Year: 1879

We didn't say anything, but acted as If
twas the most everyday occurrence
Well, we went in, and he pulled off his
boots and started to get his slippers on.
Bang bang Oh, May, you never saw
the like of that jumpl 1 believe he
actually struck the ceiling. When he
went to draw down the window-curtain,
bang again. When he took down the
Latin book-it was big and heavy one
bang bang bangl And so on with
every thing he touched in the room, till
/ began to think the poor man would
lose his wits. But the best of it was he
never even suspected the cause You
know his wisdom lies in Latin and
Greek he doesn't know anything about
the sciences, though believe he regards
them with more awe than all the rest of
the curriculum put together. Well, Jem
just told him the thunder shower had
done it, that it had charged the room
with electricity, and that he himself was
first-class prime conductor. Jem ex-
patiated learnedly for half an hour or
more on the freaks of electricity talked,
you know, as if it was a usual thing to
see rooms behaving in that fashion,
And, If you'll believe me, the professor
actually took it all in; is writing pa
per now-if Jem's any authority on the
subject-on these extraordinary natural
phenomena.


Tom was in ecstacies of laughter by
this time, and his sister was not slow in
joining him.


" was only afraid father would hear
the noise, and stop the fun," gasped he
at last, when he was able to speak,
Luckily he didn't come in till it was
all over. 1 suggested to the professor
that it might frighten mother If he was
to mention 1t at the table, and he has
been as mum about it as possible ever
since. May, we can make him believe
anything = anything whatever. If L
told him there were ghosts in the house,
he'd put out his light and sit watching
for one the very next night"


why don't you show him ghost
then ?" queried May. "You know we
read how they did it at the spiritualistic
sednces. I'll help you, and"


"May!" cried Tom, jumping to his
feet and dancing the Fishers Hornpipe,
"you're trump just wait till Jem
comes, and we'll have it all fixed. The
professor never locks his door"


The two pairs of brown eyes looked at
each other, and the respective owners
of them burst out laughing, with the de
lightful unanimity of sentiment that oc-
ours whenever any specially delectable
piece Of mischief is on foot.


Jenn in no way dissented from the pro-
gramme when he presented himself at
night, but on the contrary added some
timely suggestions. Tom considered his
friend the quickestwitted mortal in the
world, and handsome fellow besides,
which last was true enough. The young
people soon found out that to copy the
spirits successfully required more time
and practice than they had counted up
on, their ghostly advisers having failed
to provide any short road to perfection.
They were very patient, however, as
people will be when engaged in some
thing which they have no manner of
business, and in about week had all
their arrangements completed. Jem was
to personate the ghost, Tom and his
friends the audience - Tom having re-
luctantly yielded the post of distinction
to Jem in consideration of his abilities.


But when it came to the point the
would-be ghost had new proposal to
make. Let's tell him to do something
or other" he said -" something that
he would never think of himself = so
that we shall know by that afterward
whether he believes in it at all or not"


This being hailed with acclamation,
Tom suggested that the professor should
be commanded to wear cooked hat for
month May, that he should make a
daily pilgrimage to the top of Meeting
house hill for that length of time. But
Jem rejected both of these proposals;
they would be liable to bring about dis
covery, and were not solemn enough to
be accredited to ghost.


"No; it must be something that will
affect his whole life," he said = g some
thing of so much consequence that he
would think it likely that the spirits \
would be charged to deliver it. Well
tell him he must go as a missionary OF,
no, better still, let's tell him to marry