TII.K OMAHA DAILY TrKSDAY. 'N'OVEM'lVBll 1. 181)8. )
THE STOLEN BODY.
By H , G , WELLS ,
( Copyright. MM , by II. O. Wells. )
Mr. IJcssel was the senior partner In the
Hrra ot lUMol , Hart & Brown of St. Paul's
churchyard , and for many years ho was well
known among those Interested In psychical
research as a llbcral-rnlnJcJ and conscien
tious Investigator. Ho waa on unmarried
man , and Instead of living In the suburbs
after the fashion of his class , ho occupied
looms In the Albany , near Plcadllly. Ho
was particularly Interested In the questions
of thought transference and of apparitions
of the living , and In November , 1898 , ho
commenced < i series of experiments , In conJunction -
Junction with Mr. Vincent of Staple Inn , In
order to test the alleged possibility of pro-
Acting an apparition on oneself by force
of will across on Intervening space.
The experiments wcro conducted In the
following manner : At a prearranged hour
Mr. Bcssel shut himself In one of his rooms
In the Albany , and Mr. Vincent In his sit
ting room In Staple Inn , and each then fixed
hla mind as resolutely as possible on the
other. Mr. Dossel had acquired the art of
RClf-bypnotlsm , and BO far as ho could ho
attempted 'first ' to hypnotize himself and
then to project himself as a "phantom of
the living" across the Intervening space of
nearly two miles Into Mr. Vincent's apart
ment. On several evenings this was tried
without any satisfactory results , but on the
fifth or sixth occasion Mr. Vincent did ac
tually sco or Imagine bo saw an apparition
of Mr. Boasel standing In his room. He
states that the appearance , although brief ,
was very vivid and real. Ho noticed that
Mr. Bessel'B fuco was white and hla ex
pression anxious , and , moreover , that his
hair was disordered. For a moment Mr.
Vincent , In splto of his state of expectation ,
was too surprised to speak or move , and In
that moment It seemed to him as though the
figure glanced over his shoulder and Incon
tinently vanished.
It had been arranged that an attempt
should ho made to photograph any phan
tasm seen , but Mr. Vincent had not the In
stant presence of mind to snap the camera
that lay ready on the table beside him , and
when bo did BO bo was too late. Greatly
elated , however , even by this partial suc
cor , ho made a note of the exact time and
nt once took a cab to the Albany to Inform
Mr. Bessel of this result.
He was surprised to find Mr. llossel's
outer door standing open to the night , and
tha Inner apartments lit and vacant , and In
nn extraordinary disorder. An empty Cham ?
pagne magnum lay smashed upon the floor ;
Its nock hod been broken off against the
Inkpot on the bureau and lay beside It.
An octagonal occasional table which car
ried a bronze statuettu and a number of
choice books bad been rudely overturned ,
and down the primrose paper of the wall
Inky fingers had been drawn , as H seemed
for the mere pleasure of defilement. One
of the delicate chintz curtains had been
violently torn from Us rings and thrust
upon the flro BO that the smell of Its smoul
dering filled the room. 'Indeed ' the whole
place was disarranged In the strangest fash-
Ion. For a few minutes Mr. Vincent , who
had entered sure of finding Mr. Bessel In
hl easy chair awaiting htm , could scarcely
believe his eyes , and stood staring help
lessly at these unanticipated things.
Then , full of a vague senseof calamity ,
ho Bought the porter nt the entrance lodge.
