nature of the inmaterial soul, to think that | there need be any lengthened journey, or any flight through skies either stormy or calm. You have not had the advantage, I dare say, of being taught in your childhood the catechism which is drilled into all children in Scotland; and which sketches out with admirable clearness and precision the elements of Christian belief. If you had, you would have been taught to repeat words which put away all uncertainty as to the intermediate state of departed spirits. "The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do IMMEDIATELY pass into glory." Yes; IMMEDIATELY; there is to the departed spirit no middle space at all between earth and heaven. The old lady need not have looked with any apprehension to going out from the warm chamber into the stormy winter night, and flying far away. Not but that millions of miles may intervene; not but that the two worlds may be parted by a still, breathless ocean, a fathomless abyss of cold dead space; yet, swift as never light went, swift as never thought went, flies the just man's spirit across the profound. One moment the sick-room, the scaffold, the stake; the next, the paradisal glory. One moment the sob of parting anguish; the next, the great deep swell of the angels' song. Never think, reader, that the dear ones you have seen die, had far to go to meet God after they parted from you. Never think, parents who have seen your children die, that after they left you, they had to traverse a dark solitary way, along which you would have liked (if it had been possible) to lead them by the hand, and bear them company till they came into the presence of God. You did so, if you stood by them till the last breath was drawn. You did bear them company into God's very presence, if you only staid beside them till they died. The moment they left you, they were with him. The slight pressure of the cold fingers lingered with you yet; but the little child was with his Saviour. From Chambers's Journal. FOOTFALLS ON THE BOUNDARY OF ANOTHER WORLD. UNDER the above title, Mr. R. D. Owen, formerly member of Congress, and American Minister to Naples, has published, in his own country, a volume on so-called supernatural revelations and appearances. A belief in such thingsapparently coëval with humanity itselfwas thoroughly put out of countenance in the last century, and has long been left to the meanest vulgar. It is now reviving, not only in America, but in this country, with, however, this material difference, that the modern professor of the faith claims for it a legitimate place in the universal frame of things, and presents himself as seeking for the laws under which it is regulated. Mr. Owen enters upon his work in this spirit. He collects, in the first place, narratives involving mystic facts which can be well authenticated, and then endeavors to come to some general conclusion as to these partial gleamings from the confines of an other world. He discusses in a calm, reasoning way, the opposition to mystic subjects, which appears to rest on a syllogism: the laws of nature being invariable, these facts, which transcend the laws of nature, can not be true. A large preliminary section is devoted to the phenomena of sleep and dreaming. The author relates anew many of the anecdotes formerly related by Baxter, Carlyon, and Abercrombie, and adds several which he has himself gathered from reputable sources. Of the latter, the following strikes us as the most worthy of notice. "In the winter of 1835-6, a schooner was frozen up in the upper part of the Bay of Fundy, close to Dorchester, which is nine miles from the river Pedeudiac. While so detained, she was intrusted to the care of a gentleman named Clarke, who is at this time captain of the schooner Julia Hallock, trading between 'New-York and St. Jago de Cuba. "Captain Clarke's paternal grandmo- corresponded with the reality. The pas ther, Mrs. Ann Dawe Clarke, to whom tor, the pall-bearers, the mourners, were he was much attached, was at that time the same persons he had seen. Yet this, living, and, so far as he knew, well. She we may suppose, he might naturally have was residing at Lyme-Regis, in the coun- anticipated. But the funeral had been ty of Dorset, England. appointed for ten o'clock in the morning, and, in consequence of the tempestuous weather and the heavy rain that was falling, it had been delayed until four in the afternoon. His mother, who attended the funeral, distinctly recollected that the high wind blew the pall partially off the coffin. In consequence of a wish expressed by the old lady shortly before her death, she was buried, not in the burying-place of the family, but at another spot selected by herself; and to this spot Captain Clarke, without any indication from the family or otherwise, proceeded at once, as directly as if he had been present at the burial. Finally, on comparing notes with the old sexton, it appeared that the heavy rain of the morning had partially filled the grave, and that there were actually found in it two field-mice drowned. "On the night of the 17th of February, 