The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-06-25
A Mysterious Influence.

The particulars of an interesting oc.
currcnce ut the corset factory Of Mr.. l..
Strouse, on Oak street, Tuesday, will be
of interest to students in those occult
matters in the mental and physical con-
ditions of human beings which for ages
have puzzled the physicians and philos-
ophers of the world. The facts, in
brief, are as follows In the factory of
Mr.. Strouse large number OF ladies,
some of considerable intelligence, are
employed III the various branches of
work usually performed i'll every large
factory of the kind in the country. At
about IL o'clock in the forenoon of Tues
day, q small knot of girls stood chatting
together on different topics, based upon
current events as reported in the daily
papers, and by natural progression in
the talk they came to speak of sudden
deaths, and of the recitals of cases where
persons had been cut off from life with
out previous warning of the nearness of
their dying day. There was all at once
felt among the girls the shadow of a So
lemnity as of the sweep of pail through
the room, and the conversation, which
had been quite lively, was in moment
hushed as though spell of silence had
been laid upon every tongue. One par
ticularly spirited and pretty girl-Miss
Shea-being perhaps disinclined to ac-
knowledge the rather unusual and fear
some sense of something awful which
had come among them, in an effort at
playfulness, placed on workbench near
one of the young girls common land
turtle which had been picked up some
where. The girl on whose bench
it was laid turned and saw it, gave
a shrek which sounded elfish i'll inten-
sity, and Immediately fell to the floor in
a faint, as though she had been dead.
This apparently led to touch of horror
i'll the minds of the other girls, some OF
whom grew white in countenance, with a
set expression on their faces, and for an
instant not word or cry was uttered.
Soon the same kind of thing happened
to another of the girls. She fell to the
floor in what looked like dead faint, or
the trance of person exhausted by pro-
longed mental excitement, leading to ex-
haustion. Shortly another girl was
seized with the same kind of an attack,
and she, too, yielded to the influence and
was numbered with those who had al
ready given way. One after another of
the girls tainted and fell, until no less
than seven of the young ladies had been
brought low. The affair was SO unex-
pected that CONSERVATION, or at least
deep interest was shown by the workmen
employed in the mems department.
Some of them grew pallid and tremu-
lous as if with sudden fear, and pretty
soon one of them was taken with an at
tack similar to that which afflicted the
young ladies. He apparently summoned
all the forces Of his mind and body to
resist the mysterious tendency, but he,
too, yielded and tainted away. The
thing began to look serious. What allied
everybody? was the question with every
body not Immediately affected by or un
der control of this singular nervous dis
pensation; and at this juncture so pain
full was the sense of apprehension that,
when Mr.. Morris, the foreman, ordered
d stoppage of the work and dispersion
of the work-people to their homes, a
great relief was felt. All were required
to move off quietly, and by this judicious
treatment no further demonstration be-
came possible. e.-Ne,O HdUen Journal.