The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-10-08

ment NJ cessatN tor iciuuiuE D. u these vaporOus
CmnbatiOns, cOrpses WrHpYvt winding sheets,
and other portCu'ous vision, uf sscOnd sighti bu
| it is altogether another thug 3sume that such
manifestations are merely tc o suit of reflective
| and retiactive phenomena. Mur,yver, II candidly
hVesugaiedB neither hypOtL,sI3 acCOrds with
| actual testimony IN regard ~ ihi matter What
| ever opinion may now be h... concerning the
| reality or unrealty vi sccuuH sight, whether
| we choose 10 consider it '.sulty possessed
/ by certain individuals to WHOM extraordinary
ghmpsts OF the sprit-wOrld are e ven, or whether
/ we choose 20 look upon o. rs deusion
! bred Of hypochOndrasls, li- Hand fog, AMI
| the fumes Of Highland wuis.r, there stiIl re-
mains no doubt but that the testimony favorable
TO the realty Of second sight D. both mutiflrous
ana precise. There Is spyCiI ~, too, as regards
/ evidence affecting this matter, she specially OF
appeal Is the result COuurmtt Tory OF the 50 &C.
tral appearances. Perhaps this Is tue most UN-
uaoruiuary particular noticeable in records of
second sight. lt is not merely that seer or one
! possessing the faculty OF sCruId sIght, should
/ vaguely protest that be observed a ceraiu appl-
! rition not seen by others; suuh protcstatiOns,
according TO published testimony In this
matter-and It is very yoluminous-wOuld
! not have constituted one seer" in the
| estimation OF his fellows There was u pre-
/ csion in this branch Of dcmonology which
modern spirit-rapping sadly lacks 60 fear
| less appeal 20 cOnhrmatOry results, suggestive OF
| complete honesty on the part of tue seer; and,
strange 10 say-t am to believe my authorities
which the future has made manifest in thou
sands of recorded instances. There is precision,
particularly about those published examples af
second sight, not n little embarrassing 10 one who
would desire TO eliminate from his own mind auy
| precOnceived beliefs which IL might have enter
tanned, and submit his guidance wholly TO the
directing hand of testimony. Now the testimony
l repeal, affecting the matter Of second sight is
most precise and partCular-eyyry ground Of error
seems to have been cleared away, every cause of
deception eliminated. We do not find that Mr.
| Dash or Mrs. Blank saw a corpse lying near her
| on certain blank day Of a year Undetermined;
aud that before the year was out somebody hap
| pencd to die, not hundred miles from the scene
Of the appariiion; but we are circum.tantialv
| Informed concerning the personal identity of the
/ visionary corpse.
Moreover the lapse Of time between the
/ spectral apparition and the death Ii portended
was, according TO the authority before me, intal-
| lbly predicted within small limits of error It
had come to be understood by these second sight
seers that the wnding-sheet which seemed to
enwrap these spectral cOrpses disclosed, through
the manner Of It's folding the period Of dssOiu-
tlon. II a spectral corpse was seen wholly en-
veloped by the winding sheet, then the death had
already happened, or would Immediately happen
II the winding-sheet only extended half way up
the body, then death would occur after the lapse
of half q year.
The antiquary John Aubrey, wishing to collatc
authentic testimony relative to second sight,
proposed series of questions to two Scotch
gentlemen thereon, and published their replies.
The respondents do not differ in any important
particulars both testify to begin, that the second
sight relates only to things future, which will
bnOIlly come 10 pdbS LllhL ana dismal events
are the objects OF this faculty, such as sudden
deaths and dreadful accidents. Having intimated
that the general characteristic of second sight
is dismal, melancholy, deponent number one
then states that he only knew Of one instance to
the contrary. "Ihat instance" remarks he, al
have from person worthy Of credit, and it is
this:-
"Near forty years ago, Maclean and his lady,
sister to my Lord Seatorth, were walking about
their own house, and on their return both came
into chamber where the young child was
nursed. The baby did as babies sometimes do
/ now, 1t began to cry whereupon the nurse was
asked whether baby was well and whether any
| thing had gone wrong with its diet 'Well, aud
well victualled,' replied the nurse 1T crieth not
| for the cause of Sickness Then why does it
| cry demanded the questiOner; upon which the
| nurse, after a few moments OF discreet silence
| communicated the reason, and in so doing made
| known her faculty of second sight. 'Macean
lbaby 8 papa would die, the nurse said and the
| lady would shortly be married to another man.
