The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1853-07-21

American clergyman OF the last century,
opens up many interesting trains of
thought; but none SO worthy of consider
alton as that of the sudden revival of re-
6 collection. He was attacked by danger
Gus illness, occasioned apparently by
severe and protracted study. One morn
ing, after his life had been despaired of,
while conversing In Latin with his broth
er, he suddenly became insensible, and
to all appearance dead. His funeral
was appointed after the usual interval
But his physician, who was an intimate
friend, refused to believe he cold be dead
whose conviction was somewhat sup
ported by the averment of one of the per-
sons who assisted in laying out the body,
that he thought he had perceived slight
warmth in the region of the heart So
earnest was the physician, that the funer-
al was postponed; the time was again ap-
pointed, and again and again the friend
pleaded for little delay, first an hour,
!, then half an hour, then quarter-but
still no signs of life appeared, and it was
determined the ceremony should proceed.
But just at the supreme moment, the
sunken eyelids were raised for an instant,
and the body became once more an ap-
parent corpse. An hour passed away,
and other groan, followed now by
slight token of returning life. The feeble
spark was carefully tended, and the pa
ttent was slowly restored to health. But
| it was apparent that his memory was
complete blank. The past was entirely
| forgotten as though be had drank of the
waters of Lethe. One day seeing his
sister reading, he asked her what it was
she held in her hand. On being answered
that it was the Bible, he rejoined, what
| is the Bible? l do not know what you
mean In every respect, SO far as &C.
quired knowledge was concerned, he was
child again. Slowly and laboriously
he re commenced his education, beginning
at the simplest rudiments. He was one
day reading an elementary Latin book
with his brother, with whom he was
speaking in that language at the time of
his apparent decease, when all at once he
stopped as though he had received sud-
den shock, and declared the book seemed
familiar to him. In short time, the
veil was entirely lifted, and his past ac
quirements and experience became once
more portions of his conscious being
During all this time he uniformly assessor
ted, he had the most intense and Vived
recollection of all that transpired during
the days of apparent. or, as he frmly be-
| lieved, real death. He dared not, he said,
late fully what he had seen in that spirit
land; but an account of it would be found
among his papers after his decease. The
event, however, took place during the dis
turbance of the war of the American Rev
olution, and these papers, by series of
singular accidents, were lost, before falling
into the hands of his executor, and so
were never examined. But if his own
testimony-the testimony of a gentleman
of unimpeached veracity, who, for more
than half century thereafter, maintain
ed character of remarkable soberness
and circumspection-is to be relied upon,
his soul passed from the body and entered
the world of spirits, where he stood in
the full presence of that inestimable glory
upon which no man may look and live
Did he, in fact pass those viewless portals,
which, we are told, deny all return! Was
his call to life a new birth from the
Dead? Who knows?
Whatever may be the bearings of this
case of Tenant upon the subject of
dreams and frances or apparent death, it
is certain that forgetfulnes apparently
as absolute as can be conceived was in
fact only apparent; that the light from
his past existence was invisible, only be-
cause obscured by the brighter light from
the spirit land; just as the faint stars are
invisible when concealed by the obscur
ing daylight, and wait to be revealed
when that shall be withdrawn. 1t is one
of those numerous instances which go far
towards warranting the belief that there
is no such thing as absolute forgetfulness;
that every impression made upon the
mind, is ineffaceable, every inscription
incapable of obliteration. A veil may be
drawn between the after consciousness
and the inscription; the characters may
be filed up; but this veil is ready at
any moment to be withdrawn, the filling
up to fall away when the character will
become as legible as when first traced.
There is another we'll authenticated
case, in some respects still more striking,
showing as it does, how slight may be
the impressions made upon the mind,
which Shall yet prove inefaceable. A
poor servant girl, in German town, was
attacked by violent fever. She was
unable to read or write, but during the
payroxysms of her disease, she become
possessed-as the priests say-by very
polyglot devil. She would keep spouting
forth in loud and monotonous voice,
unconnected sentences of Latin, Greek
and Hebrew. Sheet after sheet of these
rawlings were taken down; but those who
, attempted to find the elucidation OF some
, deep mysteries in the Babel of unknown
, tongues, got their labor for their pains
AT length her physician determined to
} trace out her antecedents. lie succeeded