1836, Captain Clarke, then on board the schooner referred to, had a dream of so vivid a character that it produced a great impression upon him. He dreamed that, being at Lyme-Regis, he saw pass before him the funeral of his grandmother. He took note of the chief persons who composed the procession, observed who were the pall-bearers, who were the mourners, and in what order they walked, and distinguished who was the officiating pastor. He joined the procession as it approached the churchyard gate, and proceeded with it to the grave. He thought (in his dream) that the weather was stormy, and the ground wet, as after a heavy rain; and he noticed that the wind, being high, blew the pall partly off the coffin. The graveyard which they entered-the old Protestant one, in the center of the town was the same in which, as Captain Clarke knew, their family burying-place was. He perfectly remembered its situation; but, to his surprise, the funeral procession did not proceed thither, but to another part of the churchyard, at some distance. There (still in his dream) he saw the open grave, partially filled with water, as from the rain; and, looking into it, he particularly noticed floating in the water, two drowned field-mice. Afterward, as he thought, he conversed with his mother; and she told him that the morning had been so tempestuous that the funeral, originally appointed for ten o'clock, had been deferred till four. He remarked, in reply, that it was a fortunate circumstance, for, as he had just arrived in time to join the procession, had the funeral taken place in the forenoon, he could not have attended it at all. "This dream made so deep an impression on Captain Clarke that in the morning he noted the date of it. Some time afterward there came the news of his grandmother's death, with the additional particular that she was buried on the same day on which he, being in NorthAmerica, had dreamed of her funeral. "When, four years afterward, Captain Clarke visited Lyme-Regis, he found that every particular of his dream minutely "This last incident, even if there were no other, might suffice to preclude all idea of accidental coïncidence. "The above was narrated to me by Captain Clarke himself, with permission to use his name in attestation of its truth." Another section gives details as to supposed haunted houses, including several cases with which the public has long been familiar, and a few others, generally of modern date, which are here introduced to English readers for the first time. Of the latter, none involves more curious occurrences, or has been brought forward on better evidence, than the case of the Cideville Parsonage. This is a village and commune in the department of the Seine-Inférieure, about eighty miles north-west of Paris. The date is so recent as 1850, when the parsonage was in the occupation of a simple priest named M. Tinel. With him lived two boys, respectively of twelve and fourteen years of age, with whom, in some way, the mysterious disturbances were apparently connected. These lasted from the 26th of November, 1850, till the 15th of February ensuing, when the children were removed from the house. The details are given by Mr. Owen from the depositions of a great number of witnesses in a legal process which took place in consequence of the disturbances, at the instance of a shepherd who was reputed by the country people as their cause. Another large section of the book is devoted to narratives regarding appear ances of people out of the body, both during life and after death-all incredible, according to the reigning code of faith on such subjects, and yet all testified to by direct and weighty evidence. One of the most curious refers to a series of circumstances which have recently occurred in London, and have been the subject of a good deal of vague rumor. "In the month of September, 1857, Captain GWof the 6th Dragoon Guards, went out to India to join his regiment. "His wife remained in England, residing at Cambridge. On the night between the 14th and 15th of November, 1857, toward morning, she dreamed that she saw her husband looking anxious and ill, upon which she immediately awoke, much agitated. It was bright moonlight; and looking up, she perceived the same figure standing by her bedside. He appeared in his uniform, the hands pressed across the breast, the hair disheveled, the face very pale. His large dark eyes were fixed full upon her; their expression was that of great excitement, and there was a peculiar contraction of the mouth, habitual to him when agitated. him, even to each minute particular of his dress, as distinctly as she had ever done in her life; and she remembers to have noticed between his hands the white of the shirt-bosom, unstained, however, with blood. The figure seemed to bend forward as if in pain, and to make an effort to speak; but there was no sound. It remained visible, the wife thinks, as long as a minute, and then disappeared. She saw "Her first idea was to ascertain if she was actually awake. She rubbed her eyes with the sheet, and felt that the touch was real. Her little nephew