Page:Doughty--Mirrikh or A woman from Mars.djvu/75

 “I’m not so sure, Wylde. Not so sure.”

“What do you mean? How can an agnostic believe in ghosts?”

“He cannot, as you understand the meaning of the word ghost, as the world understands it; but, like De Veber and his marriage views, I have an odd theory of my own on the  subject of ghosts.”

“And you are just dying to let it out, I suppose. Good; by all means let us have the great Philpot ghost theory. If it will explain the levitations of Mirrikh, the medal of the Angkor theosophical club is fairly yours.”

“That’s right, George. I’m glad to see you brightening up. Come, Philpot, let’s have it. You claim that when man dies he goes to dust and there’s the end of him, and now you profess to believe in ghosts. I am curious to see how you propose to reconcile all this.”

“I go to show you, boys,” was the Doctor’s answer. “Hitherto I have maintained a discreet silence about this Mirrikh business, for I wanted to actually see the man before I expressed an opinion. Now that I have seen him I am ready to talk. Let us begin with the proposition, what is a ghost?”

“The disembodied spirit of some deceased person, of course,” answered Maurice.

“There you are wrong. It is usually so considered, but it is by no means necessarily so. Indeed, if you were to investigate this subject as closely as I have done, you would find that the ghosts of living persons have as frequently put in an appearance as the so-called disembodied spirits of the dead.”

“I have heard something of this before,” said Maurice. “Indeed I had a friend who claimed to have repeatedly seen the shades of living people of whose presence at distant points at the time of their appearance he was most positive.”

“Very good, my boy. Your friend is not alone in that. I, myself, have experienced the same thing. Hundreds of others have experienced it. Were such things recorded to the extent that similar appearances of dead persons have been, I firmly believe the world would be astounded. Take, for instance, the case of an old aunt of mine. When I was a boy, and living in London, she resided in Bristol. I was her favorite, and I must confess to a fondness for the dear old lady which I never felt for any one else. My father