"Where Is Mr. Bessel ? " ho asked. "Do you
know that all the furultuio Is biok'en in
Mr. Beseel's room ? " The porter said noth
ing , but , obeying his gestures , came at
oneofc-to .Mr. Bessel's apartment to see the
state of affairs. "This settles it , " he said ,
surveying the lunatic confusion. "I didn't
know of this. Mr. Bessel's gone off. He's
mad ! "
He the proceeded to tell Mr. Vincent that
about half an hour previously , that Is to
eay , about the time Mr. Bessel's apparition
In Mr. Vincent's rooms , the missing gen
tleman had rushed out of the gates ot the
Albany Into Vlgo street , hatlws and with
disordered hair , and had vanished In the
direction of Bond street. "And as he went
past me , " said the porter , "ho laughed a
sort of gasping laugh , with his mouth open
end his eyes glaring. I tell you , sir , ho
fairly scared me ! llko this. "
According to his Imitation It was anythl.ig
but a pleasant laugh. "He waved his hand
with all his lingers crooked and clawing
like that. And ho said In a sort of fierce
whisper 'Life ! ' Just that ono word
life. ' "
"Dear me ! " said Mr. Vincent "Tut , tut ,
dear mo ! " He could think of nothing else
to say. He was naturally very much sur
prised. Ho turned from the room to the
porter and from the porter to the room
In firmest perplexity. Beyond his sugges
tion that probably Mr. Bessel would come
back presently and explain what had hap
pened , their conversation was unable to
proceed. "H might be a sudden toothache , "
said the porter , "a very sudden and violent
lent toothache. Jumping on him suddenly
HKo and driving him wild. I've broken
things myself before now In such a case. "
Ho thought. "If It was why should he say
'llfo * to mo as ho went past ? "
Mr. Vincent did not know. Mr. Bessel did
not return and at last Mr. Vincent , having
done some more helpless staring and having
addressed a note ot brief Inquiry and left
It In a conspicuous position on the bureau ,
returned In a very perplexed frame of mind
to his own premises In Staple Inn. This
affair had given him a shock. Ho was at
a loss to account for Mr. Bessel's conduct
on any sane hypothesis. Ho tried to read ,
but be could not do BO , he went for a short
wall ; and was so preoccupied that he nar
rowly escaped a cab at the top of Chancery
lane and at last a full hour before bla
usual time bo went to bed. For a con
siderable time he could not elecp because
of his memory of the silent confusion ol
Mr. Bessel's apartment and when at length
he did attain an useasy slumber , It was at
once disturbed by aery vivid ana dis
tressing dream of Mr. Bcssel.
He saw Mr. Beesel gesticulating wlldls
and with his face white and contorted. Am
Inexplicably mingled with his appearance
suggested perhaps by his gestures , was ar
Intense fear , an urgency to net. He ever
believes that ho heard the voice of his fol
low experimenter calling dlbtressfully t <
him , though at the time he considered thli
to bo an Illusion. The vivid Impression re
malned though Mr. Vincent awoke.
Tor a space be lay a\\ako and trcmbllni
In the darkness , possessed with that vagui
unaccountable terror of unknown posalblll
ties that comes out of dreams upon evoi
the bravest men. But at last ho rouse *
himself , and turned over and went to slec ]
igaln. only for the dream to return wltl
enhanced vividness.
lie awoke with such a strong convlctloi
that Mr. Bessel was In overwhelming dis
Irist and need of help , that sleep was m
longer possible. Ho was pcrkuaded that hi
frloud had rushed out to some dire calamity ,
For a time ho lay reasoning vainly ngalns
this belief , and at last he gave way to II
He arose , against all reason , lit his gas an' '
dressed , and set out through the desertei
streets deserted save for a noiseless police
man or so and the early nous carls , for I
was nearly half past 2 In the mornlne-
toisard Vlgo .trect , to Inquire U Mr. Beast
had returned.
But he never got there. As ho was golnj
down Long Acre borne unaccountable Im
puUe turned him aside out of that Btreo
toward Covent Garden , which was Just wak
Ing to Iti uocUrnal activities. He saw th
market In front ol him , a queer clfect o
glowing yellow lights and busy black fig
ures. Ho became annro of a. shouting and
perceived a figure turn the corner by the
hotel and run swiftly toward him. Ho
knew at once that It was Mr. Bcssel. But
It was Mr. Bessel transfigured. He was hatless -
less and dishevelled , hU collar was torn
oncn , ho grasped a bono handled walking
cano by the ferule end and his mouth was
pulled awry. Ho ran with agile Htrldcs
nnd vrrv raoldly. Their encounter was the
affair of an Instant. "Bcsser ! " cried Vin
cent.
The running man gave no ulgn of recogni
tion cither of Mr. Vincent or of his own
name. Instead he cut at his friend savagely
with the stick , hitting him In the face ,
within an Inch of the eye. Mr. Vincent ,
etunncd and astonished , staggered back ,
lost his footing and fell heavily on tbo pave
ment. It seemed to him that Mr. Bessel
leaped over him as ho fell. When ho looked
again Mr. Bessel had vanished and a police
man and a number of garden porters and
salesmen were rushing past toward Long
Acre In hot pursuit.
With the assistance of several garden porters
ters for the whole street was speedily
allvo with running people Mr. Vincent
struggled to his feet. He at once became
the center of a crowd greedy to see his In-
lury. A multitude of voices competed to
reassure him of his safety , and then to
tell him of the behavior ot the madman ,
as they regarded Mr. Bessel. Ho had sud
denly appeared In the middle ot the market. ;
screaming "Life ! Life ! " striking right and
left with a blood-stained walking stick , and
dancing and shouting with laughter at each
successful blow. A lad and two women
bad broken heads , and he smashed a man's
wrist , a little child had been knocked In
sensible , and for a time he had driven every
one before him , so furious and icsolute
had his heha\lor been. Then he made a
raid upon a coffco stall , hurled Its paraffin
Hare through the window of the postoftleu
and fled laughing after stunning the fore
most of the two policemen AVho had the
pluck to charge him.
