, i ' '.'
12
PRESENTIMENTS.. , r
, - , , , ., i , ,. . , . . . . ,
Tbre To eotocthlnfr strangely fascinating 4n
k difCOMion of matters which admit of no
explanation. Utilitarians would, perhaps, l jok
on It m a waste of breath, or censure It even
Hon as leading to rash conclusions. Many men,
as we too often see, Insist on making up their
mind on everything, and will have a consistent
thonrr for nvprv anhW.t. nniler the sun. The
result of this is that they waver backwards and
forwards with everv new fact that. U, produced
on one side or the other- If thev oould be Con
tent to susDcnd their judgment till all the fact
were known, to accept each new act as having
- .a- n .r 1U.
a certain . relation to tnewnoic wpeci d mo
case, and not as sealing the whole, they would
have to foreco the satisfaction of laying down
the law. "hot when they established a Jaw It
would be more generally received. It cannot
be pleasant to feel that you are always contra
dicting yourself, that your great enemy 01 to-aay
whom yon crush with such vehement sarcasm
Is yourself of yesterday. Ana thougn tne con
fesslon of Ignorance or indcoiston seems humlll'
atlng at first, It comes with peculiar grace from
those who really endeavor to learn and to form
their ludtrraent. A Hal lam can say that he
has not lead some book, when other critics of
not half his learning and not a tenth of his
abilitv would never dream of such, an avowal.
It is Iriie that rash conclusions are more often
formed In regard to subjects which lie partly out
oi me wona, ana wnicn we can oniy Know in
part, than in regard to those that niav be de
cided. But is this any reason for not discussing
inem r ur is it a waste oi Dream to accumulate
all we can know, in order to guess at or infer
what lies out of the sphere of knowlodsre I If it
be, I am afraid many other kiods ot discussion
are to be classed with it. Some t, light link fails
us in many a chain of causes, and till, we get
this link out chain must needs be Imperfect.
But we make the bestot it. The link may be
faulty when It comes, or it may supportur rea
soning. All we can do Is to .make the rest as
strong as we caD, and allow for the possibility
of correction.
I have not the slightest wish to form a theory
on the subjeot I have placed at the head of this
paper. If I attempted it, I should probably
sum up my conclusions in the line which Milton
applies to Socrates: ' ' . (
"To know this only, that he nothing knew."
What can we know for certain about presenti
ments? We have tome evidence that they do
.exist, and we have, proof that a great many
people believe in them. But we do not
know how far the evidence ve have Is
trustworthy, " and we do know . that the
people who believe In presentiments very
seldom act on their belief. When some
thing has been done or lelt undone, you often
hear it said, "Well, now, I had a presentiment
that I ought to do or not to do this thing, and
the result shows that I ought to have acted on
my presentiment." But this is merely negative
evidence, and, moreover, ic is alter the event.
It would be of some value If it had been told
before. It would be of more value still if the
Eresentlment had been obeyed, aud the result
ad been satisfactory. But if none of these
three tests have been applied, or none of them
have answered, the value ot that presentiment
is small indeed. , , . ... .
Thackeray pays, "Surely some of the presenti
ments some people are always having must
come true." They can hardly fall to come true
pretty often If they are ex poat facto. ' If all your
natural feelings are Interpreted as the secret
voice of nature-lf on leaving a dear friend or
relation you make up your mind that the grief
of parting lorebodet your never meet
ing again, your presentiments, may soma
tomes come true, though they were
really no presentiments at all. But it is this
habit which makes all evidence on these sub
jects so unsafe and insufficient. All the evi
dence we have on them has been suggested by
the event, and there is often ground to fear that
it has been inspired by the event. We hear of
all the presentiments that bear fruit, but do we
ever (I mean in the esses where people are
always having them) hear of those that bear
none f Yet if these are not taken into account,
and the value oi all presentiments diminished
by them, the evidence is one-sided. On the
whole, therefore, it is best to leave the people
who are always having prewentiraents out of the
question, and confine ourselves to the more
authenticated instances which may to some
extent bear out a theory.
