wondher if there ar-re canals on Mars; I believe there ar-re. I'll look
an' see. Be Hivens, there ar-re.' If he'd wondhered an' thin believed
about clothes poles he'd've found thim too. Anny kind iv a fact is proof
iv a belief. A firm belief atthracts facts. They come out iv holes in
th' ground an' cracks in th' wall to support belief, but they run away
fr'm doubt.

"I'll niver get anny medal f'r makin' anny man give up his belief. If I
see a fellow with a chube on his eye and hear him hollerin', 'Hooray,
I've discovered a new planet,' I'll be th' last man in th' wurruld to
brush th' fly off th' end iv th' telescope. I've known people that see
ghosts. I didn't see thim, but they did. They cud see ghosts an' I
cudden't. There wasn't annything else to it. I knew a fellow that was a
Spiritualist wanst. He was in th' chattel morgedge business on week days
an' he was a Spiritulist on Sunday. He cud understand why th' spirits
wud always pick out a stout lady with false hair or a gintleman that had
his thumb mark registhered at Polis Headquarthers to talk through, an'
he knew why spirits liked to play on banjoes an' mandolins an' why they
convarsed be rappin' on a table in th' dark. An' there was a man that
wud bite a silver dollar in two befure he'd take it f'r good."

"My aunt seen a ghost wanst," said Mr. Hennessy.

"Ivrybody's aunt has seen a ghost," said Mr. Dooley.




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