Mr. Vincent's first Impulse was naturally
to Join In the pursuit of his friend , In or
der , If possible , to save him from the violence
lence of the Indignant people. But his ac
tion was slow. The blow had half stunned
him , and while this was still no more than
a resolution , oamo the news , shouted
through the crowd , that Mr. Bessel had
eluded his pursuers. At first Mr. Vincent
could scarcely credit this , but the uulvor-
fcallty of the report and pretently the dig
nified return ot the two futile policemen
convinced him. After some aimless inqui
ries ho returned toward Staple Inn padding
a handkerchief to a now very painful nose.
He was angry and astonished and per
plexed. It appeared to him Indisputable
that Mr. Bessel must have gone violently
mad In the midst of his expcrment In
thought transference , but why that should
make him appear with a sad white face In
Mr. Vincent's dreams seemed a problem be
yond solution. He racked his brains In vain
to explain this. It seemed to him at last
that not simply iMr. Bessel , hut the order
of things must be Insane. But he could
think of nothing to do. Ho shut himself
carefully Into his room , lit his fire it was
a gas fire with asbestos bricks and fearing
fresh dreams if he went to bed , remained
bathing his Injured face or holding up books
In a vain attempt to read until dawn.
Throughout that vigil ho bad a curious per
suasion that Mr. Bessel was eudea\orlng to
speak to him , "but ho would not let himself
attend to any such belief.
About dawn his physical fatigue asserted
Itself and bo went to bed and slept at last
In plto of dreaming. He rose late , un-
rested and anxious and In considerable fa
cial pa'n. ' The morning papers had no news1
of Mr. Bessel's aberration It had come too
late for them Mr. Vincent's perplexities , to
which the fever of his bruise added fresh
Irritation , became at last Intolerable , and ,
after a fruitless visit to the Albany , he
went down to St. Paul's churchyard , to Mr.
Hart , Mr. Bcasel's ipartnor , and , so far as
Mr. Vincent know , his nearest friend.
Ho was surprised to learn that Mr. Hart ,
although ho knew nothing of the outbreak ,
had also been disturbed by'ft vision , the
very vision that Mr. Vincent had seen , Sir.
Bcssol , white and disheveled , pleading ear
nestly by his gestures for help. That was
his Impression of the Import of hla signs.
"I was Just going to look him up In the
Albany when you arrived , " said Mr. Hart
"I was so sure of something being wrong
with him. "
As the outcome of their consultation the
two gentlemen decided to Inquire at Scot
n land Yard for news of their missing friend
. ' "Ho Is bound to bo laid by the heels , " said
o Mr. Hart. "Ho can't go on at that pace for
3 long. " But the police authorities had not
- . laid Mr. Beisel by the heels. They con-
it flrmeJ Mr. Vincent's over-night experiences ,
t. and added fresh circumstances , some of an
cj even graver character thnn those ho knew
d a list of smashed glass alon < tbo upper half
. of Tottenham Court road , an attack upon a
It policeman In Ilampiteail road , and atrocious
- assaults upon a number of peaceful citizens.
i\ \ All those outrages were committed between
i IL'.SQ and 1 45 In tbo morning , and between
g those hours , and , Indeed , from the very
. moment of Mr. Bessel's first rush from his
it rooms nt 9-30 In the evening they could
- trace the deepening violence ot his fane -
o tnstlo career. For the last hour at least ,
it from before 1 , that Is until 1 K. h hart run
arauck through London , eluding with nnm * |
Ing agility every effort to stop or capture
him.
him.But
But after 1 ti he had vanished , t'n to
that hour witnesses were multitudinous ;
dozens of people had accn him , lied from
him or pursued him , and then things oud-
ilcnly came to an end. At 1 ft he had been
scon running down the Huston road towards
Baker street , nourishing n cnn of burning
colza oil and Jerking splashes of name
therefrom at the windows of the houses
ho passed. But none of the policemen on
Etiflton road beyond the waxwork exhibi
tion , aor any of those In the side streets
dnwn which he must have pas cd had he I
Ifft thn Huston road , had seen anything of
him. AbritDtlv ho disappeared. Nothing of I
hla subsequent doings came to light In
snlte of the keenest Inquiry.
Here was a fresh astonishment for Mr.
Vincent. He had found considerable com
fort In Mr. Hart's conviction. Ho Is bound
to be laid by the heels before long , and In
that assurance ho had been able to suspend
hla mental perplexities. But any fresh de-
veloDment seemed destined to odd nuw Im
possibilities to a pile already heaped be
yond the powers of bis acceptance. Ho
found himself doubting whether any ot
and In the afternoon ho hunted up Mr. Hart
these thlncs could possibly have happened
again to share the Intolerable weight on
his mind. Ho found Mr. Hart engaged with
a welt known private detective , but as that
gentleman accomplished nothing in this
case wo need not enlarge upon his pro
ceedings.
