The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1854-02-15
SINGULAR CASE.

We extract the follow ing narrative from
tho New Orleans TrueDelta:
Strange psychological tacts in reiafion 10
me disappearance 4f M. Laurence Mr..
Laurence. as our readers have already
been Informed, disappeared on Saturday
night last, and his friends, who have heard
nothing of him since, all join in the belief
that he was most foulIy murdered. The
facts which we are about To relate are in
relation to his disappearance, and they arc
indeed truly marvellous.
a lady Of the highest rcspcctabilitv, who
resides in tho Fourth District, and who
had for many years been intimately ac-
quatcd with b1r. Lawrence, went OH Sun.
day morning to visit her sister, who lives
but few squares from her on--strcet.
She hnd on the previous night been ,rou-
bled with neuralgia, and on entering her
sisters house, she requested her broihcr-
In-law-a strong believer in mcsrnc rism-
to make Il few passes on her head in order
In ease its pain. Tho bro,her-in-law COM
piled with her request, and she soon passed
into the mesmcr,c sleep. AS she some
times spoke while in that state, he asked
her what she saw. She answered. with a
start, that she saw two men numbering an.
WIN VII tiO lSFCC. W flF'n dSkGu " she
knew the man WI o was being killed, she
said that il was SO dark that she could not
tell.
a few additional passes were then made
to deepen the mcsmcric influences, wncn
she sad "Oh see now he's 4 dark COM
plcxioncd man! Why,' she exclaimed
again, "lts Mr.. Lawrcnce! Why doesn't
he shoot them! Why does not somebody
go 10 help hI,n!" and she called aloud, as
il invoking aid.
She then went on in broken starts to
say, "Ah! they have killed hIin--now they
are taking paper money from hin,--now
they are taking gold--lhcrc, one Of them
has taken his watch. OH they both car.
ry him to the river, and now they throw
linn in. Poor Lawcnce--liow he's g0ne."
Being still further interrogatcd, she de-
scrbcd tho murdcrers. One, she said, was
9 large, ugly man, with a heavy bear.,
anu the other was small dark rnau.--
Subsequently she traced them 10 a large
steam ship that had masts and sails, and
had great many people on board. Tic
ship, she said. was just leaving ,hc Wharf,
and the Two murdcrers were taking To.
ge'hcr. One had Mr.. Lawrence's watch
IN his pocket.
This, it will be remembered, was on
Sunday morning. some thirty hours before
any alarm was Iell by Mr.. Lawrence's
friends concerning h.tn. Several pc rsons,
who were in every respect above suspi-
ci"n, were present when the psyc!iologicaL
disclosures %hirh VIC have just related
were made. The lady herself, wien
awakened, knew nothing about wha, she
had apparently seen and described, and
the whole matter was throughout the day
made the subject Of many a hearty laugh.
Events which have since transpircd seem,
however, 10 indicate that the p$ychoogic
al vision of Sunday was, alas, but too
real. MIR. Lawrence has not since been
seen or heard of, and his hat, the only
yestige OF him, has hren found on the
blood stained levce where the lady mes
merical'y described the murder to have
been committed.
II will also be remembered that two
steamships left this ppr! for California on
Sunday morning, about the time the lady
described the departure of tho two murder
ers on the steamship.
Is this one of the strange truths not
dreamed Of by philosophy, or the chance
fancy o.! dream!