We may safely lay it down as a rule that the
essence of a true presentiment is that it shall be
spontaneous. It must come at a time when you
have no reason to look for it, when you are not
under the influence of any fear or anxiety from
known causes, when perhaps you have some
difficulty in its interpretation. You must not be
ill, and tblnk you have a presentiment that you
will not recover. You mu9t not be away from
home, and have a presentiment that som
calamity has happened there. Yoa must not
know that a friend is in danger, and have a
presentiment oi his death. You must not have1
reason to suspect a man, and have a presenti
ment that he will cheat you. And why ? Be
cause in all these instances there i9 a simple
natural cause lor lear or uneasiness. In all
Matters where there is a natural cause we give
more wtight to it than to another, which may
be the real cause, but is beyond the bounds ot
probability. If a map. who suffers from heart
disease is found dead on a roadside or in his
bed, we at once attribute his death to his com
plaint, though it may afterwards appear that he
was murdered. But if the man was perfectly
healthy, and was known to have an implacable
enemy, we should be more apt to think of mur
der. And so it is witn presentiments. If they
can be accounted for in any natural way, we
must hesitate to receive them. Even where
a natural solution covers some of the
facts, it. does .not. always cover them
all, and very often when we have argued awaji
the main' points of the story, there is iU9t so
much lelt that we are forced to say, "Whether
presentiment be genuine or not, this is
something that no science can explain." Call
tbem by what name you will presentiments,
coincidences, or anything else there are many
?.eS .ch..?oa e,a wttle to a certain point,
but no further. Manv of these are admitted
into the class of presentiment because they are
too strange to be explained bv natural Uws
though they are not reall, prSentK s As
an instance ot these, 1 wouU take the storv of
the Jamaica planter who was ordered to Km?
land lor his healt h, but was loth to leave the
delicacies of the West Indies. At last he took a
passage in a brier, but showed great une9ue8
about sailinir in her, telling a friend that he
was convinced he would be thrown overboard.
Alter be had sailed, all the nevroes on tau
estate came one day in a body to this
friend, and said, Tne brig has been lost;
jar. w urowneu." xney nau. no reason
10 give ior vneir impression, but sure
enough tne oris was not beard of, and every
body concluded tnat snenad been lost. Some
time alter one of her men was dUcoveied, and
he confessed that Mr. had been thrown nvur.
board, at tho very time whon the negroes were
seized with the impression that the brig was
lost. jut. - naa oeen a uerce enemy ot tue
Baotlsts in Jamaica, and the captain of tha
brig, thoueh Mr. did not know of it, was a
Baptist, There was a violent religious contro
versy between tbem one day, tne captain sud
denlv appealed to his men. and Ihev threw
Mr. overboard. Now, at first sight this case
seems complete, but thre is a serious flaw in it.
Mr. i had been a violent partisan, and knew
that he had made deadly enemies. It was quite
possible that tome of his enemies might be on
board the shin he sailed in; if thorn wern manv
P'?2f ln Jamaica it was more than probable:
and if he had excited them avainst bim to a
certain point, it was verv likelv that thev would
take vengeance. It he had known that thecap
tain was Baptlst.he would no doubt have chosen
another ship. But that an unhealthy man. who
. old not want to leave Jamais, anil .,!.
deadly enemies, should look forward with fear to
a loneiy voyage is nouiing unnatural, aor does
the fact of his fear comitg true entitle it to the
jbs vi a presentiment.
THE DAILY EVENING TELEGR ArHTKlPLE " SH EETi.
This, then, is ono of the Instances which we
must exclude from our list. Ii is not the less
curious, from the circumstance of the impres
sion whi' h seized on the negroes Just at the
time of their master's death. But thre are
plenty f other cases to which no suchobiection
can be nado; many ol them are fully authenti
cstefl, and cannot bo explained away. Mrs.
Crowe's "Night Side of Nature," and a small
book called ''Communications with tho Unseen
World" (which I should indie, irom Internal
evidence, to be written by the Rev. J. M. Neale),
are biimfut of sucb stories. It Is true that In
all of tbem we have to takcUhe writer's word.
In allot them the original narrator may have
departed a little from the inflexible exactness
which should rnarlf such, statement. The
writer lrt taking down the account may have
imparted to it some sliaht Inaccuracies. And
the only means of detecting thee slips is cross
examination, which is he one thing denied us.
But allowing lor all this, tho stories are almost
marvellous. If we grant that on? of them is
true, we have enough tor our purpose. One is
sufficient to Fbow that there is more in heaven
and earth than Is dreamt of In material philoso
phy, and to make us think many times before
we bound the world by the evidence of our
senses.
It would be superfluous t quote any of the
stories given by these two authors, except in
rare cities where I have anything to allege
against them. ,But it is unfortunate that the
record of 'presentiments Should be confined to
books which profess to treat that class of sub
jects alone, and that general history should fur
nish so few corroborations. Poetry gives n
more. Shakespeare's treatment of presenti
ments Is one of the most curious points Jn the
psychology ol his ploys. There is eometh mg on
the sublectin Schiller's Watlenrtem, and Wolds
worth has devoted to it one of his minor poems.
He talks of presentiments as heaven-born in
stincts, which shun the touch of vulgar sense:
" "Tho tear whose source 1 csuld hot guess,
- The.oeop sign that seemed latheiless."