AH that day Mr. BesBcl'e whereabouts
IT WAS MR. BESSi :
eluded an unceasingly active inquiry , nnd
all that night. And all that day there was
a persuasion In tbo hack of Mr. Vincent's
mind that Mr. Bcssel sought his attention ,
and all through the- night Mr. Uesscl , with
a tcnr-btalncil face of anguish , pursued
him Hnnucli his dreams. And whenever ho
saw Mr. Betsel In his dreams he also saw
a number of other faces , vague but malig
nant , tnat seemed to bo pursuing Mr.
Bcssol.
It was only on the following day , Sunday ,
that Mr. Vincent thought of the lemarkablc
stories of Mrs. Bullock , the medium , who
was then attracting attention for the Ilrst
time In London. He determined to consult
he.She was stopping at the home of thut
well known Inqulier , Dr. Wilson Pagut , and
Mr. Vincent , although he had never mot
that gentleman before , repaired to him
forthwith with the intention ot Invoking her
help. But scarcely had ho mentioned the
name of Bczsel when Dr. Paget Interrupted
him. "Last night Just at the end , " he
said , "wo had a communication. "
He left the room nnd returned with a
slate on which were certain words written
In a handwriting shaky indeed , but indis
putably the handwriting of Mr. Bessel.
"How did you get this " said Mr. Vincent.
"Do jou mean "
"Wo got It last night. " said Dr. Paget.
With numerous Intenuptlons from Mr. Vin
cent , ho proceeded to explain how the writIng -
Ing had been obtained. It appears that In
htr seances Mrs. Bullock passes Into a con
dition of trance , her eyes rolling up In n
strange way under her eyelids nnd her body
becoming rigid. She then begins to talk
very rapidly , usually In voices other than
her own. At the same- time both of her
bands may become active and If slates and
pencils are provided they will then write
messages simultaneously with and quite in
dependently of the flow of words from her
mouth. By many she Is considered an even
| ' more remarkable medium than the celebrated -
brated Mrs. Piper. It was one of these
messages , the ono written with her left
hand , < hat Mr. Vincent now had before him.
It consisted of eight words written discon
nectedly. "George Bessel trial cxcavn
Haker st help starvation. " Curiously
enough , neither Dr Paget nor the two In
quirers who were present had heard of ( ho
disappearance of Mr. Bcssel the news of
It appeared only In the evening papers of
Saturday and they had put the message
aside with many others of a vague and
enigmatical sort that Mrs. Bullock has from
tlmo to time delivered.
When Dr. Paget heard Mr. Vincent's story
ho gave blmsalf at once with great energy
to the pursuit of this clew to the discovery
of Mr. Bessel. It would serve no useful
purpose here to describe the Inquiries of
Mr. Vincent and himself ; suffice it that the
clew was a cenulno ono and that Mr. Bessel -
sel was actually discovered by Its old.
He was found at the bottom of a de
tached shaft which had been sunk and
abandoned at the commencement of the
work fcr the new electric railway uea. '
Baker street station. His arm and leg and
two ribs werebroken. . The haft U pro
tected by a boarding nearly twenty feet high ,
and over this , Incredible as It seems , Mr
Bern ) , a stout , middle-aged gentleman , must
have scrambled In order to fall down the
shaft. Ho was saturated In colza oil , nnd
the smashed tin lay bef > 'e him , hut luckily
the flame had been extinguished by hit fall.
And his niadneas bad passed from him alto
gether. But he was , of course , terribly cu-
feebled , and at tbo sight of bis rescuers he
gave way to hysterical weeping.
In view ot the deplorable state of his fiat.
ho was taken to the house of tr llntton
tti Upper Baker street. Here lie was sub *
At first Mr Desscl's mental state was nn
unemotional wonder. His thought chiefly
concerned lt elf with where he might be.
He was out of the body out of his mate
rial body , at any rate but that was not all.
Ho bollcvcu , nnd I for one believe also , that
ho was somewhere out of space , as we under
stand it , altogether. By a strenuous effort
of will ho had passed out of his body Into
a world bejond this world , a world un
dreamt of , yet lying so close to It nnd so
strangely situated with regard to It , that
nil things on this earth are clearly \lslble
both from without and from within In this
other world about us. For a long tlmo as
It seemed to him this realization occupied
his mind to the exclusion of all other mat
ters and then ho recalled the engagement
with Mr. Vincent to which this astonishing
experience was after all but a prelude.
