Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-10-31

/ bottles OF hot water TO the feet OF the
patient, denoted the approach Of tie
final moment. Then all ct once his
vision Of the sufferer faded, and the
Doctor, still talking in his sleep, de-
Glazed that be only beheld the group OF
weeping friends and relatives and the
preparations for putting the chamber in
order. The death bad actually taken
place ut the moment Of time when this
sudden arrest OF his powers Was no.
tioed, rs if 10 distinctly mark their
finite boundaries, and bar them from
/ pursuing the figh, Of the departed into
ibe unseen world.
The other person to whom ] referred
as possessing the gift of clairvoysnoe
was q lady residing, 1T the time Of my
acquaintance with her, IN South Brook
lyn. She was Of an extremely happy
and viv,cious temperament. ] do not
remember ever 10 have seen her in q
moody or morbid frame Of mind. Her
high spirits were the delight Of all who
knew her; the charm Of very wide
social circle. Perfect physical health,
/ good appetite, the ability 70 take sound
sleep, and the absence Of serious cares
Jeff no ground for the suspicion that
( the second sight" was associated
With any abnormal physical or mental
condition. Ny first knowledge Of her
possession Of this power was while
waiting the arrival at her house OF some
friends who had been invited for the
sake Of having o card party. Eight
were expected, and but six bad made
their appearance. By and by some i'm
patience was manifested at their tsrdi-
ness. She spologized for them, and
laughingly said that they were at that
moment crossing Atlantic avenue IN 3
Court-street CAT. / assumed TIA: this
was only said in her usual sportive way.
/ But few minutes later she declared
that she saw them coming down the
street; then that they were but q few
doors distant then that they were as
ceDding the front steps, and the words
were hardly out Of her mouth when the
sound Of The door-bell was heard. The
Coincidence amazed us al, and she was
oyerw helmed with questions. She gave
az interesting history Of her discovery
Of her possession Of this sight" and
related many amusing instances OF the
little presentations which she detected
on the part Of some Of her gentlemen
friends. To the list Of these trifiers
with truth ] very inadvertently per-
mitted myself to be added not SIX
months from the evening Of the card
party. had hall promised to call
with q gentleman on certain evening.
The engagement not being positive
one, friend persuaded me to forego
the pleasure Of visiting her and 10 a.
company him TO the theatre. The i5l-
lowing night We both paid our r-spscts
70 Miss NJ, and / was in the midst OF
ny apologies for falling 70 call when
she interrupted ne with the eIclsms.
tlon "Oh, don't make any excuses. ]
! DIDN'T expect you. | knew you were |
s; The theatre, for saw you there, and |
al glad that you enjoyed Il so much
STRANGELY enough, while she corrsctly 1
gave tie location q the seats We oc- T,
cuyisd, and mentioned that We had gone I
out once between the acts, she did not ,
recognize tLe auditorium sufficiently 10 I.
name the theatre, although she had fre- .
qUenuy been there. An acquaintance
Of bers, with whom ! frequently dis /.
cussed The subject Of her visions, once ,
told ne that be WAS led 20 expect IL 1
tellissnoe Of some terrible shipwreck .
By her vivid description Of large .
ocean steamer stranded on q rocky .
coast. His Enficipations were fully
realized. and if rightly remember TIE
vessel vas the ill-fs,ed Atlantic.
Her story Of the first dswning Of /
these powers contains statements which .
cannot fail to be Of special interest 10
al who have made the phenomena OF /
cllirvoysDce q study. ! do not pre-
tend 10 give her exact language. but
only the substance Of il: My first
conscious impressions, she said, "eX-
tend back TO The perod Of my child
hood. WAS shy little girl, fond Of
being alone, and preferred the society
Of ny thoughts and books TO the pre-
sesence Of my playmates. Histories
sId accounts Of historical personAges
had great fascination for me, and
Ater leAditg 8 long time it would seem
10 ne as il saw and heard the chsrac.
ters Of nv books. They were not
more distinct than such imkses as the
mind can summon at will bui later
on, and subsequent 10 my final return
from bosr1ing-school, I began 70 see
and hear ihings with s very exceptional I
yiyidness. Nor were these visions
confined 10 subjects with which my
reading hsd made ne familiar. The
faces Of friends, the tones Of we'll
known voices, and the sight Of well
known places were frequent incidents
Of ny reflections. | did not attribute
thcm 10 morbid fsDcy. They seemed
10 Cow naturally from the ordinary
operations or the mind. At no time
has the exercise Of ny sigh: sp
reared Is If IL were unusual, something
tut q me WY u StILAiEts DAA AaNS ]
no power 10 compel il. It comes Of
us own accord or not 81 al. have
often uied TO follow absent friends, and
never successfully. The will does not
have any agency in TIE matter. More
over. the visions are often frsgmeDtsry
ard imperfect. see things which do
not harmonic with the central and de-
terminiDg features q the scene. There
are persons present who do not belong
there, and who actually never were
there. Sometimes it suddenly changes
O totally disappears before ] can make
zIy intelligent Interpretation Of II.
was twenty years old before ! was
Atle TO distinguish these sPectacles
from the figures and scenes that belong
10 TIE realm Of common meditation.
The disclosure came through my re-
n aIking TO q lady friend how pretty
she locked At picnic the day be"
fore. had no l6es she bad been there,
md MADE the remark simply IN recog-
niuon Of what ! took to be fancy