Some busy foes to good, he savs. lurk near
them, and taint the health which thev infuse:
but laith Troceeds from them.- and hnrtniffs nn.
sanctioned bv the will, which teach us to be
ware. He talks of the bosom weiarht which no
philosophy can lilt, and says their instruments
are
"A rainbow, a sunbeam ' ' '
A subtle smell that ttpnn v unbind?, '
Dead pause abiupt ot midnlKbt winds, ' . '
An echo or a dream.", . , . , 3 , . , , , i
We know full well what are the busv foes to
good. Ono of them is the Jove of torturing
every feeling into a presentiment. Another is
me qurcic who naa his nostrum of spiritual
manifestations always at hand, and who wavers
between occult science and open knavery. An
other Is the conviction that every one;, who has
bad a presentiment, and found it true, is a sort
of seer or prophet lor all tame to come. The
man eaily persuades himself t'aat he is waited
on by myttcrious agencies, and be forces him-
seir into prt son ti Queues, as Ibe man who has
Once dreamed forces himself . to tro on
dreaming. The scene m WcuiensHn
is in this respect peculiarly significant.
'Wallenstein" was iusl the man to be imnrMaait
bv dreams or omens. He was a firm hp l lAvp.r in
the stars, and "Seni" came to warn him of im
mediate danger. He had taken a perilous stno
had seen his best friends fall awav irom htm.
bad found tbnt his new friends did - not
trust him fully. Yet when the "Countess,"
his sister-in-law, tells him of her dreams
and forebodings, ne tries to explain tbem away.
He savs that her mind was occupied with tno
subject, and therefore she dreamt about it; that
the foreboding was not spontaneous, but pro
duced by her own fears. She asks if he does
not Dciieve in such wantinir voices, and he rn.
Slics, "Yes, there are such voices; there is no
oubt of that. Yet I would hardlv call those
W amine voices which onlv annnnnen vhnt la
inevitable, t As the appearance ot the sun paints
upcii uu me uiuiurpuuie ueiore ii rises, so tne
spirit of great events strides on before them,
and to-morrow walks in to-day. I have alwavs
had strange musings on, what one reads about
the death of the fourth Henry. He felt tha
ghost ot the dagger in his breast long before
the murderer llavuillac armed himself with it.
Best fled from him, the thought seized on him
in his Louvre, drove him into Die open air: the
coronation feast of his consort sounded to him
like a funeral: he beard with bodimr ear the
footsteps that sought him through the streets
ot Paris." "Does the inner bodine voice sav
nothing to you?" asks the Countess. "Nothing,"
he replies; "be calm." And then the
"Countess" ttjlls of another dream, in which she
saw "WallenBtein" going before Ler throueh a
long passage and never-ending halls, doors
slamming all the time, till at length a cold hand
toucnea ner, ana on loosing to see whose it
was, she found that It was "Walienstein's,"
while over them both a red cover seemed to be
laid. "That is the red carpet ot my room,"
says "Wallenstein," interrupting her. A iittle
later, and the doors are burst open bv the mur
derers, and "Walienstein's" body is carried across
tne stage wrapped m a rea carpet. , . .
Here we nave tue true law about presenti
ments laid down by a firm believer in tnem.
Wallenstein" knew that noitner he. nor auv of
his train, could be impartial at such a raoment.
Anything ot tne nuture or a warning must be
suspected, as springing Irom native apprehen
sion. Though he himself was calm at the
thought ot qutting the Imperial service and
oinine the Swedes. Ins followers were lull ot
the reprets aiid possibilities which. a man who
has resolved on a great step generally dismisses
as idle, but which his friends tcel strongly lor
him. and urgo upon mm. But the man himself
may well feci nervous, and what Is easier than
to Interpret his nervousness as a warniner!
Many of the presentiments we have in history
are tainted by this blemish. In the history of
Luther we hear of Mulancfhon being ill, aiid
having a "presentiment" that ho would die;
Luther came and prayed at his bedside, and he
recovered. Evidently In this case the presenti
ment was nothing but the natural fear ot tbe
sick man; but if this had not yielded to tbe
stronger laith inspired by Luther's prayer, tbe
presentiment would probably ha e come true.
Aga.u, wuen punier nut uis wile on bis
last Journey, she hai a presontimsnt
that he woidd never return. fin nevr
did leturr. Yet how can we tell that her
presentiment was not a woman's natural un
eahiness at seeing her husband start on a jour
ney, ana was interpreted alter his death into a
presentiment?