He turned bis mind to locomotion in this
new body In which he found himself. For
a lime ho was uuablo to shift himself from
his attachment to his earthly carcass. Tor
i time t'als new , straneo , Ion , body of his
simply swayed , contracted , expanded , celled
and writhed with his efforts to free him
self , nnd then quite suddenly the link that
bound him snapped. For a moment every
thing was hidden by what appeared to ho
whirling spheres of dork vapor , and then
through a momentary gap he saw his droopIng -
Ing tody collapse limply , saw his lifeless
head drop sidewaya and found he was driv
ing along like a hugo cloud in a strange
place of shadowy clouds that bad the lumi
nous Intricacy of London spread like a model
IL TRANSFIOUUCl ) .
below.
But now he was aware that the fluctuating
vapor about him was something moio than
vapor , and the temerarious excitement of his
first essuy was shot with fear. For ho per
ceived , at first Indistinctly and then sud
denly very cleatly , that he was surrounded
by faces ; that each roll and cell ot the
seeming cloud stulT was a face. And such
faces ! Faces ot thin bhadow , faces of
gaseous tenuity , races llko those faces
that glare with Intolerable strangeness upon
the sleeper In the evil hours of hla dreams.
Kvil , greedy cjca that were full of a
covetous curiosity , faces with knit brows
and snarling , smiling lips ; their vague
hands clutched at Mr. Bessel as ho passed
and the rest of their hodlcs weio but n
vague , elusive streak of trailing darkness.
Never a word they said , never a sound from
the mouths that seemed to gibber. All about
him they pressed in that dreamy silence ,
passing freely through the dim mistiness
that was his body , gatheilng ever more nu
merously about him. And the shadowy Mr.
Bcssel , now suddenly fear-stricken , drove
tnlstly through the silent , active multitude
of ct3 und clutching hands.
So inhuman were these faces , so malig
nant their staring eyes , nnd shadowy , claw-
lug gestures , that it did not occur to Mr.
Bcssel to attempt Intercourse with these
drifting creatures. Idiot phantoms , they
seemed , children of vain desire , beings un
born nnd forbidden the boon of being , whoso
only expressions and g''stures ' told of the
envy and craving for life that was their ono
link with existence.
It says much for his resolution that
amidst the swarming cfoud of these noise
less spirits of evil he could still think ot
Mr. Vincent. He made a violent effort of
will and found himself , ho knew not how ,
stepping toward Staple Inn , saw Vincent
sitting attentive and alert in hla armchair
by the lire.
And clustering also about him , as they
clustered ever about all that lives and
breathes , waa another multlturo of these
vain , voiceless shadows , longing , desiring ,
seeking some foopholo Into life.
For a space Mr. Uefsel sought Ineffectu
ally to attract hla friend's attention. He
tried to get In front of his eyes , to move
the objects In his room , to touch him. But
Mr. Vincent remained unmoved , Ignorant
of the being that wot. so close to his own.
The strange something that Mr. Bessel has
compared to a theot of glass separated
them Impermeably.
And nt last Mr. Bessel did a desperate
thing. I have told how that In some strange
way ho could see not only the outside of a
man. as we see him , but within. Ho ex
tended his shadowy hand and thrust his
vague black fingers , as It seemed , through
the hecdlc&s brain.
Then suddenly Mr. Vincent started like
a man who recalls his attention from wan
dering thoughts , and it seemed to Mr. Bes-
i sel that a llttte dark-led body , situated In
i the nilddlo of Mr. Vincent's brain swellet
I and glowed as he did so. Since that experl-
i cnce ho has been shown anatomical figures
1 ot tbo brain and ho knows now that this
IB that useless structure , as doctors call It
| , the pineal eye. For , strange as It will seem
to many , we ha\o deep In our brains , where
It cannot possibly see any earthly light , an
eye. At the same time this , with the rest
of the Internal anatomy of the brain , waa
quite new to him. At the sight of its
changed appearance , however , ho thrust
forth his finger and , rather fearful Etlll
of the consequences , touched this ratio
spot And Instantly Mr. Vincent started ,
and Mr. Rw el Knew that he wa * seen.
Ami at that Instant It came to Mr. Ilcssct
that evil hod happened to his body , an I l >
hold ! a great wind blew through nil il'at
world of shadows and tore him awnv So
strong was this persuasion that ho thought
no uioro of Mr. Vincent , but turned about
forthwith , nml all the countless face ; diovo
back with him like leaves before a gale.
But ho returned too late. In nn Instant he
saw tbo body that ho had left Inert nml
collapsed lying Indeed like the body of a
man Just dead had arisen , hail arisen by
virtue of tome strength nnd will bojond Ins
own. It stood with staring eyes , stretching
Its limbs In dubious fashion.
