Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1888-02-17
Face to Face With an Angel.


ling | have not seen anything approach
ling occurrance that made a great stir
lin Hancock county, Ohio, thirty years
ago. In 1858 | was in that county for
ia short time. In Orange township
there was a family by the name OF
|Charles. William Charles. the head of
the family, | think, was a carpenter,
and his wife was most estimable young
woman, member of one of the best
families of the oo"ntv, They had been
married six or seven years Az u one
child, aged 5. About the middle Of
Angus, 1874, Nh. Charles suddenll y y
became despondent and low spirited.
This was all the more commented
upon as she was of a notably lively
and cheerful disposition. She would
hive no reason for her sudden change
in spirits, always giving to her hus-
bands appeals to be made aqualnted
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 affection for her child, always
great aud demonstrative, became ap-
parentlT still greater, bnt tempered
with a spirit Of sadness that was af-
fecting to all who came in contact
with the family. Mrs. Charlie. could
not bear to let the little one out OF her
sight, and the strangest part Of the
circumstance was that tina child SEEM
ed TO know what had made the change
in her mother, and was often heard TO
console her in her childish wav, and
to tell her not to crv.
LAS the middle of October approach
ed, to Mrs. Charles's despondencl was
added a state Of feveri.h unrest and
very apparent suffering under 4 strain
of some great suspense, until, one day,
.hen the month was about half over,
she begged her husband not to go to
his work that day. but to remain at
home with her. lie humored her tan
cy, and between twelve and one clock
Of that day their little girl fell to the
floor in a most accountable state oil
ins.nsibility. The mother was near,
and clasping her hands to. her head she
exclaimed
"'My God. Ii is true!'
"drs. Charles fell in faint, anC
her alarmed husband sent the servant
for aid He placed his unconscious
child on bed and did what he coulC
TO revive both her and his wife unit
several neighbors arrived. A docto
was sent for aud Mrs. Charles was sooi
rs.torel- 0 onsctur..Ass-Antth tha chill
remained IN the trance m which 1t hat
so suddenly fallen, and never came on
OF it, dying three days later.
"As sosn as Mrs. Charles could gair
strength and composure sho told
most extraordinary story. She sal(
that at noon one day in the middle o
August her little girl was rlaying il
the yard. II r mother happened t,
look out at her, saw the child gazing
earnestly up in the sky, and raise he
little hand up as if reaching or greet
ing something. Mrs. Charles coulC
see nothing, but she went out t
where her child was standing as
transtixed, and when she reached he
the little one turned to her with
beaming face and glowing eyes au'
said:
"Oh, mama. it is m angel
Mrs. Charles said feeling of aw
came over her that she c,uld not de
scribe. and she felt that she was in tn
presence of something that struck he
with awe. She could see nothing, ,an
in much alarm took hrr little girl b
the hand TO lead her awav. but the chll
resisted, and suddenly there was re
vealed to the child's mother the forr
hat had been visible to the child eve
before it reached the earth. That forl
was exactly like those of angels sll
had read descriptions Of in the Bib
and seen pictured there, and she kne
that she stood face to face with me-
senger from Heaven itself She fe
no fear, but was overwhelmed by aw
The angel spoke TO her, and sal ths
her little girl would be c,lled for frol
heaven in just two months from thi
dav, but that she would lie in a tran(
for three days when her soul woul
lave her body. More than that til
angel ioretold to the awe stricke
mother that her own death would fo
low that Of her child by one montl
mentioning the day and hour. The
the angel slowly vanished from sigh
Mrs. Charles said she tried to mai
herself believe that she was the victl
of some hallucination, but could no
Never having been believer in tt
orthodox religion, she resolved to kee
the secret of the vision, and to impre
the necessity of secrecy on her chill
if possible, so that if it was a hall'
cination she would not be rldiculed f
having spoken of it earnestly. Mr.
Charles's death followed on or abol
the day she said had been foretold."