Mozart's presentiment of hii annrnnKh no-
d ath was of the same class as Molancthou's.
only.trom not being properly combated, itcame
true. He was convinced that someone had given
him poison; he said he had tbe tasto of death on
his tonpue, and that he smelt the grave. There
you uk nine uouoi iuai an mis was occasioned
oy overwork, and an intensely nervous tern-
perament. As soon as the composer's work
Was taken awav irmn him lm lurn. tn rmt
rM,tPr but ne relurued to work too soon, and a
ihKh.!,M the consequence. Compare with
Dlesentlen?el,l, the n,08t fuine case of a
KSr?r ttw ii?. iv-nto?currinK t0 CzurPaul
was riding and k assassination. He
felt as
angle
lan
very eaine
evening by the
iranu Mur '
iiiniRplf. It. ofiiu nn ilmiht. miinrnl ..l
should expect to be btraugled, but why should
he have had this feeling of suffocation, and
why should it have come to him so few dnjg
before be was actually strangled r
The definite nature of this instance places it
far above others which were also realized.
The storv of Luther's wife Is paralleled in
Moflej's "Ilistory of the Rise of. the Dutch
Bepublic," by ihe presautlment which occurred
to the wife ot William tho Silent as soon as
she eaw his afsassm. f-ihe askpd nnvinmn
.about the man, and added in au undertone that
,.,ncver een so viuanous a countenance.
But William did not share her feeliug. He made
a qarelets reply, and conversed witn his usual
cheerlulness. ad hoifr and a half afterwards
William was aying In the arms of his wile, and
Balthazar Oj-rard was caught as he ran for the
rampaits. The presentiment had come true; but
was it a presentment ? William's wife wis
struck by tbe "agitated faee" of the stranger.
n i tk ciittnnatPrl T wn"
ii I tvhm oninir to rli w"DF.ei"ue-t
me f" The incident was rpl.it.
tbe
I Ills countenance was viilanoun, or at least highly.
unprepossessing, ior ue mm low ui Bwiuir,
I meagre, mean-vis-iecd, mnddv-c.omplexiooed."
i And. moreovf f, wtihln the last two ye.irs there
! bad been nvo attempts to assassinate William
nr.ttfance. AU the facts combined give ns
the result ol natural fear' on the subject "of ai-'
, sftfsinatlon, and vtoni repugnance at tne signt
of the assassins What we want to establish ft
piesentiment is something preternatural, an in
. voluntary and unaccountable feeling. '
' A good instance of this was communicated to
me by a near relation: A young , lawyer, who
had chambers In the Temple, bad a nodding
acquaintance with an old gentiemau living on
the same staircase. The old man was a wealthy
old bachelor, and had a place In the country, to
which he went lor a week every Easter. His
servants bad charge ot the place while he was
,,away au old nmrrted couple who had lived
with him fort wen .y-even years, and were types
;oI the tine old English domestic. One Kaster
.Tuesday the young lawyer was aston'sbed to bud
.the otd gentleman on his Temple staircase, and
made some remark aooutlt. The old man ussed
him into his room, and said he had received a
.fearful shock. He had gone down as usual to
his country place, had been received with in
tense cordiality, had found his dinner cooked
to;ierlection, and everything as it had been from
the beginning.- When the cloth was removed
!hls iaiihtul butler put his bottle of port on the
table, and made tbe customary Inquiries about
master's health, hoped master was not fatigued
by the journey, had enjoyed his cutlet, and so
ion. The old gentleman was left alone, bis
jhand was on the neck of the bottle of port,
,whid It suddenly flashed across his miml:
i"Heie I am, a lonely old man; no one cares
jorme; there is no oje near to help mc If
anything should happen to me. What if ray
old servant and his wife have- been cheating
and robbing me all this timet What if they
want to get rid of me, and have poisoned this
bottle of wine V The idea took hold ot him so
t-tronely that he could not touch his port. When
the man came in again he said he did not leel
well, would have a cup of tea; no, he would
have a glass of watet and go to bed. In the
morning he rang his bell, and no one answered.
He got up, found his way downstairs; the
house was empty, his two faithful old servants
had vanished. And when he came to look
further he lound that his cellar, which ought
to have contained two or three thousand pounds'
worth ot wine, was empty, and the bottle they
had brought htm last night was poisoned.
I I have told the story at length, because it has
not appeared in priut before, and because it
Becms to answer all our requirements. The
only place in which you can find a flaw Is ono
wnich, alter all, does not atleot the whole. It
is this; Did the bulla, hi putting the wine on
the table, betray the slightest discomposure? If
he did, there might be good cause for the sus
picions ot master being aroused. But it master
suspected a servant of twenty-seven years'
Standing, is it not likely that he would have
remarked it openly? A look, a tone, a sign of
trepidation or uneasiness, would hardly have sug
gested such a train ot reflections. There is also a
reniaikable accuracy about the train of reflec
tions which leads one to a preternatural cause.