Tor a moment he watched It In wild ills-
may , and then ho stooped toward It. But
the olano of glass had closed asalnst him
again , and he was foiled. He beat himself
passionately against this , nml all about him
the spirits of evil grinned nnd pointed nnd
mocked. Ho gave way to furious nnger. llo
compares himself to a bird that has fluttered
Into a room and Is beating at the window
pane that holds It back from freedom.
And behold' the llttlo body that h.X'l once
been his was dancing with dcllchl. He saw-
It shoutlnz , though ho could nut hear Its
shouts , he saw the violence of Its movements
grow. Ho watched U fllnc his cherish si
furniture about In the mad delight of ex.
Istencc , rend his books apart , euiash bottles ,
drink heedlessly from the Jagged fragments ,
leap nnd emlte , in a. passionate acceptance
of living. He watched these ncMous in par
alyzed astonishment. Then once moro ho
hurled himself against the Impassable bar
rier and then , with all that crew of mock
ing ghosts about him , hurried back H dire
confusion to Vincent to tell him of the out
rage that had como upon him.
Jected tn a sedative treatment and any
thing that might recall the \lolent crisis
through which ho had passed was carefully
avoided. But on the second day he volun
teered , a statement.
Since that occasion Mr. Bcssel lias at
foveral times repeated this statement to
myself among other people varying the de
tails as the narrator of real experiences al
ways does , but never by any chance con.
tradlctlng himself In any paitlcular. And
the statement ho makes Is In substance as
follows.
In order to understand It clearly It is
necessary to go back to his cxuerlmcnts
with Mr. Vincent before the rematkible ril-
tack. Mr. Bessel's first attempts at elf-pro-
ectlon In his experiments with Mr. Vincent
were , as the reader will remembur , unsui-
ccssful. But through all of them bo rus
conccntratlnc all his power and w.ll u.oon
getting out of the body , "willing It with all
my might , " ho says. At last , ntuio.it against
expectation , came success. Anil .Mr. Bessel
asserts that he , being alive , did actually by
an effort of will leave bis body and pass Into
some place or state outside of the world.
The release was , ho asserts , lus'int'ine- '
ous. "At ono moment I was seated In i..y
chair , with my eyes tightly shut , my hand ?
gripping the arms of the chair , doing all I
: ould to concentrate my mind on Vincent ,
and then I perceived myself outsldo my
30dy saw my body near me , but ccrtrlnly
lot contalnlnc me , with the hands relaxing
and the head dropping forwarl on the
arcast. "
Nothing shakes him In his assu.vmce of
that release , and ho describes In a quite
matter-of-fact way the new sensation ho cx-
icrlenced. He felt ho had become impilpa-
ilo , so much ho had expected , but ho had
not expected to find himself enormously
.arce. So , however , it would seem ho bo-
came. "I was a great cloud If I may ex >
press it that way anchored to my body. It
appeared to me at first as If I had discov
ered a greater self , of which the conscious
being In my brain was only a llttlo part.
I saw the Albany and Piccadilly and lie-
sent street and all the rooms and places In
: he houses , very minute and very bright and
distinct , spread out below mo , like a littl&
city seen from a balloon. Every now und
then vague bhapes llko drifting wreaths of
smoke made the vision a llttlo Indistinct ,
but at first I paid llttlo heed to them. The
thing that astonished mo most , and which
astonlshca mo still , Is that 1 saw quite dis
tinctly the insldea of the houses as well as
the streets , saw little people dining and
talking In the private houses , men ami
women dining , playing bllllaiils and drinkIng -
Ing la reatauiants and hotels and several
places of entertainment crammed with pee
ple. It was like watching the affairs of a
glass hive. "
Such were Mr. Bessel's exact words , as I
took thorn down when he told me the story.
Quito forgetful of Mr. Vincent , re remained
for a space observing these things. Im
pelled by curiosity , he says , he stooped down
and with the shadowy arm he found himself
possessed of attempted to touch a man
walking along Vlgo street. But ho could
not do so , though bis finger seemed to pa s
thiough the man. Something prevented his
ilolng this , but what It was he finds it hard
to describe. He compares the obstacle to a
sheet of glass.
"I felt as a kitten may feel , " he- said ,
when It goes for the first tlmo to pat Its
reflection In a mirror. " Again nnd again
on the occasion when I heard him tell this
story Mr. Bessel returned to that compari
son of the sheet of glass. Yet It was not
altogether a precise comparison , because , as
the reader will speedily see , there were In
terruptions of this generally Impermeable
resistance , means of getting through the
barrier to the material world again. But
naturally there Is a very great difficulty In
expressing these unprecedented Impressions
In the language of every day experience.
