The Indianapolis journal., 1885-01-23
WHEN
AN ODD YOUNG WOMAN.
She Speaks All Languages and Knows All
Things Without Studying.

New YORK, Jan. GA few people met at q
private house in Park avenue and gazed with
wonder at an intellectual Lulu Hurst. The
entity about thirty years old, with a fresh, rosy
complexion, brown hair and eyes, and rather diff
fdent manners. He said that she was An init
mate friend of his, Mrs. Obi, of Plainfeld. N. j.
For nearly three years, he explained, this lady
had been controlled by some marvellous and pow
erful influence which gave her ready command
of the most difficult foreign languages, modern
and dead, without any study She could not
choose the language she would speak at WILL
sometimes she would rattle off lot of Spanish,
sometimes talk French for an hour without stop
ping for breath, and again reel off Greek, He
brew or even Arabic at pace that the most
accomplished scholar found difficulty in follow
ing.
Mrs. Ohl's natural difidence deepened to al
most school girl bashfulness as she rose before
her new and critical acquaintances and stood
upon a large wolf-skin rug Without any delay
she smiled pleasantly upon all, rolled her brown
eyes toward the ceiling. and Immediately began
s harangue with an imaginary street crowd in a
language that no one present could even guess
at She talked AS though thoroughly in earnest.
Next she wandered off into pathetic lullaby,
which gentleman present declared to be Span
ish love After another monologue in an
unknown language, Mrs. Oil sang a tenor solo,
and alternately carried on a basso and soprano
song dialogue. doing all with apparent ease.
Mrs. Oil said the "spell,' as she called it.
though calling for considerable physical exer-
tion, seemed to refresh her. She lived at Plain
field with her mother lwho in the room
at the time) and her husband, who was
IN the employ of Pierre Lorillard She
kcs5An te have spells about three years
ago. and had gradually got so that she could
command them at will. She had written in
Hebrew, and on one occasion she put down lot
of telegraphic characters which the village op-
orator read at glance, and which proved to be
some long desired information about missing
will Though she had never read Shakspeare's
"Jnlius Caeear," she once accurately rected
nearly the whole of it to her mother. Both she
and her husband were sensitive about the mat
ter and would only exhibit the strange powers
to few acquaintances. Portuguese lady who
was among them, would not believe so Mrs. Oil
said, that she had not acquired the Portuguese
accent in Portugal. She received like encomiums
from gentlemen familiar with the languages, for
her French, Italian Spanish, Hebrew, Greek
and Arabic accent.
Mrs. Oil said in response to a question that it
made no difference TO her whether she sang So
prano, baritone or tenor The only peculiar SEN
sations connected with the whole affair were
around her throat and chest Her mind was
clear all the time, she said, and she saw all the
people about her, but her attention was wholly
occupied by the strange characters in fantastic
garbs who came before her eyes. and who seem
to speak through her
Another peculiar feature of the strange inhu-
enee under which Mrs. Oil did all these ridcu-
lous things, her mother said, was her wonderful
influence over dumb animals. She would ride
fearlessly an untamed colt and successfully cap
ture an angry bull, which had chased scared
man across ten acre lot She afraid Of
nothing but spiders Rats and mice were her
pets. Mrs. Oil offered the guests no examina-
tion of her phenomenal powers.