Gianting that suspicion was aroused, tbe solu
tion arrived at waa neither the casie? t nor tha
most likely. The singular thing is that the
master should have yielded so readily to the
impression, and thnt it should afterwards have
proved accurate in the most minute details.
I Another point in this story is remaiable. It so
seldom happens that presentiments of any kind
are acted upon, that Wallonstcia may well deny
them the name of warnings. . Yet when, as in
this case, they have been .acted upon, it is
shown that they do not merely predict the in
evitable. In the case. of Wftllonstein. indeed,
we see no possibility of escape. But waa there
none in that of Henrv 1V 8omtimna a nrn.
sentiment seems to warn a man of an Impend
ing fate, in order to lead him to a better course
ot life; tbe death or calamitv does not mmo.
but it leads him tolifo and fnrlnnn. Hi- mhpn
something strange orJ unlikely is 'about to
happen, the man is enabled to avoid it bv a
warning; which points to anmoHilmr nmhohi.
There are curious examples ot both these rules
in the life of William wtiuerlorce. To take tue
latter first, be relates that lie was once reading
on a camp-stool, close to the brink of a river.
Something whispered to him that hemiabtbe
overcome by drowsiness while rrwlinn- miu-ht
fall
off the cnmp-stooL and tumble into tbe
water. Obeying the warnlnz. he moved
the camp-stnol away. Ho had scarcely
sat on it five minutes longer when ft
broke suddenly, and he fell Hut on the grass
as if he had been shot. If this had hannpned
by the river side he must have been drowned.
But it anything bad whispered to him that the
camp-ftool might break, it is a question if he
would have hteded tbe suggestion. Acain, wo
find him writ ng in his diary ior 1817: "Let me
put down that I have hud of late a ereater de
gree of religious feeling than usual. Is it an
omen, as has once or twice shot across my
imagination, a hint that my time for being
called away draws nlgli V It was not; bis lite
had sixteen years longer to run. But was it
not a gam to a man of ardent religious leeling
to have it in a greater decree than usual!
even though it foreboded nothing ? 8oiuemen
shrink irom an access of such feeling, be
cause they think it forebodes death. Others,
apain refuse to talk ol tnelr childhood, because
it is "unlucky." But U such feelings forebode
death, it is hoj eless to escape death by sriflng
them. It a presentiment, warns you of any
thing, jou do not escape it by lefusinsr to listen
to tbe presentiment; on the contrary you make
it inevitable.
This, I tl.ink. Is the moral ot the presenti
ments given us by Shakespeare. In all that he
gives us, the warning is nesrlected ana the fate
comes. The simplest of thim all is "Hamlet's."
and it is the stroneest proof of Shntpsner.'a
belietin them:
"Hamlet. Thou would'st not think bow ill all's
here ubout my heart; but it is no mutter.
'-liomtio. ft ay, good my lord
"Hamlet. It is but foolery j but it is a kind of gain
giving as would perhaps trouoie a woman.
' Uomiio. It vour mii.d aislike anvtinnir. nhnv it-
I will forestall iheir lepair mther, aud snyjou are
iiu i jii.
"iiamlct. Not a whit, we defv ausrurvi timm l a
spec a providence in the fall of a suarr w. li it be
now 'tis not to come: if it be not to como it will be
now ; if ft be not now yet it will come; the readiuoss
is all."
At first we might think "Hamlet's" feeling was
natural. He ha i detected tbe kins's villany, and
he knew bis own counterplot wo jl i not long be
secret. But it is plain that he suspected no
thing in ihe challenge to lence will "Laertes."
He never once examined the foils? or measured
them, but picked up the first '.hat came to hand,
and look the length on trust. Just before,
whin "Horatio" warned him, he had said, "fuo
interim is mine,'' and he clearly looked forward
to having things bis own way till tho next news
from England. "Desdemonn's" presentiment
does not bear the same tests. Blie had no
reason to apprehend a violent death, but sho
hud enough to apprehend from Othello's"
auger. He had struck her, and called her the
vilest names. To her assurances of innocence
he had answered by taunts when they were
alone, nud by coldness iu public. Coming from
a mnn she loved, these uukindnesscs would
have the utmost effect on a woman, and wont 1
throw her into a deep state of depression. "A
sort of gain-giving" would natuially troublj
her, and exclude overy chance of real presenti
ment. Undoubtedly tbe most curious cases u
Bhskerpeare uro those of "Itomeo" nud
' Hastings." Aud what mokes them so curious
" that any man desirous of overthrowing Shake
'l!t?w' belief in presentiments would naturally
SweihV0 ,bem' "Hastings" has lust been
ot "ciS ?n ,lie smoothness and cheerfulness
onennesJ t A a,ia Inferring from "Olo.-tcr's"
no luari T the.Biutc'ritT tuat u tended with
eveention ..,', hen "Oloster" 3euds him to
execution. "ouie0" has just sa'd:-
MMresL. 1fB,h 0f gl? ,
My bosom's lord nu ThU?!"1 Hew.? " UuJ
And all this dav an ES'3P
Wi.maabovethegrouuawiriuhouahts."