A thing that Impressed him Instantly and
which weighed upon him throughout all this
experience was the stillness of this place
ho was In a world without sound.
But the brain of Vincent was now closed
against apparitions , and the disembodied
Mr. Bcftsel pursued him in vain as ho hur
ried out Into Holborn to call a cab. Foiled
and terror stricken , Mr. Bessel swept back
again to find his desecrated body whooping
In a glorious frenzy down the Burlington
Arcade.
* * * *
And now the attentive reader bcglns'to
understand Mr. Bessel's Interpretation of
tbo first part of this Btrango story. The
being whose frantic rush through London
had Inflicted so much injury and disaster
had indeed Mr , BCBSCI'S body , but It was nol
Mr. Bessel. It was an evil spirit out of
that atrango world beyond existence , Into
which Mr. Bcssel had so rashly ventured.
For twenty hours It held possession of him
nnd for all those twenty hours the dispos
sessed spirit body of Mr. Beesel was going
to and fro In that unheard of middle work
of shadowB , seeking help in vain.
Ho spent many hours beating at the minds
of Mr. Vincent and of his friend , Mr. Hart
Each , as wo know , ho roused by his efforts
But the language that might convey his sit
uation to these helpers across the gulf ho
did not know , his feeble fingers gropec
\alnly and powcrlessly In their brains
Once , Indeed , as we have already told , ho
was able to turn Mr. Vincent aside from his
path , BO that ho cncounteied the stolen
body In Its career , but he could not make
him understand the thing that had hap-
pined , bo was unable to draw any help from
that encounter. * All through these
hours the persuasion was overwhelming h
Mr Bessel's mind that presently the body
would bo killed by Its furious tenant and he
would have to remain In this shadow lam
foreverroore. So that those long hours were
a growing agony of fear And ever as ho
! hurried to and fro In bis Ineffectual excite
I mont Innumerable spirits of that worh
about him mobbed him and confused his
mind. And e\cr an envious , applauding mul
titude poured after their successful fellow
as he went upon bis glorious curccr.
Tor that It would seem must ho the life
of these bodiless things ot this world that
U the shadow of our world , H\cr they
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n onlcr that they may descend , as furies
and frenzies , as violent lusts nnd mad ,
strange Impulses , rcjolelns iu the hody they
lave won. For Sir. licssel was not the only
luman soul In that place. Witness the fact
that ho met first one , nnd afterward so\-
eral shadows ot men , men llko himself , It
seemed , who had lost their bodies even It
cay ho as ho hud lost his , nnd wandered
despairing In that lost world that Is neither
Ifo nor death. They could not speak | jc-
cause that world is silent , yet ho knew
.hem for men , because of their dim human
Bodies and because of the sadness of their
faces.
But how they had como Into that woild
10 could not tell , nor where the bodies they
had lost might he , whether they still raved
about the earth or whether they were closed
foipvcr la ooath against return. That they
were the spirits of the dead neither he nor
I believe. Iut } Dr. Wilson I'aget thinks
they are the rational souls of men who an
lo.st on the earth.
At last Mr , Beaecl chanced upon a place
where a llttlo crowd of such disembodied
client creatures was gathered , and thrusting
through them ho haw below a brightly lit
room and four or five quiet gentlemen and
i woman , a otoutUh woman dressed in
black alpaca and sitting awkwardly In .1
chair with her head thrown back. lie knew
ler from her portraits to bo Sirs. DuriocK ,
.ho medium. And ho perceived that trac's
ind structures In her brain glowed and
itlrred as ho hnd seen the pineal eye In the
brain of Mr. Vincent glow. The light was
i-ery fitful , sometimes it was a broad illu
mination and fcometlmes merely a faint
.wlllght spot , and It .shifted slowly about
her brain. She kept on talking and wilting
with one hand. And Mr. Desscl saw that
the crowding hhadowg of men about him ,
and a great multitude of the shadow bplrlts
of that shadow land , were all strhing and
thrusting to touch the lighted regions of
icr brain. As ono gained her brain or an
other was Ihiust away , her \olco and the
writing of her hand changed. So that what
eho said was disorderly and confused for
the most part ; now a fragment ot ono
soul's message , and now .1 fiagment of
another's , and now she babbfod the insane
Fancies of the spirits of vain dcblre. Then
Mr. Ilessel understood that she apoko fof
the tplilt that had touch of her , nnd he
began to struggle very furiously towards
her. But ho was on the outsideof the
crowd , and at that tlmo ho could not reach
her , and at last growing anxious ho went
away to find what had happened meanwhile
to his body.
