St. Paul daily globe., 1886-11-13
A TWO YEARS TRANCE.
The Strange Case Of Maggie Beadling,
Seventeen Year Old Pennsyl-
vania Girl.
She Has Only Three Lucid Intervals in
Period Of Twenty-Six
Months.
Angelic Forms Surrounding Her Bed
lin Communication With
the Spirit World.
She Sings. While Her Face is Illum-
ined With Inexpressible Joy
and Pleasure.

The most remarkable case of catalepsy,
or trance ever known in Western Penn
sylvana perhaps, says PittSburg corre-
spondent of the Globe-Democrat, is that Of
Miss Maggie Beading, a seventeen yearold
girl living at BanksviIle, a small mining
town about four miles from this city. For
over two years she has bean in what seems
to be trance. During this time she has
had but three lucid intervals, one on
last Saturday, lasting for less than
minute only long enough to say
please give me drink" The other two
periods were during the early part Of her
| strange sickness. The first one lasted for
about two weeks. but the second only a few
hours. Over half the time she has passed
in a sleep or stupor, from which nothing
could arouse her. Her father is miner,
about IS years of age, and the father of six
children, Maggie being next to the oldest.
Both parents are hearty and robust, and the
children have all been, and are to-day, re-
markably healthy, and are perfectly free
from any sign of the malady which affects
the daughter Maggie. She was born oct.
15, 1869, and, when years old, she had
very bad attack of scarlet fever, combined
with dropsy, and her parents think the lat
ter disease was never eradicated from her
system. But this did not seem to impair
her health and she grew up a strong,
healthy, active girl About 5 clock in the
evening of Aug. II, 1884, she fell
DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
at her home, and injured her spine so Sc
verely as to permanently destroy the use of
| her limbs. Her head was not bruised or
hurt in any way, but about four hours after
the accident she was seized with terrible
| ~, - IL - L.
suffering intensely for about an hour went
| into conyulSIonS. Gradually her
body grew rigid, her breathing
became slower and slower. and
| finally seemed to cease altogether. The
beatings of the heart and pulse were SO
faint they could barely be detected. She
continued in this state for six hours. when
| her limbs began to relax, her breathing be-
came perceptible and her eyes opened, but,
! to the surprise of her relatives and attend
| ing physician, she did not regain con-
sciousness. Her eyes did not have dull,
vacant look, but seemed fixed on something
| far above her nearly all the time.
She would lie in bed and lift up one arm to
its full length. while a strange smile ilu-
mined her features. About four weeks
after the first attack she surprised those
who were sitting around the bed by muir
muring the name of a little daughter Of
| Superintendent George Alcorn, of the Saw
mill Run railway, who dad died about two
weeks before she had met with the acci-
dent. She did not speak again, but by the
MOTIONS OF HER ARMS
| indicated that she saw an angel lowering
over her. Her mother bending over her,
asked her if she saw any others there. She
seemed to hear and understand the question
and answered it by strange smile. Mrs.
Beading then repeated the names of a
number of relatives and friends who had
died, and at the utterance of each name the
same sweet smilo was an affirmative an
swer. To test her further, Mrs. Beading
repeated the names of her children and
residents of the little town whom she had
known, who were still living, asking her if
she could see any of them. She made no
sign at the mention of any OF these names,
her features remaining perfectly impassive.
| Then the mother spoke the name OF an
aunt who had died about seven years ago,
and the daughters eyes sparkled and her
features indicated as plainly as words could
do that she saw her. One day about six
weeks after she took to her bed she again
| spoke, saying:
Mamma, please hold my hands. 1 can't
count any more.
| Cant count what, oear?" asked Mrs.
| Beading.
Angels, was the response.
She had formed the habit of extending
the fingers of her hands and touching them
together successfully for hours at time.
The only time when her fingers were not
thus employed was when she was singing
the songs she had learned in church and
Sunday school. For hours she would sing
in clear, yet
SOFT, SWEET TONES
| all tho reIipiOuS songs she had ever known.
Frequently the attendants tried to stop her,
| fearing exhaustive effects. but she would
only cease for few minutes and then
commence again. All this time she seemed
totally ObliviOus to everything around her.
Old school friends would come in and
talk to her, but she did not hear them.
| No matter how many people were
| in the room or how loud they
talked she never noticed them,
although she would smooth the counterpane
and adjust her pillow. Her eyes would be
wide open. but almost invariably they would
be turned toward the ceiling. Sometimes
when she would raise her arm and beckon
to those above her, it seemed that they
passed from her sight, and as her arm
slowly dropped to her side, her face would
assume look of most s0rrowful disappoint-
ment. In this condition Maggie Beading ha,
remained for twenty-six months, and is to-
day. She sings a great deal more now
than during her early illness, Sometimes
she seems in transports of ecstacy, and a
lock OF Joy and pleasure that cannot be
portrayed by words illumines her face. At
such times she sings. Her favorite songs.
or those she sings most frequently are:
| .'I've Been Washed in the Blood of the
Lamb" Bright Angels Are Hoverirg
Near" and one. of which the first line is:
! Some build their homes on the eyer-driftlng
| sands.
Another song she sings frequently, and in
such an unutterably sad and sweet voice that
it always brings tears to the eyes of those
who hear it every time she sings. 1t is:
have NO resting place earth
On which to fix my love.
| But OIL my heart is yearnng
| For the promised rest above.
| A VERY REMARKABLE FEATURE
| is that. instead of the tune to which she
learned the words, she sings airs which
have never been heard before. The rhythm
and harmony are perfectly and wonder
fully sweet and beautiful. Her mother and
all her relatives firmly believe they are the
songs of angels. which she has heard and
learned by hearing them singing. Mar
garet Beading possesses face which
might serve for Madonna Her hair is
light golden color and very long. Her COM
plexion is very fair with a small red spot in
each cheek, and her features are perfect.
Her forehead is very broad and high, but in
perfect contour. Her eyes are of deep,
clear blue color. and very large and express
sive. with long and heavy eyelashes and
eyebrows. One of the most wonderful
features of her strange case is that she
now weighs about one hundred and twenty