Tempo:
50 INTERIOR VISION.
mere worldly man, is a fair suspicion. As a clear-headed, common-sense man, who in his good nature, and in his admiration of it, wanted to stand well with the world; as a man who thoroughly enjoyed his life, and possessed an abundance of rich and marketable imagination, — as all this, Walter Scott converted superstitions as into his stock in trade. We seriously mistrust whether, while believing, he did not— to please the world — still deny; whether in his affected, and even pretendedly laughing, disclaimers, he was not secretly bowing, all the time, before the very thing he thought it allowable to barter. This, if true, was disingenuous, if not something worse.
“Nearly all the writers who have treated of the marvellous have done so in the cisbelieving vein. Itis the fashiontoseem to sneer. All of this acting before the world comes from the too great love of it; arises out of the fear of that which may be said of us. There prevails a too great compliance with convention; too great a meeting of the aniversal prejudice. Men are too apologetic, even in their faiths. In the face of standards, few men have the boldness to be singular. Habit dictates our form of thought, as equally as it legalizes our dress. We dreadfully fear the world.
‘¢ Other narrators and exponents of the supernatural — though aware of the always powerfully interesting material which they have at command — instead of being imbued with the strong sense of the latent truth in them — may be said, indeed, almost with one consent — though longing to tell—to begin to parade a sort of shame at their revelations. And pray wherefore? They are already met more than half-way in every sensible man’s mind. There are few families —nay, there is scarcely an individual— who has not had something xaturaily unexplainable in his history. The supernatural tale always finds an echo in every breast.
“Now, if discredited by writers, the ‘supernatural’ should not be treated of by them. There are plenty of subjects at which they may play, but that —if they believe any life but their ordinary life — so serious one. If the possibility of the supernatural be believed, and its instances be accepted, they are bound, as candid men and honest men, to make the avowal that they believe. The explanations which are frequently offered of things appearing as supernatural, are greatly more difficult to credit than the extra-natural matters themselves. They are often infinitely clumsy. Somewhat roughly examined, they will continually fall to pieces of themselves. Of some unaccountable things, in fact, nobody credits the ‘explanations.’ The uncomfortable fact is got rid of. The subject is dismissed, to make way for the next soliciting object. The wonder is given up as unexplainable. And that is the whole process. ‘This is a very easy, though not a very conclusive or satisfactory, methed of disproving. We suppose we disbelieve.” . . .
“We are weary of the jargon whereby strange and unexplainable — possibly natural — doubtless natural— phenomena have been degraded. The history of all unknown things has been thus similar, that at the ont
mere worldly man, is a fair suspicion. As a clear-headed, common-sense man, who in his good nature, and in his admiration of it, wanted to stand well with the world; as a man who thoroughly enjoyed his life, and possessed an abundance of rich and marketable imagination, — as all this, Walter Scott converted superstitions as into his stock in trade. We seriously mistrust whether, while believing, he did not— to please the world — still deny; whether in his affected, and even pretendedly laughing, disclaimers, he was not secretly bowing, all the time, before the very thing he thought it allowable to barter. This, if true, was disingenuous, if not something worse.
“Nearly all the writers who have treated of the marvellous have done so in the cisbelieving vein. Itis the fashiontoseem to sneer. All of this acting before the world comes from the too great love of it; arises out of the fear of that which may be said of us. There prevails a too great compliance with convention; too great a meeting of the aniversal prejudice. Men are too apologetic, even in their faiths. In the face of standards, few men have the boldness to be singular. Habit dictates our form of thought, as equally as it legalizes our dress. We dreadfully fear the world.
‘¢ Other narrators and exponents of the supernatural — though aware of the always powerfully interesting material which they have at command — instead of being imbued with the strong sense of the latent truth in them — may be said, indeed, almost with one consent — though longing to tell—to begin to parade a sort of shame at their revelations. And pray wherefore? They are already met more than half-way in every sensible man’s mind. There are few families —nay, there is scarcely an individual— who has not had something xaturaily unexplainable in his history. The supernatural tale always finds an echo in every breast.
“Now, if discredited by writers, the ‘supernatural’ should not be treated of by them. There are plenty of subjects at which they may play, but that —if they believe any life but their ordinary life — so serious one. If the possibility of the supernatural be believed, and its instances be accepted, they are bound, as candid men and honest men, to make the avowal that they believe. The explanations which are frequently offered of things appearing as supernatural, are greatly more difficult to credit than the extra-natural matters themselves. They are often infinitely clumsy. Somewhat roughly examined, they will continually fall to pieces of themselves. Of some unaccountable things, in fact, nobody credits the ‘explanations.’ The uncomfortable fact is got rid of. The subject is dismissed, to make way for the next soliciting object. The wonder is given up as unexplainable. And that is the whole process. ‘This is a very easy, though not a very conclusive or satisfactory, methed of disproving. We suppose we disbelieve.” . . .
“We are weary of the jargon whereby strange and unexplainable — possibly natural — doubtless natural— phenomena have been degraded. The history of all unknown things has been thus similar, that at the ont
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