For a long time ho went to and fro seek
ing It inaln and fearing that It must have
been killed , and then ho found It nt the
bottom of the shaft in Baker stieet , writh
ing furiously and cursing with pain. Its
leg and an arm and two ribs had been
broken by its fall. Moreover the ovll spirit
was angry becaubo his tlmo had been so
short and bccauso of the pain making violent
lent movements and casting his body
about.
And at that Mr. Bessel returned with re
doubled earnestness to the room where thn
seanco was going on , and so soon as ho ha'l
thrust himself within sight of the place ho
saw ono of the men who stood about the
medium looking at his watch as If he meant
that the scanco should presently end. At
that a great number of the shadows who
had been striving turned away with ges
tures rf despair. Hut the thought that the
Beanco was almost over only made Mr. Bessel -
sel the moro earnest and ho struggled so
stoutly with hl.t will ngalnst the others that
presently ho gained the woman's brain. It
chanced that Just at that moment it glowc < l
very brightly and In that Instant she wrote
the message that Dr. Wilson I'aget pro-
served. And then the other shadows am )
the cloud of evil splilti about him had
thrust Mr. Bcssel away from her and for all
the rest of the seance ho could regain he.-
no more.
So ho went back and watched through the
long hours at the bottom of the shaft whore
the ovll spirit lay In the stolen body It had
maimed , writhing and cuislng nnd weeping
and groaning and learning the lesson of
pain. And toward dawn the thing ho had
waited for happened , his brain glowed
brightly and the evil spirit came out. and
Mr. Besscl entered the body ho hail feared
ho should never enter again. As ho did so
the silence , the brooding silence , ended , hu
heard the tumult of tralllc and the voices ol
people overhead , and that strange world
that Is the shadow of our world , the dark ,
silent shadows of desire and the shadows of
lost men vanished clean away.
Ho lay there for the space of about throe
hours before ho was found. And In splta
of the pain and suffering of his wounds and I
of the dim , damp place In which bo lay , lit
uplto of the tears wrung from him by Ills
physical distress , his heart was full of glad
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the kindly world of men.
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' Tin- climate of Nicaragua Is superb"
tald IJbui S. Wheeler , u member of the )
communion sent to Nicaragua to look Into
the feasibility of the Nicaragua canal , to thi
New York Commercial reporter "Tbo
health of the country Is much hotter than
on the Panama Minims und theio would bo
less difficulty 1n keeping workmen there of
In securing workmen Seventy in HUM to the
north or south of Nicaragua there is much
jcllow fever. I presume the reason why
Nicaragua escapes Is because the moun
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tiado winds , while. Nicaragua being flat
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lantic to the Pacific , there IH always a wind
Bwc < ? plng through , keeping the air cool and
sweet Another reason for Its healthfulnoas
may bo found In the rainfall , which In
something almost Incomprehensible. Tha
average rainfall Is twenty feet a year und 1C
Is sometimes twenty-live feet. The lalu
keeps the country constantly washed clean.
"Tho country Is flat where the route of
the canal runs , so flat that you can go from
ono ocean to another without passing over
any point over 150 fcot above tea level.
The route Is short , only eighty-six or olghty- "
seven miles , nnd this Includes Lake Nlc-
arngua , which Is fifty-six miles in length.
This lake , as well ns Its outlet , the Ban
Juan river , can bo utilized for the canal
The river descends to the sea with a fall of
about 110 feet. To reach the lake It would
bo necessary to elevate the ships about 119
feet , which could bo done Ijy means of fl
system of locks. "
The commission of englneets who went in
Nicaragua -were gone for nine months , dur
ing which time eighty engineers wcio In thn
field constantly Of these none suffered )
from any serious Illness.
Mr. Wheeler said that much of the dln-
tanco acioss the country was already pre
pared for canal purposes , nnd that ho be
lieved the ranal could bo easily constructed.
"How long would it take a fihlp to puai
through the canal ? " he was asked.
"That Is n difficult question to answer , "
ho said. "Tho speed of a vessel passing
through any canal depends on the width
of the canal , nnd in this Instance the width
must depend on the expense of construction.
It ought not to take more than two or three
days at the utmost , end thus It would save
about a month from Now York to San Kran-
clsco or to China.
"Tho commercial value of the canal , " Mr.
Wheeler said , "could be estimated by existIng -
Ing trade conditions.
"A canal , " he continued , "creates new
fields find makes Us own trade. I under
stand that the war has causul the American
people , to look much moro favorably on thn
rnnal project Lbellovo that U can be madu
to pay expenses and even a profit.
"Tho people of Nicaragua treated ui
courteously , and the government did all it
could to help us. Wo have been using u
government steamer for the work In I-aKo
Nicaragua. I expect to remain huro nbout
two months , and wo hope to m.iko a full
report on the conditions as wo found them
and the practicability of cutting the canal "
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