New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-07
BY Pierre Mile
Translated BY JVsllians L. MCPHERSON
Copyright. 1921. New York Tribune Inc.

Copyright 1921, New York Tribune Inc.
FRS. MARGARET ALLEN, whose
Iva IN friend have the honor to be, chldes
WI mo gently for my disbelief in the
mysteries of the Great Beyond. My
incredulity, however, is limited. 1t is q sort
Of agnosticism I limit myself to stating that
have never seen anything read anything
which can completely dissipate it. But Mrs.
Margaret Allen, who is an Englshwoman,
answers me:
'That isn't astonishing. For example, 1t is
impossible for you to see ghost. You are a
Frenchman!
/ protest that nationality has nothing to do
with the matter. If ghosts exist, and If they
appear, it seems to me that / have right
to be favored with their visits, just the same
as any Ango-Saxon. But she shakes her
head.
NO." she says, '.you have too much iinagina-
ton"
That sounds paradoxical.
Gin my opinion imagination ought, on
the contrary, to help me to see what doesn't
exist"
"You deceive yourself" she replies. "lmag-
nation serves when facing fact, to produce
precedents, from things which we already
know. 1t helps us to reason. You French
always reason. The English don't reason, or
reason very little. They give their sensibility
full play. That is why it happens that they
see what you don't see That is why there are
ghosts in England, but not in France"
"Then you have seen ghosts?"
"No. have little sensibility-a sensibility
which works poorly. But believe in forces.
feel forces about me. I have continually
the impression that love, hatred, horror, all
the passions, all the intensest feelings create
in the places in which they develop audi
ence which remains there. 1t may be, then,
that these forces materialize themselves. But,
I repeat, have never gone beyond the point
of feeling them This has happened at least
three or four times in my life. Here is the
story of one of these experiences don't want
to bore you with the others.
II young girl then and went to pass
the week-ends with friend Of mine who had
recently married. The house was rented one,
in the suburbs of London, very agreeable
country house, very large and perfectly COM
monplace distinguished only from any other
country house by the cheapness of the rent
and by the possession of an unusually fine
billiard room. Well, you may not believe me,
but it is fact, this house was impregnated
with hate. / know that this seems absurd to
you. Nevertheless / couldn't describe it any
other way. The house sweated hate. I WIS.,
tied there many times and my reaction kept
growing stronger and stronger.
"You will say that I was out Of sorts, or
nervous. No. At that time I was in better
health than now. I was happy-happy, as
almost all young girls who know nothing
of life and who expect everything from it.
My friends household was gay, charming,
much frequented, at least I had always found
it so. I was always glad to be her guest.
But from the day she established herself in
that abominabe house it was only with the
greatest repugnance that continued to accept
her invitations.
"The billiard room especially made the
chills down my back. I wouldn't go into
it for kingdom And as for my bedroom
the they usually gave mel The lies that
! invented to escape passing the night there!
You must note that never had the faintest
idea that there was any supernatural phe-