was in bed with her she bent over the sleeping child and listened to its breathing; the sound was distinct, and she became convinced that what she had seen was no dream. It need hardly be added that she did not again go to sleep that night. "Next morning, she related all this to her mother, expressing her conviction, though she had noticed no marks of blood on his dress, that Captain Wwas either killed or grievously wounded. So fully impressed was she with the reality of that apparition, that she thenceforth refused all invitations. A young friend urged her, soon afterward, to go with her to a fashionable concert, reminding her that she had received from Malta, sent by her husband, a handsome dresscloak, which she had never yet worn; but she positively declined, declaring that, uncertain as she was whether she was not already a widow, she would never enter a place of amusement until she had letters from her husband (if, indeed, he still lived) of later date than the 14th of November. "It was on a Tuesday, in the month of December, 1857, that the telegram regarding the actual fate of Captain Wwas published in London. It was to the effect that he was killed before Lucknow on the fifteenth of November. "This news, given in the morning paper, attracted the attention of Mr. Wilkinson, a London solicitor, who had in charge Captain W's affairs. When, at a later period, this gentleman met the widow, she informed him that she had been quite prepared for the melancholy news, but that she felt sure her husband could not have been killed on the 15th of November, inasmuch as it was during the night between the 14th and 15th that he appeared to herself.* The certificate from the War-Office, however, which it became Mr. Wilkinson's duty to obtain, confirmed the date given in the telegram; its tenor being as follows: "While Mr. Wilkinson's mind remained in uncertainty at to the exact date, a remarkable incident occurred, which seem "The difference of longitude between London and Lucknow being about five hours, three or four o'clock A.M. in London would be eight or nine o'clock A.M. at Lucknow. But it was in the afternoon, not in the morning, as will be seen in the was killed. Had he sequel, that Captain Wfallen on the 15th, therefore, the apparition to his wife would have appeared several hours before the engagement in which he fell, and while he was yet alive and well." ed to cast further suspicion on the accuracy of the telegram and of the certifi cate. That gentleman was visiting a friend, whose lady has all her life had perception of apparitions, while her husband is what is usually called an impressible medium; facts which are known, however, only to their intimate friends. Though personally acquainted with them, I am not at liberty to give their names. Let us call them Mr. and Mrs. N "Mr. Wilkinson related to them, as a wonderful circumstance, the vision of the Captain's widow in connection with his death, and described the figure as it had appeared to her. Mrs. N turning to her husband, instantly said: "That must be the very person I saw, the evening we were talking of India, and you drew an elephant with a howdah on his back. Mr. Wilkinson has described his exact position and appearance; the uniform of a British officer, his hands pressed across his breast, his form bent forward as if in pain. The figure,' she added to Mr. W, appeared just behind my husband, and seemed looking over his left shoulder.' "Did you attempt to obtain any communication from him? Mr. Wilkinson asked. 666 Yes; we procured one through the medium of my husband.' "Do you remember its purport?" "It was to the effect that he had been killed in India that afternoon, by a wound in the breast; and adding, as I distinctly remember: "That thing I used to go about in is not buried yet." I particularly remarked the expression.' "When did this happen?' "About nine o'clock in the evening, several weeks ago; but I do not recollect the exact date.' "Can you not call to mind something that might enable you to fix the precise day?' "Mrs. N reflected. I remember nothing,' she said at last, except that while my husband was drawing, and I was talking to a lady-friend who had called to see us, we were interrupted by a servant bringing in a bill for some German vinegar, and that, as I recommended it as being superior to English, we had a bottle brought in for inspection.' "Did you pay the bill at the time?" "Was the bill receipted?" "I think so; but I have it up-stairs, and can soon ascertain.' "Mrs. N produced the bill. Its receipt bore date the fourteenth of November!, "This confirmation of the widow's conviction as to the day of her husband's death produced so much impression on Mr. Wilkinson, that he called at the office of Messrs. Cox and Greenwood, the army agents, to ascertain if there was no mistake in the certificate. But nothing there appeared to confirm any surmise of inaccuracy. Captain W -'s death was mentioned in two separate dispatches of Sir Colin Campbell; and in both the date corresponded with that given in the telegram. "So matters rested, until in the month