The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-12-18
MISCELLANY.
METEMPSYCHOSIS.
A Soul Wearing Out Its Second Suit
Of Body.
A Battle Creek Man Who Believes
He was once a HindO0 and Who,
even yet, is not Thoroughly
AmericaniZed.


AmericaniZed.
/ The man with singular idea in his
head halls from Battle Creek, Mich, this
time, and if his views are correct illus
| trates the soundness of the reasoning of
Mr.. Pythagoras, who kept school in
Greece a numder of centuries ago. 1t
may be said briefly, in short, of this Bat
tie Creek man, that he imagines he has
had previous existence on another con-
tinent, and that if crazy on this subject
he is at least sane on all others. The
Chicago Times got the story and tells it
as follows:
The mans singular story was first mar
rated by friend of his in the presence
of Times correspondent and cores
pondent of the Detroit Free Press. He,
however, positively and most emphatic
ally refused to divulge the persons
name, as he said that the man had never
revealed his life-secret except to his wife
and two confidential friends. The man
who narrated the story was one of the
two friends. After earnest solicitations
on the part of the correspondents, the
narrator finally consented to acknowl-
edge to his friend that he had divulged
his secret, and then ask his consent to a
personal interview with the correspond
ents. To the great delight of the cor
respondents, an interview was granted,
but on condition that they would SOL
emnly promise, in case they "wrote him
up," not to reveal his name, or under
any::circumstances not to make it known,
es he was afraid of the ridicule of his
friends. What was their surprise to find
in the person of the man gentlemen
well known to them and to all our citi-
zens; person who has been resident
of our city for years, and from his COM
mon sense and practical knowledge
would be judged the very last person in
our city to entertain for a moment such
odd ideas.
The gentleman honestly and candidly
believes that he has had previous ex-
istence to his present life. 1t was in
childhood that he first began to receive
impressions of having had an existence
before, and as he grew in years the i'm
pressions strengthened and became more
indelible. When young, he supposed
that every person had an impression of
pre-existence the same as himself; that
it was common to all, but az he grew
older he learned that such belief was
peculiar only to himself, and that others
entertained no such ideas. His queer
notions when he was boy, and the odd
questions that he was constantly asking,
subjected him to continued ridicule, un-
tions about, or talk upon the subject that
interested him above all others. Driven
by derision from gaining the informa-
tion that he so much desired, by conver-
sation, he gave himself up to almost
constant meditation and thought. His
mother, long since dead, somewhat sym
pathized with him, and had often told
him that when in his reveries, or "moody
| fits," as she termed them, she had heard
him talking in an unknown language.
At such times the old lody would be-
come greatly alarmed, as she was de-
vout Methodist, and thought that he
was surely possessed of the DEVIL" or
had been "bewitched," or something
equally horrible to her pious Imagina-
tion. While he is busy about everyday
affairs, and has his mind occupied, his
recollections of previoue existence are
quite indistinct, but when in these rev.
cries or meditations the impressions come
back to him with renewed vigor and
reality. When his meditations are over
they pass away again, leaving faint i'm
preston of what his memory had recall
ed. His former life passes before him
like grert panorama.
He sees and comprehends, is enwrap-
ped and delighted, but, like mute per-
son, finds it utterly impossible to tell
others anything about it. What little
he does express and make known is no
more compared with his grand impress
sions than the sign language of the mute
is to the eloquence of our most renowned
orators. He knows and understands his
ancient language, but cannot possibly
speak it, except while in his "moody
fits" or reveries, and when he has passed
out of them he has no recollection of
having done any talking. His mother
and wife are his testimony for saying
that he talked in an unknown language
while thus engaged in his strange trains
of thought. For years he endeavored to
fathom the mystery of his life, and de-
termine who he had been, when he lived
and where he lived. But all to no pur-
pose. His reflections only led him into
continued and deeper meditations, caus-
ing strange and wierd thoughts and
ideas to pass through his mind, and so he
gave up the attempt, and thereafter re-
garded his mysterious self as a human
: enigma. While in New York city some
five or six years ago he attended lee
ture by a we'll known scholar, profes-
sor Of oriental languages. During the
lecture Lne professor, IOE tne eulHcdtlOH
of the audience, conversed in several
languages. The moment that the pro-
fessor commenced to talk in the Sanscrit
he understood every word and fully
. comprehended the speech, although he
had never heard it spoken before in his
present life. It was his tongue! The
, so-long unexplained language of his
soull He was SO impressed with the
, truth of it that he knew it to be so.
, While the professors conversation was
all ineligible to him, still it was not
the pure language, as he had heard it
spoken. II was evident to him that the
Sanscrit was not spoken by our scholars
as the original was spoken. The pro-
! fessor's pronunciation and accent COM
: pared with the original as German 5
, pronunciation and accent, who has just
: learned our language, would with the