The Saint Paul globe., 1903-11-01
AnAngler and His Obsession
The Story of the Fish Liar Who Repented and the PSYCHE
cal Expert.


The humble inquirer and the learned
professor of physics sat on roof over.
looking the Hudson eating a table
d hote dinner. III
The mystical look,s which was the
professors habitual expression, gradu-
ally wore away with the appearance of
the delicious soup, the. succulent en-
tree and the bottle of vim ordinaire
from California, and his astral body
was unconsciously recalled from it's in
tercourse with the departed gods to
help in the material process Of diges-
ton. ~
The humble inquirer, wishing to i'm
prove the chance for mental culture,
said
Professor, do you believe that tele-
pathy will ever become demonstrable
scientific fact?"
eMy dear fellow" replied the profes-
sor, "telepathy has already been proved
to the complete satisfaction of thou
sands of men and women who have
never been accused of having wheels
in their heads
Eyes, yes, 1 know" replied the hum
BILE inquirer, eagerly. but do you think
it will ever become so firmly establish
ed as the Marconi sound Waves?"
Certainly, certainly" said the pro-
fessor. You see, telepathy is the SYM
pathetic influence of one mind or per-
son by another at distance, through
supposed emotional influence, but the
Mahatmas have known all about it for
ages
Il have heard vague rumors about
those Mahatmas,'' said the humble in
quirer. They run a postoffice~in the
Hima-ayas, and have a clerk called a
juvinmukta, haven't they?"
Il don't like your tone of cynical in
quiry, my friend" said the professor,
reaching for the paprika; "it implies
doubt. The difficulty is that we do
not understand the conditions under
which telepathy acts.'"'
"Our crude, Western, materialistic
minds are too coarse, fully to appre-
ciate the marvels of1this supernatural
science. Soaring after the unattainable
with unf1edged wings or diving after
the unfathomable before we can swim
is likely to end in disaster.
'Swedenborg tells US that the COB
Inns II git ye' if you dtry to trifle with
the infinite. Please pass the salt this
way"
"The reason I asked you," continued
the humble inquirer, is because most
remarkable phenomenon has occurred,
which I think is worthy of investiga-
ton. You believe in IAN obsession, of
course,
"You mean the existence of an in
f1uence of an external spirit or demon
that takes possession of some of US,
presume?"
"Yes; only in this, case it was an
idea, and not a demon, that took pos
session of the subject"
"Precisely,". said the professor, with
his mouth full of salad. SYNONYMOUS.
Waiter, bring another quart Of claret.
Go on, I am listening. Ideas are
demons"
"a young friend of mine Just out Of a
theological seminary" continued the
humble inquirer, came to visit me
about month ago. He was man OF
exquisite sensibility, keenly alive to his
moral obligations = and. you are no
doubt aware, professor. that Renan
says that the good man heads the pro-
cession of humanity-and am positive
that he had never told lie.
Indeed, the idea of deliberately mis-
stating a fact was abhorrent to him.
Some tragedy in his family, caused by
an suntruth, had madeI, a deep and last
ing impression upon him.
tfWell, took him around town, and
showed him all the conventional sights,
and then I proposed a days fishing.
Living in an interior town and being
engrossed in ecclesiastical pursuits, he
| had never. caught fish, and he readily
agreed to go.
"a party was made up, but, unfortu-
nately, / was taken Ill, and was forced
| to remain at home. But my friend
went, and enjoyed himself hugely, and
also caught a fish.
Il did not see the fish. but my friends
who went with him have assured me