Tbe next moment his servant returns with
ne?a ol "Juliet's" death. From CheVwo cles
an opponent of presentiments would i
that tshakecpeare was on his side. lie vldcnt.lv
believed that an unusually jnyous mood wus
PHILADELPHIA?:, S ATtllI Ay, f; Q ffiQJDEft r $ 7, ! 8C
t-
the forerunner of disaster. The Scotch con
sider that a man in very high spirits is on the
brink of a calamity, ag the servants 'in Ciy
Alannfting said the gauecr wrs feu. Words
worth says that when our minds have mounted
a far as they can In delight, it sometimes
chanceth that without any apparent ennse they
telnk equally low in dejection. Shatcspenre
supports both these theories, flow if wre look a
little closer Into the matter, we shall find that
ibe presentiments which seem to deceive are
even more enuhie In reality than those which
nre most simple and straightforward. ' 'Has
tinps' " presentiment was not the favorable via W
he took of "Oloster's" mood; thooeh ho per
euaded himself into thinking that it was. Uis real
preseniiments, as we lenrn afterwards, were
unfavorable, bnt he would not listen to them.
He had made np his mind that all mat go well,
and, in consequence, he neglected every slicn
that bore against his view, aud dwelt too
Strongly on whatever seemed to support it.
Presentiments being Involuntary and unac
countable moods 1 of the mind, it is utterly
impossible tor what you observe In another
man's bearing to Inspire you with such a feel
ing. You may distrust him Involuntarily, or
not be able to account lor your distrust; but at
the best vour feeling is Instinctive. And this
was not the feeling of Hastings, for he was able
to explain his confidence in (ilostcr. Instead
of yielding to impressions, whose source he
Could not divine, but which were too strong for
nim, he reasoned himself into other impres
sions, and found his mistake too late. "Romeo's"
presentiment is of anotner character, but is even
stroncer. If he had known the truth he had
the best reason to be cheerful. By feigning
death "Juliet" had freed herself from restraint,
and had sent a message to Mm that he might
bear her away. How was the presentiment to
know tlwit her message would miscarry, that
"Romeo" would hear another account, and act
without waiting ? Had he but trusted to the pre
sentiment, instead of bis own rash judgment,
his traacdy would not have had a tragic ending.
As it was, the presentiment did all in its power.
It warned htm of something good, and he re
fused to believe it. But it was because be re
fused to believe the irooj that evil came on
him, because he thought himself deceived that
he insisted on deceiving himself. You cannot
blame your guide for misleading you, it jou will
not follow his guidance.
Notablytcnough, none of the characters in
Shakespeare do follow that guidance. They
did not believe In presentiments as their creator
did. After all, the question of obedience to
such warnings would seem to be decided by
considerations quite apart from their genuine
ness. In the story I have told the only trial of
te old gentleman's faith was a bottle of port,
and he made the sacrifice of it. But wheu a
man runs tbe risk of being ridiculous in the
eyes of the world, of fceeminir a prey to idle f ears,
ot breaking up the Senate till another time when
Ctesar's wife shall meet with better dreams, he
flinches from tbe ordeal. And thus, as preachers
are always tell inc. the world is too much for us.
We listen to the supernatural voice so long onlv
as the natural voice is silent. To a great extent
this is true; but I hope I have shown in this
paper that we have some justification. We
cannot salely be guided by presentiments till we
have the means of knowing when they are
genuine. And this we cannot know. . But we
can do something towards knowing it, and by
means of that we may steer our course between
the dangers of blind subservience and blind
mistrust. We can. examine our reasons for any
feeling, and when we can find no came,' or
shadow of a cause, for joy or sorrow, we may
conclude that something unseen moves us.
Whether we obey it or not Is another question.
Comhilt Magazine for October.
CLOTHING.
604
(MARKET
ST,
'oit Above ,a ,
INDIA RUBBER PAINT.
IMPORTANT INTENTION.
RUBBER PAINT.
THE AMERICAN CUM PAINT CO.
WHITE LEAD WORKS,
FOB HIE MANUFACTURE 07
Butcher's Patcut Iudln-Ilubbtr, Paint.
FACTORY AXD OFFICE
S. E. rOKSEU TWENTIETH AUD FILBEUT ST3.
N. B. Etste Pit hi s loreale.
1023 tutliri2m
FERTILIZERS.
