Bridgeton pioneer., 1885-09-10
A CURIOUS CASE.
The Blind Clairvoyant Who Described
the Doctors Brain Before He Died.

the Doctors Brain Before He Died.
''Do believe in clairvoyants?" said
well-known citizen of Railway, form
erly medical student, yesterday. II
cannot say that | do, but | was once
almost ready to believe in them. In
the year 1845 the building at the south
east corner of Barclay and Church
street, New York, which is now a fac
tory, was occupied as private board
ing-house. AS the location suited my
convenience, engaged room there,
and took possession of it one Saturday.
about the middle of January. Among
my fellow-b -boarders was DR.. Hathaway,
surgeon of the United States army,
who had been on duty at the hospital
on Staten island. During my first
evening at the house young lady Wis
itor was present who was introduced
to me simply as Mary. She was blind.
had listened but short time to the
conversation of these people before 1
learned that they were almost mono
maniacs on the subject of mesmerism,
and | afterward learned that the blind
girl, Mary, was clairvoyant subject
of DR.. LIE Grande, a well-known physi-
clan, who professed to cure diseases
by mesmerism.
Before retiring that night l went
out to restaurant in Park row for q
plate of oysters. When l returned to
the boarding-house, having been gone
little over half an hour, the front
door, which l had carefully fastened,
was wide open, lights were glancing
about, and there were sounds of con-
fusion in the upper part of the house.
l was told that DR.. Hathaway had had
q fit, and that Dr. Van Buren, DR..
Parker, and another physician, whose
name cannot now recall, had been sent
for, and were in attendance. Finding
1 could be of no service, l went to bed,
and next morning the landlady in
slight attack of apoplexy, unaccom-
panied with paralysis, and that he
would probably be all right in few
days. He was not all right, however,
either in few days or few weeks.
'Before the end of the month 1
moved uptown, but about the latter
part of March, having business down
town, called at my old boarding.
place. found DR.. Hathaway seated
in his room in an invalid chair,
not quite cheerful, but apparent
ly not ailing much, although he
complained of pain in the right side
of his head. AS l was leaving the
house the landlady drew me into her
room and asked me what l thought of
DR.. Hathaway's case. My reply was:
The doctor is doing we'll. If he will
get out and take moderate exercise, he
will soon be entirely we'll
"She shook her head mournfully and
said: 'He will never 60 out again.
He will never leave that room alive
"'What reason have you for such a
melancholy supposition?' l asked.
MARY says So
"'What? Has Mary been here
frightening you with her hummery?' l
"'No; Mary has not been in the
house since the night you met her
here she replied. AT DR.. Hathaway s
request went to consult her at DR.. LIE
and examined DR.. Hathaway. She
says that the inside of his skull on the
right side is all sore and liberated and
that there are three Jumps on the right
side of his brain as large as hickory
nuts; that he will never get over it;
that it will all be over with him by the
first of May, and that you will be pres
ent at the post-mortem examination.
"'Me?'
"You.'
"FWhat suggested such an idea as
that?'
"I don't know; she sometimes takes
great interest in strangers she casually
meets. She knows great deal about
your future
1.-The tortune-telling charlatann
thought. OF course l was too polite to
express this opinion aloud, and after a
few commonplace remarks took my
leave.
During the next month my mind
was otherwise so much occupied that l
almost forgot the afflicted physician;
but on the last day of April, when !
sat down to my dinner, was startled
to find on my plate a note announcing
DR.. Hathaway's death and inviting me
to post-mortem examination at 10
o'clock next morning. When l en-
tered the death chamber at the ap-
pointed hour 1 found several eminent
physicians and surgeons assembled
there. DR.. Moses, who was demon
strator of anatomy at the University Of
New York, was conducting the autop-
sy. When the top of the Uranium was
removed from the brain, and handed
round for inspection, what was my
surprise to see that the lining mem
brane on the right side had been ex.
tensively inhamed, just exactly
as the blind clairvoyant had described
and further, upon cutting into the sub
stance of the brain on the right side,
three large tubercles were found, q
rare and remarkable pathological con-
dition."
THAT was very remarkable.
Eyes, but at the funeral | CHANGED tc
ride in the same carriage with rela-
tive of the deceased, who told me that
sister of DR.. Hathaway had died
some years before, after suffering about
the same length of time with similar
symptoms, and that the same patholop-