of March, 1858, the family of Captain W received from Captain G C then of the Military Train, a letter dated near Lucknow, on the nineteenth December, 1857. This letter informed them that Captain W had been killed before Lucknow, while gallantly leading on the squadron, not on the fifteenth of November, as reported in Sir Colin Campbell's dispatches, but on the fourteenth, in the afternoon. Captain C- - was riding close by his side at the time he saw him fall. He was struck by a fragment of shell in the breast, and never spoke after he was hit. He was buried at the Dilkoosha; and on a wooden cross erected by his friend, Lieutenant R- of the 9th Lancers, at the head of his grave, are cut the initials G. W., and the date of his death, the fourteenth of November, 1857. "The War-Office finally made the correction as to the date of death, but not until more than a year after the event occurred. Mr. Wilkinson, having occasion to apply for an additional copy of the certificate in April, 1859, found it in exactly the same words as that which I have given, only that the fourteenth of November had been substituted for the fifteenth. "This extraordinary narrative was ob tained by me directly from the parties themselves. The widow of Captain W kindly consented to examine and correct the manuscript, and allowed me to inspect a copy of Captain C's letter, giving the particulars of her hus band's death. To Mr. Wilkinson, also, the manuscript was submitted, and he assented to its accuracy so far as he is concerned. That portion which relates to Mrs. N I had from that lady herself. I have neglected no precaution, therefore, to obtain for it the warrant of authenticity. "It is perhaps the only example on re cord where the appearance of what is usually termed a ghost proved the means of correcting an erroneous date in the dispatches of a commander-in-chief, and of detecting an inaccuracy in the certificate of a War Office." THE GREAT ECLIPSE IN SPAIN. THE correspondent of the Illustrated | latter country suddenly found itself the London News gives the following de- observed of all observers. In respect to scription of the great eclipse, as seen from the mountains in Spain. How many of those living now have, however, seen a total eclipse of the sun in the British Islands? Many Londoners have seen eclipses of the sun and moon; but when was the last total one which occurred in the metropolis? As long ago as 1715, whilst the one before that took place in 1140. To see the next total eclipse in London we shall have to live for upwards of fifty years yet. If we wish to see a total eclipse, even in Europe, we must wait to the last day of 1861; another occurs in 1870, a third in 1887, and a fourth in 1898. To judge of them even by their rarity, we must value them at a pretty high rate, even if we exclude all other considerations, but, above all, the utility to which they may be turned, in giving with extraordinary precision the positions of the sun and moon at a particular instant of time, (which is itself useful as a matter of chronography;) and, above all, in giving us some information respecting the interior, or rather the exterior, of the sun and solar influences. For this latter purpose the three last total eclipses of 1842, 1851, and September, 1858, have been most attentively examined, and some remarkable discoveries made of the appearances which have presented themselves to view, which, although noticed before on some rare occasions, have since been found to be regular attendants of all solar eclipses. The great point of observation for European astronomers was Spain, and this the natural advantages of climate of one district above another, by some the southern part of the kingdom was preferred, as offering a climate and sky not inferior to that of Italy; by another the great hights of Montcayo were chosen, as being certain at all seasons, but particularly in the summer months. The English expedition, from the ease with which a steamer might be sent across the Bay of Biscay, chose the north-west portion of the Peninsula as the scene of their exertions, although the climate could scarcely be considered as the best. However, taken altogether, it was certain that the eclipse would be observed somewhere or other; and such has turned out to be the case. To be sure, some awkward mishaps have occurred: among others, the part of the expedition which remained at Santander were altogether unsuccessful; whilst what may be termed the non-scientific portion of the associations, consisting of the crew of the Himalaya, which brought them out, were altogether the reverse, a gleam of clear sky at the time of totality revealing every thing that was interesting in the phenomenon. It is a pity that none of the instruments made use of were powerful enough even to show "Baily's Beads," as they are termed, which are shown with great ease even with very indifferent telescopes, and that no accurate measures could be made of the other phenomena noticed. The part of the expedition to which the writer belonged made their way, after a great many mishaps and misadventures, |