Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1883-07-21
[From the Chicago Times.
THE LATEST CHICAGO WON
DER.
A DEAD MANS PICTURE IMPRESS
ED UPON A WINDOW PANE.

A DEAD MANS PICTURE IMPRESS
ED UPON A WINDOW PANE.
An object we'll worthy of scien-
tific investigation may be seen in the
window of the drug store at No.
49, Southwestern avenue, bet
the hours of seven and eight every
evening. The object in question is
nothing more nor Iess than an ordl-
nary pane of plate glass and, at any
time except the hour specified, there
is nothing about it that would at
tract attention, but aAthe sun wanes
in light and heat each evening it ex-
erts an influence in the glass that IS
believed by many to be supernatural,
and there are hundreds of people in
The neighborhood who viii not un-
der any circumstances 90 ear it.
Here is the story Of the wonderful
glass as told by Dr. A. h. Smith, in
whose drug store the pane is kept /:
About three weeks ago an East In
dia Jew, who was possessed of many
cccentricities OF character, beaded
in a house a few doors EAST Of the
drug store on Taylor street and DC
cupled the front room on the second
floor, the windows of which faced
the west. The Jew took sick, and
died after an illness OF a few days.
He was dressed for burial and laid
out in the centre OF the DOM direct
" in front of the window.
About halt past I o'clock on the
! evening of the second day after the
funeral the dead mans wife was sit
ting in the same room weeping over
the loss of her husband, when she
CHANGED to look toward the centre
window. AS she did SO she uttered
a piercing scream and rushed toward
it and began 10 pass her hand gently
owe the low pane, speaking words
Of tenderness and love IN her own
language as she did SO. When the
people in the lower portion OF the
house rushed into the room, in re-
spouse to the woman's scream, they
saw her kissing the window pane
and acting in such a peculiar man
J ner that they at nee concluded tina,
she was insane. She turned sud.
denly, however, in such a ann as
to expose the pane, aud the people
in the room saw a sight that brough,
forth a yell and a general rush to-
; the stairs leading 10 the ground
floor, tor there in the glass was as
. perfect a likeness of the dead man as
the best photographer could pro
duce. The eyes were closed, the
features were calm and the beard
! and hair were just as they had beer
arranged for the burial. The pic
e ture showed the head and a portion
, Of the bust almost to the waist. \
linen handkerchief that had beer
placed across the breast of the deao
Q mar when he was laid out was alst
t accurately reproduced. The wife O
the deceased is of a superstition!
turn of mind, and firmly believe
that her husband had returned ,o
express some wish he desired fulfill
y ed, and stayed constantly by it
The story of the "apparition" spreat
, through the neighborhood like wild
fire, and hundreds came at all hour
OF the day to see it. Many VIII
II came in the morning and early after
noon and failed to see anything pre-
nounced the story a canard, bu
those who returned and viewed tn
glass at the hour specified were as
= tonished to see the picture as it ha'
been represented. DR.. Smith was
o. doubling Thomas for awhile, an
would not even take the pains to G
- INTO the room and examine tn
glass. lie did so at length, how
&c ever, snd was astonished beyond dc
'e scription at beholding the picture 0
whatever it is, as it was a perfee
likeness of TIE departed Jew, who,
he had known quite we'll, the fac
and features being identical in ever
eff particular with what is supposed t
~ have been the original.
20 The glass is placed in the sho,
window facing west and during tn
, day it is a very innocent appearin
1t piece of glass, but when the su
? reaches a certain point the line;
IN men,s of 4 mans bearded face graz
~ ually begin TO appear, and in abo,
:. ten minutes the picture is conlplet,
presenting an appearance not unlik
!? the negative of q photograph, cnl
or it is somewhat more distinct. tn
glass has been washed over an
over againtwith strong chemical
but its wonderful popularity cann(
"a be destroyed. and incredulous pc
III sons may have their curiosity tulI
n gfatitlcd by visiting the show Wi.
dow named between the hours OF
and 5 =. IN, AS at 5 o'clock the pi
81 ;ure begins 10 grow dim and quick
in disappears altogether. DR.. Smi;
be says that during the past week ii
- picture has grown somewhat din