For the Smyrna Times.      

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      He who accepts the common belief in ghosts accepts much more than is apparent at the first thought. The theory is, that the spirits of men can and do actually appear in places remote from those occupied by their bodies, i. e., — a man now living or now dead, if living we will say that he is out on the high seas, or gone to visit a friend whose home is five miles away from the home of the visitor, or if dead he is being made ready for his burial or has actually been buried. No matter which be the fact in his case, his spirit, soul ghost has the power to appear in a place or places, in this world, remote from the place actually occupied by his dead living body.

      Now, we say that this theory carries with it more, much more, than is apparent at the first thought. It not only gives to the body a ghost with powers of appearing in places remote from the body, but it also gives to the material things the same ghosts, endowed with the same powers, i. e., the possession of a ghost that can appear in a place remote from that occupied by the material body. In proof of this position we sight the fact that ghosts always have clothes on them, and strange to say they appear in the same sort of dress that the body is actually clothed with.

      For a long time it was the fashion to bury people in shrouds and winding sheets, and it is a curious fact that the ghosts of the dead during all that period usually made their appearance dressed in shrouds winding sheets. So shrouds and winding sheets, material things, have ghosts that can leave the material substance and go abroad clothing the ghosts of the bodies.

      It is also a fact that the ghosts of the living appear in the dress worn by the living; in this matter, however, ghosts are a little capricious, appearing dressed in the every-day clothes or Sunday-clothes of the person, just as fancy, or to us the unknown circumstances of the case.

      This common ghost theory goes farther and gives ghosts to our domestic animals and to their clothing or harness and trap pings. An old gentleman of our acquaintance told us the following story, which we condense; "My father," said he, "was from home. The time of his stay was out and the family were on the lookout for his arrival. My mother told me to go out and look and see if he was in sight. I went out and looked in the direction from which he was expected to come, and I saw my father coming. He was on horse back, and I saw and knew the horse. I saw the bridle and so much of the saddle as was visible, and ran into the house and told my mother. I then went out to meet my father, and low he was not to be seen and did not come home until the next night."

      Now in this case if the man saw what he firmly believes he did see, then his father's ghost was there, and the horse's ghost was there, and the bridle and saddle's ghosts were there also, and the saddle had a ghost.

      If the man saw any thing he saw ghosts, for his father, the horse, bridle and saddle were not there at that time. So this common theory of ghosts, gives ghosts to material things and every animal's ghost has use of the ghosts of such material things as are useful to it in the execution of its mission, — a part of which seems to be "to frighten the souls of fearful adversaries."