The Elbert County tribune., 1920-01-09

one reason why she'd been willing to
take the responsibility of Claire was
that she was so like her Lila, girl
of thirteen in a boarding school; and
from Lila she went on to Eugene, who
couldn't meet her at the steamer, un-
fortunately, because she'd come back
two weeks early and he was in the
West.
He seemed very near her heart, and
after talking of him for half an hour
she either warmed to 1t or let slip by
accident, couldn't tell which. the
words, ''It's the grief of my life-and
of his, poor boy-that he detests my
profession so. But what can | do?"
Your profession What is your
profession?" / exclaimed, thrown quite
out of my customary reserve in ask
ing personal questions.
1 thought she looked at me in
queer way, and l saw she hesitated to
answer. l was on the point of
apologizing for my inquisitiveness
when she startled me by replying, "pm
a clairvoyant."
l was thrown off my reserve still
more and couldn't help echoing, "A
clairvoyantP' in actual astonishment,
she was so different from what I'd
have expected to find under the name.
She added quickly. 81 saw you didn't
approve of-didn't believe in the oc-
cult the day we talked about your ring
and I've been at pains not to-not
to bore you with talking shop, there
are so many other interesting things
that we have In common"
didn't want her to feel uncomfort-
able and laughed to reassure her, "Oh,
I'm not 'sot ag'in ito tell you the
truth, 1 don't know a blessed thing
about 1t, except what one picks up in
the papers, and of course"
She fairly took the words out of my
mouth that l was at the moment try
ing to keep in-"Of course one gets
preJudiced and looks on that sort OF
thing as-all fraud" There were beth
anger and a twinkle in her eye, as
though she knew she'd caught me In
the act, and then she added: Its part
ly what l went over for-to look up
some new mediums with a view to hav-
ing them come to New York and give
seances."
And from this she went on and de-
scribed some Of the phenomena she'd
actually seen with her own eyes. For
instance, a little peasant boy in the
south of France-where. she left me to
guess. and fancied she didn't like to
trust me with the secret-Jacques Le-
rolls. whose phenomena were more
wonderful than Eurapla Palladino's."
He was a physical manifestation me-
dium. He "was greater at ten years
of age than Slade"
Still even Jacques Lerolls wasn't so
wonderful as young girl in Paris
she brought stones covered with drip
ping seaweeds out of the bottom of
the ocean, and she had once brought q
seance and had put it-after 1t had
f1uttered all about and everybody saw
it-into a closed cage-"dematerial
ized it twice In one evening"" said Mrs.
Delario. This girl had only just be-
gun to develop naturalization as one
of her phases.
/ confess 1t struck me as Mrs. Della
rio talked and told me how shed been
trying to make arrangements for one
of these persons to come over with her
that she was getting up new turns IN
her own shows much as a vaudeville
manager hunts up new performers for
his. She asked me to visit her in New
York, not professionally but as a
friend, and still, If / were interested
and would undertake some investiga-
tions, she'd be glad to help me. and
1 couldn't refrain from saying, THAT
Is, you'll put me next to some first
class spooks?'
think this rather hurt her, for she
answered little tartly. you may not
be interested now-but you will be
The occult is coming into your life and
you can't prevent it. You'll get mani
festations that will-at least that may
drive you almost insane IL you're
not prepared for them and don't know
how to handle the forces that are
already at work about you" And with
that parting shot-thnt, of course, any
body might fire Into you In self-defense
or just to be little nasty-she went
AWAY to Claire. And I'm going to con-
fess right here that in spite Of my
skepticism felt creepy.
I also felt clearer in my own mind
on many little things I'd noticed about
Claire: her coming to my stateroom
that time; her constant hanging about
me, even when she must have seen 1t
was inconvenient for me to have her:
and the way she seemed so much of
the latter part of the voyage to be
trying to keep away from Mrs. Della
rio. staying by herself in her state
room. Had there been manifestations
Mrs. Delarlo been telling Claire tllngs