"R A U O II' S
11 A W BONE
SUPER-PHOSPHATE
OF LIME.
1 tie (iresi Fertilizer lor all crou. Quick In Its lotion
sud ptimautut iu lis lUeoU. .tabulicd over twelve
Dealer supplied by the cargo, direct from tbe wharl
ot tlie uianuluctory, on liberal terms.
tUuuluuluied only by
BAUOH & SOYS,
Office No. 20 South DELAWARE Avenue,
t 4i mw$rp 1'b.Uade.lpUia.
pATER HANGINGS
AND
WINDOW SHADES
AT WHOLESALK.
4 0,Iiv PLAINS,
FINK DKCORATIOSS,
BOItDEH MOOMjINSS.
$TAkP GILTS,
EAOLISH SATIN,
BLANKS, tTO.
IN GREAT VARIETY.
R. T. HAZZARD,
No. t)19 ARCH Street,
li 6 mv!!ni
MARKE17
v,
cLATE MANTELS!
ft LATE MANTELS are nniurpasacd for Durability,
Beauty, Strength, anlt'beapnesa.
BUTE MANTELS and Blate Work Generally, made
to order.
J. B. KIMES A CO.,
0 12 Net 21M a CHISNCT Street.
LOOK TO YOUJT INTEREST.
READ THE FOLLOWING.
hi you 'Wish Real ia aud Strictly Pure
I r ; i .'. i : - . 1 1 : 1 ' . ;t v. .i !
TEAS' ' ' - '-
At Lower Trkis thftn mucb JN FEBIOR GOODS
rc usually sold for, go to the
NEW TEA WAREHOUSE ,
or tat
AMERICAN TEA CO.,
No. 21 S. SECOND Street,
Between Market and Chesnut,
AVB
No. 932 Arch Street, Near Tenth:
Every Person in want of Fine
and Strictly Pure
TEAS,
COFFEES,
AKD
SPICES,
Will fiiid it to their advantage to try ours,
guarantee to give satisfaction.
We
YOU
: CAN
SAVE
FROM .
25 TO 75 CTS.
ON A POUND OF TEA,
IF YOU GO
AMERICAN TEA COMPANY,
No. 21 S. SECOND Street,
AND
No. 932 ARCH Street.
we import our leas ana L'otiees, ana can
therefore bell much low er than most Stores in
this Jine. .
Our $1-00 Black
$1-25 Tea.
Tea is as good as the usual
Our $1-26
$1-60 Tea.
Black Tea is ns fine as the usual
OurSl'50 Black Tea is the finest imported,
and equal to the usual $200 Tea.
Our $1-25 and $1-00 Japan Teas are superior
Teas, and usually sold at 60 cents per pound
higher.
Our fl-CO Japan Tea, and our $1'C0 Oolong
(Black) Tea, are the finest Teas imported, and
usually sold at $225 per pound.
COFFEE!
COFFEE!
Our 40 cent Coffee is the finest Coffee im
ported, and considered by every person who
uses it as fine as any 50 or 55 cent Coffee.
If you vlfh to drink real fine Coffee, try our
40 cent Roasted Coffee. Nothing finer to be bad
In tho market.
Imported and to be had only at the American
Tea Company's.
Our 30-and
fine.
35- cent Roasted Coffees are very
Our Coffees are roasted fresh every day with
out water, lard, or grease.
All Goods Sold Wholesale at Cargo
Prices, and Retail at Wholesale Prices.
AMERICAN TEA CO.,
No. ill South SECOND ST.
No. 932 AllCII STREET,
PHILADELPHIA.
10 U tbttl
C.
CLOAKS AND FURS
HI o w
IA1US
o p e n,
CLOAKS.
EXCLUSIVE STYLES,
, (Will OH 'WILL HOT itB COPIED),
IS OREAT VAB1ETT OF
MATEFIAL AXD DESIGN
ALSO
HBIS STILE CLOAKS,
: ..' ,' C-B pjrjtJ MASVrACtVRBJ '
IN
GREAT ABUNDANCE.
NEW
CLOAKING CLOTHS
IS GREAT YABIRTT.
ALSO
BTJPEEIOE CLACK SILKS FOE DEESSES, ETC.,
FROM THE. BEST MANUFACTURERS. :
AND CUT IN ANY LENGTH.
J. W. PROCTOR & CO.,
I niani(i i Ho. 020 CHESNUT St,
m v , vv o e iv,
FUES OF ; ALL . NATIONS.
, ' - --. " " -
RUSSIAN SABLE FUES, ' !
, , HUDSON BAY SABLE FUES,
FINS DAEK MINK SABLES,
ROYAL EEKINE AND CHINCHILLA,
; ' "f DARK SIBEEIAN SQUIREEL,
' , , , , . PERSIAN LAMB,
. ( ' ; . . ASTHACAN, ETC ETC.
