Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-02
CHAPTER ".
CHARLES FREEMAN'S NARRATIVE CON

person., IL Cllllu OF may De cdlleG d
person, strongly and continually began
to assert that he was alive. How l be-
came possessed of this conviction | now
proceed to relate. 1t happened in this
manner: On the night of the 31st of
July, exactly three weeks and a day
after the disappearance. | had very
singular experience, which, in spite OF
all absurd theories of brain waves, te-
lepathy and | know not what, l still
firmly believe to have been an instance
of divine interposition. 1t was upon a
Wednesday night, as | particularly re-
member, because my father always had
service on Wednesday nights. | had
been to church and returned with the
rest of the family. | went to bed as
usual at $50 in good health, if not in
good spirits. Truly during those weeks
we We're all terribly afflicted and cast
down. Between and o'clock as
lay wide awake | saw not a dream, but
a clear, waking vision. AT the time
was not thinking Of Jack at all. | had
just got into bed and was lying on my
back and looking upward into the dark.
l became aware of light not far from
me on the left and thought at first that
some one had come into the room with
a lamp. Turning a little to one side,
saw Il fire burning red and smoky, from
which went up good many sparks.
This was all | saw at first, but present
ly l became aware that some one was
sitting near it with his back toward me,
bareheaded and perfectly still. 1t was
Jack. | sat up and called him by his
name. But he made no answer and did
not move. Then | asked him a success
sion of short quick questions as to what
he was doing, why he did not answer
me, etc. There was darkness all round
the place illuminated by the fire, but
afterward | remembered having seen
rough shiny points of ragged rock on
which the freight family played and
flickered. l did see clearly a large fish
which lay beside him on flagstone
close to the fire. To judge by his atti-
tude, he appeared to be gazing intently
into the heart of the blaze. Once he
stopped forward little as if to feed the
fire. Still shouting questions, | sprang
from my bed and rushed toward him,
intending to lay my hand on his shout
der. Then | came violently into col
lision with something solid; it was a
wardrobe which stood against the wall
of the room in front of my bed. Re
covering myself, | could see the vision
still before me as clear and distinct as if
L saw it with my eyes; indeed l have
not the least doubt that | did see it
with my eyes. Then soft arms were laid
around me, and was raised up. 1t was
my mother, who had run up stairs, hear
ing my cries. She put me lack in bed
All the whole family had rushed to the
room greatly frightened by my scream
ings and loud. excited talk. Though
there We're candles in the room, | still
saw the apparition, vision or whatever
it might be called, and still urging my
mother and brothers to see it, too, was
deposited in bed and even forcibly held
down; then when l was again able to
look in the same direction the vision
was gone.
OF course my mother concluded at
once that | was i'll, laboring perhaps
under an acute gastric attack, the COM
menCement of Il gastric fever, and L was
treated i'll the assumption that l was
suffering from that common child's
malady and dOsed with the usual medi-
cines. My mother was surprised in the
morning to find no sign of illness upon
me and still more so when the doctor de-
clared that l was perfectly we'll.
Though l was kept in bed, my broth
ers were admitted to see me. OF course
told over and over again the whole
story of the vision.
Jack is alive somewhere, | kept
saying, land must be searched for"
why do you go on like that, Char
ley?" they said. Don't you know that
he is dead? 1t was a dream.
1T was no dream" answered. II
was as broad awake as you are. | saw
him, and how could | sec him if he
wasn't alive?''
But how could he be in the room:
There is no trace of fire here. How can
you be so foolish?"
NO." replied, "he wasn't in the
room, of course. When l struck the
press, which stands against the wall
here, l could see him still beyond me.
So of course he wasn't in the room.
But he was somewhere else, and | saw
him, and he is alive
On the following night, shortly after
the big mahogany clock in the lobby
struck 8, | continued to watch in
tently for the temperance of the vi
sion. Nothing came, however, though
heard the clock strike 8. But on the
night l had an experience
quito as surprising to myse3 though not
to others, as that vision of the fire and
my brother sitting between mo and it.
A few minutes after the clock struck ]
seemed to grow suddenly and Curiously
cold, and while still staring out into
the darkness | was aware of the words
the Devils Parlor" coming into my
mind. l did not hear the words at all
with my ears. 1t was as if my mind
had ears and that heard the words in
that way, very clear and distinct, but
not at all as if spoken by any audible
voice. did not cry out or make any
noise on this occasion, but resolved to
stay awake and tell my brothers when
they came to bed. | fell asleep, how
ever, before they came up. In the morn
ing | awoke them and told what had
happened. They treated me as little
Joseph was treated by his brothers;
nevertheless l saw them look signif-
cantly at each other. After breakfast
and before school hours they went off
Ned bringing his cornopean
with him. The 'Devil's Parlor" was an
awe inspiring cleft, the opening to some
leep and mysterious subterranean hol-
ow in the side of a long hill which
lay about mile westward from the
rectory AS l afterward learned, my
two brothers went to the cleft, shouted
down into it both together, and Ned
blew his cornet-a-piston, mouth down
ward, awaking huge echoes and rever-
berations there. Then they listened, but
heard no reply. They hardly spoke to
me at all after this and never about my
mysterious visions and experiences.
The same day I took from the sideboard