Beng pressed as TO how she knew that event, she
told the qucstiOners (there two) that on their
| entrance into the room, she saw man with a
scarlet cloak and white hat bctwixt them giving
the lady kiss over the shoulders and thus ii was
that baby cried All this came to pass after Mac
! leans death. The tutor of Lovet married the lady
in the same habit the nurse saw him in"
Such, then, is the solitary instance of result,
not sad, not dismal, not melancholy made known
| by anticipation through the faculty of second
| sight DepOnent number one, still enghtening
the English antiquary Aubrey on the subject OF
sighted men see things Yisibly before their eyes
| but none sees but themselves for example, ii a
man be doomed TO be hanged, they will see him
already dangling from giDOet, or at least rope
about bis neck If 10 be beheaded, they will see
him headless; if to be drowned, they will per-
ceiYe an apparitOn of him in water; if TO die
suddenly by undetermined means, they will see
winuing-sheet about his head. zone instance
had from a gentleman here states dcpOnent,
"of a Highland gentleman of the MacdOnalds,
who having brother that came 20 visit him. saw
him coming in, wanting head, but told not his
brother that he saw any such thing; yet within
twenty hours thereafter his brother was
taken (6eing murderer), his head cut of, and
sent TO Edinburgh. Many such instances might
be given"
The faculty Of second sight was described by
all whom deponent questioned on the matter as
arOubesome thing they would be gladly freed
from, but could not. He confesses, however, to
having heard "lately" of a man very much trou-
bled in his soul Herewith, from whom by his
seriously praying deiverance, the faculty at
| length departed.
Relative to the exorcism of second sight spec
tres, to getting rid OF the faculty, find, in Mar
! tins tract on second sight, the following anec-
| dote -
"a woman of Stornaby, in Lewis, had maid
| who saw visions, and often fell into a swOon.
! Her mistress very much concerned about
her, but could not find out any means TO prevent
her seeing these things at last she resolved to
! pour some of the water used in baptism on her
maids face, believing this would prevent her
] W
she carried her maid with her the next Lords
day, and both of them sat near the basin In which
the water stood, and after baptism, before the
| minister had concluded the last prayer she put
out her hand in the basin, took up as much water
! as she could, and threw IL on the maids face at
| which strange action the minister and the con-
| gregation were equally surprised.
"After prayer, the minister inquired of the
| woman the meaning of such an unbecOming and
| distracted action whereupon she told him It was
| to prevent her maid seeing visions; and 1t fell
/ out accordingly, for from that time she never
! once more saw a vision of any kind. This ac-
! count was given me by Mr. Morrison, minister of
| the place, before several of his parishoners who
| knew the truth of it," Then follows a comment
| that the reader is requested TO note. 81 submit
the matter of fact" our author adds, "to the CEN
/ sure of the learned; but for my own part think
| il 70 have been one of Satan's devices TO make
/ credulous people have an esteem for holy water"
One of the questions proposed by the antiquary
! Aubrey was this Had any person or persons
/ truly gOdy, or who might Justly be presumed to
be such, been known 10 have this gift or faculty
! To this query respondent answers Mot any
! godly, but such as are yrtuous."
! That 1t descends by succession deponent can.
! not learn. Nor can he learn how possessOrs of
! the faculty came by 1t. "ThGy will not tell, which
If they did, they are sure of their strokes from an
! invisible hand" He cites, AS an example, the