For Ladles Misses,nnd Children.
; J.. W. PROCTOR & CO;,
low imrp ' No. 920 CHE8NTJT St.
QLOAK8,
, CLOAKS, CLOAKS, CLOAKS.
HEAD QTJARTE11S FOR CLOAKS.
The cheapen Cloak btoi In the cltr.
Small pioflt end quick eelee. ,
. TOE OLD STAND,
' J v WATKISS', '
' .. - NINTH and CBBBT Streets.
SEK THE PRICES. ; l !; . ,
' Weterproof Cloaks, only M. '
Weterpioof Cloaka, oniy (S. '
Waterproof lonkg oalf as.
. Heavy Beavor S.eques trimmed. 8 W.
Heavy Beaver Basques trimmed, 8 W. ;
Theclfl Original Cheapest Cloak Store In tne oity.
DAVID WATRIJIS, '
No. 131 N. NINTH Street, ,
N. . Coiner N IN Til aDdCHBHBV.
The BIrige Avenue and Cnton line Care pass the
Store every two minutes 10 3 tutbs2m
RICH,
BARE AND RELIABLE
. a? uii s.
. Hudson's Bay Sable Mufls, Collars and Berthas.
Fine Sable Mink U uffs, Collars and Bertbas.
Siberian Squirrel MuflS. Collars and Ber Jias.
Heal Bojal Ermine Mafls, Collars and Berthas
Cblidien'a Eete in every varle y ot Fura. ;
An immense saving In price by applying for su early
selection at the
CLOAK, MANTILLA, AND FUR EMPORIUM,
No. 14 B. SECOND Street, six doors below Market
9 20etuth8oi CHAS. LEWISSOJT.
810
sounr
navs the
STREET. M. D'ANCONA
highest pi Ice (or Ladies' and
Cents' caxtrOffriuthUiB.
JSo.
Eolith;
. eiv BUUiM street above
6tttn
HOSIERY, ETC.
SfOS. 911 & 919 SPRING GARDEN
SMYTHS'
STOCKING STORE.
Always on hand a good assortment of
U.NGLI8H, , GERMAN, . AND DOMESTIC
UOJsiJbltY,
' Cotton, Woollen, Sill:, and Merino.
UNDERSHIRTS AND DBAWliRS,
for Ladies, Otntt, Misses, and Boys.
JOVVIK'S KID CLOVES,
Best quality imported.'
GLOVES FOR FALL AXD WINTKR,
Ad sizes, and large variety
FRENCH CORSETS. HOOP SKIRTS,
. Warranted best mates only.
KNITTING YARNS, ZEPHYR WORSTED
UEUMANTOAVN WOOLS
Y all colors. Large stock constantly on hand.
ZEFI11U KNIT GOODS,
Jn stock and made to order.
All roods sold at the lowest prices, and a better assort
meut can not be found than at
r M. & J. E. SMYTH'S,
00 61n3 Fob. 817 and 819 SFBINQ OAKDiiN Street.
DRESS TRIMMINGS.
A'ewest styles in-evsrif variety
SHIRTS, FURNISHING GOODS, &
J.
W. SO OTI & .CO.,
SHIRT MANUFACTURERS, ...
XSD DEiUtl IX
MEN'S FURNISHING GOODS'
No. 814 CHESNUT Street, , . ,
OCB DOORS BtLOW TBE
'i7ip
"COSiTISENTAL,
fUlLaDKLftllA.';
pATENT SHOULDER-SEAM
SHIRT MANUFACTORY.
AND GENTLEMEN'S FURNISHING fiTOEE.
FEBFECT FITTING BHIBlS AMD DHAWEK3
made rom measurement at very short nottoe.
in lull variety.
WINOIIKSTEK A OO
Mo. 706 C1LE8KUT Street
8 24 $
THE DEST FITTING SHIRT
ID AMBKIOA 18 THB ' '
SnOUIDEE-SEAAi i A1TKJLST SBIB17
Manuraoinred by , ,
B. BAYBB, Ho. 68 N. SIX B Street, fhUadelpbia,
where yon ean And a larte tmentot
ousts' rvusieuma ooods. i i. .
Clip this out and give call. . ,
917 Xo. SIXTH Street. Philadelphia-'
Q-EKTS' FURNISHING GOODS,
r. HOFFMAN, JR , T
, (tt O. A. Hoffman, ancoessor to W. W. Knight )
' B 8HIBT8, AUD WBAPPEB9,
HOME BY A lift GLOViS. ' ' '
etla, lambs' Wool, and Moriuo
UNDER-CLOTHING.
o. b-4H AKC'U 8trt.