth before. Wonderful, therefore. as
such phenomena may be granting them to
be truthfuD, I see much that philosophy
may question, nothing that 1t Is incumbent
on philosophy to deny-viz.: nothing super
natural. Iney are Dut lucas conveyed some
how or other 1--WE have not yet discovered
the means) from one mortal brain to an
other. Whether. In so doing, tables walk of
their own accord or. fend-like shapes ap-
pear in a magic circ3eIc or bodyless hands
rise and remove material objects or a thing
of darkness such as presented itself to me-
freeze our blood-Sstilt am persuaded that
these are but agencies conveyed as by cleo
trio wires to my own brain from the
brain of anotheEa2 In some constitutions
there is a natural chemistry. and those con-
situations may produce chemic wonders-in
others q natural Auid-call 1t electricity
and these may produce electrical wonders.
But the wonders differ from normal science
in this-they are alike objectless, pur-
poseless, pueriie, frivolous. They lead on
to no grand results; and therefore the world
does not heed and true isages have not cul-
tivated them. But suresI am, that of all I
saw or heard. a man. human as myself,
was the remote hrtgiHa tor; and I believe
unconsciously to himself as to the exact
effects produced, afor the reason, no two
persons, you say, have ever told you that
they experienced Exactly the same thing
Well, observe, no Two persons ever exactly
an ordinary imposture the machinery would
be arranged for results that would but lit
tie vary: If 1t were supernatural agency,
permit ted by the Almighty. 1t would surely
be for some definite end. These phenomena
belong to neither class; my persuasion Is
that they originate In. some brain now far
distant that that brain had no distinct vo-
lition In anything that occurred; that what
does occur reflects but it's obvious, motley,
ever-shifting half-formed thoughts; In
short, that It has been but the dreams of
such brain put into action and invested
with semi substance. That this brain is of
immense power, that II can set matter into
movement. that 1t Is malignant and de-
structive, believe; some material force
must have killed my dog; the same force
might, for aught know. have .suffaced to
xiii myself had 1 been:as subjugated by ter,
ror as that dog-had my Intellect or my
spirit given me no conntervailing resistance:
In my will -
ut killed your dog!< That lie fearful! In