Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-01-26
THE SHADOwY LAND.
A Brooklyn Merchant Who believes That
His Son Appeared to Him . Year


His SOn Appeared to Him . Year
After Death.
A prominent resident of Columbia
Heights, Brooklyn, doing business in New
York, Who is an earnest believer in Spirit
ualism, has recently had his faith strength
ened by an extraordinary experience, OF
the actual occurrence of which he has not
the least doubt. He is shrewd. practical
business man, inclined, as he says himself,
to be skeptical and to doubt anything out
of the usual run But he states that few
days ago i'll the daytime he saw distinctly
his son, who died about year before. AS
he desires to avoid undue publicity all
names are omitted. but the story, as he
related 1t to Tribune reporter, is as fol
lows:
1.-The ceath Of my son occurred year
ago this month. The severity Of the blow
had become somewhat softeDed by time,
and previous to his appearance to ME had
no: been at all constantly in my mind. I
had come home in the afternoon, and Just
about sunset passed from the front par
lor. where we are now. to this room in the
rear. AS l reached the door saw dis
tinctly my dead son sitting in low chair
by the window. His face, which was pale
was turned toward me, and his head a
little inclined to one side. His eyes were
earnestly fixed upon me. He was drcssad
in the same clothes that he Wore when
alive. | stood as if fthunder.struck gazing
at him. In IN instant the vision vanished
like flash. 1t seemed to melt into the
AIR to the right, the feet disappearing last.
Then recovered myself. l am not easily
moved, but the perspiration stood out on
my forehead and my hands We're cold as
ice. l examined everything and tried to
see if | could have been deceived by the
light coming through the window, but
could find no explanation, and lay awake
all the night thinking it over Come into
the back parlor aud will show you what
the arrangement of the room was.''
The speaker entered the rear room,
which has a large bay window looking over
the harbOr to the west. He changed the
position of the chairs somewhat, and con-
ti4ued:
stood in this doorway where YOU
stand now, looking towards the window.
1t was just this time of the day ;about sun
set, and the light was striking into the
room from the west. Directly in front of
me, by the table, was this high backed
chair. Looking over the top of this chair
across the rays of light from the west I
saw my son in that low easy-chair, which
stood where l have placed it now, in the
corner to the north by the window. NV
son was not in my mind when I entered
the room. have carefully stulicd the
effects Of the light, and am sure that
was not deceived. Ny belief was con-
firnied by subsequent occurrence. About
week afterwards Il medium, who knew
nothing of what had seen. gave my wife
a communication from my sou. He de-
scribed my appearance and actions when
saw him in this room. and more than this,
he repeated the remarks made by mem
bcrs of my family when told by me of my
experience. lie said that he was con
stantly with Us in spirit, and had been
struggling to make himself visible. He
had succeeded this once, but other forces
were to strong for him, and he was COM
PEELED go.
l. cannot explain this appearance ex-
cept by my belief that there is Il connec-
ton between this world and the next
which people generally are not ready to
accept. There were some singular occur
rences during my sons illness. He had
been Ill for eighteen months with con-
sumption and after travelling in search of
health returned homo about three weeks
before his death. We learned then that
he was believer in spiritualism.
He announced his approaching end
a week before it came, and said
that he would probably fall into trance.
A few days before the end came he passed
INTO deep trance, remaining in this state
for about six hours. On regaining con-
sciousness nc exclaimed beautiful and
said that he had had vision of an open
SCI. containing many beautiful objects in
descri"ably bright, from one of which
came voice calling, him. He frequently
spoke of this vision, which seemed to recur
to him up to is death. All these expert
cnces have taken away from the members
of my family any fear Of death"