The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-01-26
oLIMPsEs OF THE FuTu RE.
Perhaps These Were Condolences. bu
They Have . Prophetlc Look.

Perhaps These Were Condolences. bu 4
They Have . Prophetic Look.
It is curious how future events are
occasionally prefigured by some anti
cipatory tokens, which, unlike pre-
sentiments and premonitory dreams,
make, perhaps, no impression at the
time on those whom they concern. One
of Charles Dickens sons from some
childish oddity OF expression in his
large wondering eyes, was given by
his father the unique sobriquet of the
ocean Specter," by which he was al
ways called. The great novelist never
knew Of the weird significance his
playfully bestowed appellation was to
bear, for he himself had been nearly
two years in his grave at the time his
little Ocean Specter." then a lieuten-
ant in the royal navy, died and was
buried at sea- An almost stranger fore
shadowing occurred in the life of
Plumer Ward, the novelist In one of
his works, "De Vere," he delineated a
character many of the incidents in
whose career were founded on passages
in the authors own life. Hunting for
name for the abode of this man, he
CHANGED on ''Okeover Hail." on which
he fixed. Years afterward, by one of
those odd chances which happen Of
tener in real life than in fiction, Mr..
Ward found himself, as guardian of
his wife's only son. the master of that
very ''Okeover Hall" the name of
which he had picked from among one
thousand others in a road book.
A somewhat similar chance was that
which led to the choice of the family
name of the great Swedish botanist,
atoms or two before his birth,
the customs were SO primitive
that surnames were not in
vogue. except among the nobility.
and each man chose for himself the ap-
pellation by which he might wish to
be known. In accordance with this
fashion, the family from which the
famous botanist was to spring called
themselves after famous linden or
lime tree which grew near their dwell
ing, so that Carl Won Lime, literally
signifies Charles of the Lime Tree" a
fitting designation for the man whose
existence was so bound up in plants A
foreshadowing of a different sort, af-
fecting its subject as with foretaste
of death, was that recorded by Charles
Mackay of his friend, Mr.. Ingram,
founder of the Illustrated London
News. Travelling together in Switzer-
land, the two were witnesses one night
in Chamounix of one of the thunder
CT flat inur
grandeur amid those mountainous re-
gions. Mackay's raptures over the scene
were checked by seeing his friend
crouched in a corner on the floor. his
face pale, his hair on end with terror.
The paroxysm was succeeded by I'M
consciousness, on recovering from
which he told Mackay how, ever since
he could remember, he had been pos
sessed of this unaccountable. uncon-
+, trollable horror of thunder storms.
Eight years later Mr. Ingram was
crossing Lake Michigan, when the
steamer was run into by a sailing YES
sci, and, amid scene of terror and con-
fusion, it being night and violent
thunder storm raging, crew and pas
senger were precipitated into the
! waters. As it was five hours before In
grams body, still warm with recent
life, was washed ashore, he must have
been struggling all that time-an eter-
! nifty of suffering to one like HMM
the dark tempestuous waters beneath
the lightning-riven sky. In this con-
! nection may be recalled the case of
Shelley, whose frequent illusions to
! the fate of drowning that ultimately
overlook him have often been COM
mented on. pretending not to be
drowned myself when l am drowned,
+ and, lastly, being drowned" is the con-
j clusion to fanciful paragraph in one
! of his letters. -London Tid-Bits.