The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-24
cr TO FACE WITH AN ANGEL.

FACE TO FACE WITH AN ANGEL.
strange Story OF a Supernatural Visi-
+atIoll in Ohio Thirty Years Ago.
FROM the Ne,0 York sun.
.J have read a geat deal Of late about oc-
o,,,.ances OF supernatural character,
said a member Of the theatrical profession,
~h,t in all my reading have not seen any
.b,ro, apuroaching an occurrence that made
q GREAT stir in Hancock county, Ohio, thir-
~ years ago. In 1888 was in that county
fo, sho time. In Orange township there
vas a family by the name OF Charles
William Charles, the head of the family, l
.iink was "A carpenter, and his wife
Vas a most estimable young woman, a
r,ember of one of the best families Of the
county. They had been married six or
80, wears. and had one child, aged O..
Afout the middle of August, 1857, Mrs,
charles suddenly became despondent and
Iow-spirited. This was all the more com
mAnted upon as she was of notably lively
and cheerful disposition. She would give
M reason for her sudden change in spirits,
always giving to her husbands appeals to
ba made acquainted with the cause the one
simple reply:
".Wait If there is any real cause you
will know in time
"She was fearful much of the time. and
was frequently found in prayer. Her al
lection for her child, always great and de-
,oonstrative, became apparently still greater
hut tempered with spirit of sadness that
was affecting TO all who came in contact
with the family. Mrs. Charles could not
hear to let the little one out Of her sight,
and the strangest part of the circumstance
l,aa child caar1a6 knnw what
made the charge in her mother, and was
often heard to console her in her childish
way and tell her not to cry.
"As the middle of October approached,
10 Mrs. Charles dependency was added a
state of feverlsh unrest and very apparent
suffering under strain of some great sus-
pense, until, one day, when tho month was
about half over, she begged her husband not
10 90 to his work that day, but to remain at
home with her. He humored her fancy,
and between IL and l O'Clock of that day
their little girl fell to the floor in most un-
accountable state of insensibility. The
mother was near and clasping her hands to
her head sho exclaimedl
"'My GodI 1t is truep
"Mrs. Charles fell in a faint, and her
alarmed husband sent the servant for aid.
He placed his unconscious child on bed and
did what he could to revive both her and
his wife until several neighbors arrived.
A doctor was sent for and Mrs. Charles was
soon restored to consciousness, but the child
remained in the trance in which it had SC
suddenly fallen, and never came out OF It,
dying three days later.
AS soon as Mrs Charles could gain
strength and composure she told most ex
traordinary story. She said that at noon
one day in the middle of August her little
girl was playing in the yard. Her mother
happening to look out at her, saw the child
gazing earnestly up in the sky, and raise
her little hand up as if reaching or greeting
something. Mrs. Charles could see nothing
but she went out to where her child was
standing as if transfxed, and when she
was reaching her the little one turned tc
her with beaming face and glowing eyes
and said
"'Oh mammal it is an angelr
"Mrs. Charles said feeling of awe came
over her that she could not describe, and she
felt that she was in the presence of some
thing that struck her with awe. She could
see nothing, and in much alarm took her
little girl by the hand to lead her away
but the child resisted, and suddenly there
was revealed to the child's mother the form
that had been visible to the child even be-
fore it reached the earth. That form was
exactly like those of angels she had read
descriptions of in the Bible and seer
pictured there, and she knew that she stood
face to face with messenger from HEAVIER
itself She felt no fear, but was over
whelmed by ave. The angel SPOKE
girl would be called for from HEAVIER
in Just two months from that day, but tina
she would lie in a trance for three days
when her soul would leave her body. More
than that the angel foretold to the awe
stricken mother that her own death would
follow that of her child by one month, men
tioning the day aSd hour Then the ange
slowly vanished from sight.
Mrs. Charles said she tried to make her
self believe that she was the victim of SOM
halucmation, but could not Never having
been believer in the orthodox religion, sh
resolved to keep the secret of the vision, AM
to impress the necessity of secrecy on he
child if possible, so that if it was halluci
nation she would not be ridiculed for havinj
spoken of it earnestly.
"This story naturally created a profound
sensation in the community. The child wa
buried, and after the first effects of Mrs
Charles narration were gone strongly ex
pressed feeling of incredulity arose in th
neighborhood Mrs Charles, desiring a
she said. to destroy the strong unorthodo,
feeling that existed thereabout, as it haC
been destroyed III her, sent FOR two officer
of the law one a Justice of the Peace, an,
the other a county officer, Neither of who's
nemes | now remember, and she repeate'
her story under oath TO them and had tn
fact made public. came away from tina
part of the country soon afterward, an
have never had occasion 10 return. Som
years later, however, I met a gentlema
named baltimore, who was a resident O
Hancock county, and l asked him if Mrs
Charles death had followed the strange pre-
diction she alleged that the angel made Fl
said that she died on or about the day sh
said had been foretold."