Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-06-12
Two Queer Stories.
salem (Mass.l Gazette. ]

Two Queer Stories.
[salem (Mass.) Gazette.l
Here is true story, which contains
some interesting features: "Last Friday
morning the 900 train was ON it's way
from Salem to Boston at full speed. A
man occupied lefthand seat near the
center of the car, next to the window.
He was, of course, on that side of the car
that would be nearest to any train that
might pass on the other track AS he sat
there this speculation, without any par
ticular cause, entered his head: "Sup-
pose freight train should pass, and
piece of lumber should break away from
its moorings, and so far project as to come
tearing along the side Of the passenger
train, how many passengers between the
center and rear end of the car, would
have presence of mind sufficient to Jump
out of the way on receiving the warning
of the first collision at the front end of
the carp 1t was not thought inspired
by fear or nervousness, but simply one of
those speculations that will enter mans
mind in a moment of idleness, when he
is gliding along in comfort on a railroad
train.
'The thought passed away, and the
man took up his newspaper and began to
read with mind at ease. Not more than
five minutes elapsed, and possibly not
three, when a thump and crash were
heard, which challenged the attention of
every person in the car, and justified the
stopping of the train for moment to see
what had happened. 1t was found that
something from a passing freight train
| had struck the passenger car just at the
point where the man sat who had been
| indulging in this speculation about that
| kind of an accident The window where
| he was sitting was smashed in, hole
was knocked in the side of the car, so
that outside daylight could come in, the
iron work which supports the seat at the
side of the car was wrenched from its
| place and broken, and a piece of wood
perhaps two feet in length, five inches in
breadth and half an inch thick or more,
| from the passing car, was hurled into the
car either through the window or other
wise, and fell at the mans feet. In fact,
there was a wreck right at the point
where the man was sitting, and his coat
was covered with splinters and broken
glass. But Notwithstanding all this, he
did not experience even scratch, and so
quickly was the thing done that he is
not even conscious of experiencing any
more of shock than any other passenger
on the train, or in fact, of any shock
whatever beyond the noise Of the crash.
1t was really a marvellous escape, and
very strange in view of the passing
thought that had entered the PERSONS
mind few moments previously.
The man alluded to is the writer of this
paragraph, who was at first inclined to
laugh and joke about the affair with the
other passengers, but who, on more de-
| liberate thought, was inclined to think
the circumstances were sufficiently
remarkable to justify this little narrative,
not by the way of fostering super
stitious tendencies, which need no special
| cultivation in the human mind, but to
| furnish one more of those striking coin
cidents of thought and event that are Oft
en- so curious, and to show how wonder
| full may be an escape from death.
This occurrence reminds us of of an in
cident related by the late Governor
| Thomas H. Seymour. He spoke of it as
| q very singular case, which had made
some impression upon his mind. He
said that he was at his residence and busy
| writing one day, when of q sudden there
came over HIM strong desire to see
or hear from one of his fellow students
| in Partridge's military academy, in
Middletown, when the Governor was
quite young man. He had not heard
| from this person for more than twenty
years, and did not recollect that he had
spoken his name, or even thought of him,
| for at least fifteen years. But the sudden
desire to see him or hear from HIM was
so great that Gov Seymour laid down his
pen and began to consider the way to find
| how letter could reach him. While
| thus silently considering the matter, the
! door bell rang and the servant announced
| the name of that very person, and a
| pleasant interview followed.
This might well enough be deemed a
mere coincidence, were it not for the
| number of similar experiences of
| Gov Seymour and of others, and which
at length led that gentleman to declare
| that there was certainly some law, or
principle, at the bottom of all these oc-
curences which must have caused the
adage: "The.devil is always near when
you are thinking of him. He told of
case in his own experience which hap
pened while he was Minister to Russia.
Busy one day at his papers in his Office
at st. Petersburg, he suddenly became
strongly impressed that certain person
was near 1t was man whom he scarce
ly knew, and Of whom he had never so
much as thought since, many years be-
fore, he had seen! him in the United States,
and probably given him a small sum of
money. The next moment in came the
man himself 1t was the''-, of an
American in destitute circumstances,
applying to the Minister for help-and it
is needless to say that he got it, for Gov.
Seymour was ever more generous to 9TH
ers than to himself. But what is the ex-
plantation of the correct impression he
had, in that and other similar instances,
that certain person was coming?