Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-03-04
MENTAL TELEpATHY.
TWO INTERESTING INCIDENTS WHICH
STRONGLY SUSTAIN IT.
so'h Brother ana Sister Had an Exact
''''ecsion Of the same pream-Ths
solomon r. sharp Incident.


-" comparatively recent number OF
"''Srs Magazine there was an article
'"rA twain on the subject Of mental
.o'ep"'hy' which has justly excited great
"''e'esI IL recalled wildly TO my ulrd
interesting Incidents strongly srs-
e'''ns the positions he maintained. 1t
"as occurred 20 me that their narration
s"' MOI be without passing Interest.
are IN all respects. even tho most
@''""'% strictly true, and can readily be
Ne''hod by the most unimpcachablc tcsti.
mony. l am a lawyer. 81 years OF age.
"''y engaged in the practice of my
''o'ession. had an uncle who de-
parted This life In 1870. in a county | will
s.'' nov name. in the State Of Virginia.
ne hNd to bc over 10 years OF age. and
"aS noted for his clear and vigorous
nnhS ana his great integrity OF charac-
"-' RE was Scotchman by birth. was
p0S'''Sscd OF large Inherited wealth. and
oiengh liberal 10y nature. was exceedingly
s&-Fesni IN his business lie was a man
VINO would not knowingly make q mis-
statement Of fact or circumstance He
"'eu IN finc old bnck mansion. situated
on lava OF several acres, which con-
'ained every tree OF the American forest,
al OF which were planted more thar
haIi century since under his personal
direction it IS now owlcd by retired
English armF-oiiioor, and H. one OF the
most beautiful country seats in Virginia.
controversy arose over the construc-
sion OF his will. II may interest my
legal friends to know that It related 20
the proper execution OF a power II APP
pointment. The writer was retained in
the case IL was i'm the month OF MAY
'ssi' 1 was sleeping In an Office some
sNty teet from the mansion in the bcautl-
Iu yard have mentioned. / was alone
ior many hours. The dvll scratch Of my
goh on inc paper uDcn which / WAS writ
inS my legal argument could alone l.,
AcaFd. Long after midnight l became
Wcarled and paused to examine some Of
my uncie's Papers before me. My eye
was caught 10y private memorandum Of
Nm unusual event.
UNACCOUNTAELE EVENT.
In az instant my attention was aroused.
hnd from that day TO this 1 have never
Ceased 10 be astonishcd at the narration of
most singular and Unaccountablc event
'''NAt was lifI llfN IAk tii4ltt0f.
lie had but ono near blood relative, a
sister. who lived in Scotland. whom he
dearly loved II was about the year 1856,
before steam had by any means become
N general use n thc navigation of YES
sells. 1t seems that my uncle had
dream, in which he thought he went To
Scotland met his sister. ana nicces, and
h2G considerable conversation " IN
them, finding out that bis sisters family
Nd g.. HFa.asH in r.
illness and .hcro were other incidents
not necessary to relate. The dream Was
intensely vivid and .ave him great an
noyance. He vas not in the least de-
gree supcrStitious; on TIE contrary. ho
was an euIi1enuy practical man. To
show the esteem in which he was held
BY the people among whom he lived, for
more than twenty years ne was the
aonorcd chief justice. that is the presid-
Ing justice OF the county. H. was one of
she last meu In ,he world 90 be suspected
Of any bias toward superstition lie told
his wife OF his dream. and On the very
morning after IL occurred ne put IL down
a. writing. He mad not for many weeks
receiyed any letter ~ other communion
slcn from lis sister. or any member uf
the family. and, after thinking over his
dream for several days he determined TO
80 10 Scotland 20 visit his sister and
Elf.l Out l"f -oUNi-l.fl4 Ills NlolN wac
solely caused by his dream. After an
eventful voyage in sailing vessel he
arrived late at night AZ the dwelling Of
MS sister He found al then we'll, and
the next morning while the family were
seated at breakfast. NY uncle remarked:
al have been here before lately; some
several weeks since had a vivid dream
and during the time l came here so
vivid was It. that on the very morning
after it occurred I put it down carefully
in writing and brought it. with me To
show you al"
THE OTHER DREAM.
In n moment my uncle noticed his SIS
xer's face turn as pale as d sheet, and she
abruptly left the table. She, too, had ha'
a dream, and now comes the singular
and incomprehensible part Of II. Cpsn n
comparison of the two paOcrs bOtu con-
fained identically the same thing; the
dates in fact. everything WAS compared
with critical care, az Il all correspCndeu 10
an instant. 4 calculation was made al
lowing for the variation in time on ac-
count of the distance. and 4. was found
10 CORRESPOND exacly, and both the
brother ard sister had an eXac7 recol-
Section of every circumstance which took
Mace in the dream. /, exercised n pro
Found impression on the minds or ioth
nj them as long as thcy lived. When /
rot through with this weird account CT
The dream iu my lonely ollie. walkel
10 the door. and. ,hpLgn not supersu-
= tious IL affected me no little. II was an
exouisitely beautiful night; the stars. 1t
seemed 10 me, shone with something akin
10 s,lpernatural briliancy, and the gentle
tustling OF the leaves In the dense forest
In the ward added TO the sOlemalty Of tie
scene There was no more writing done
by me that night on the proper eNocu-
fion of the power OF appointments WHO
ran account for these dreams? CDrld IL
have been. an accidental coincidence?
Who knows? Who can tell? Is there such
"A thing as mental telepathy? What ~
mesmerlsm? What is hypnotism? These
are the unsolyed problems of the fu-
ture.
SOLOMON +. SHARP.
The next incident l have to relate Is
almost equally as striking, and occurred
IA my owtn experience. My wifes grand
mother was a charming old lady, VINO
lived 10 be over 80 years of age. she had
been In the habit OF spending her winters
IN the city of Washington Tor more IMAM
thirty years between the years 1910 and
ass her father having been a gentleman
n large wealth and a distinguished poll
Lcian The old lady was a delightful con-
versa tIonalist, and often entertained me
with pleasant "reminiscences OF Mrs. Dolly
Madison and other eminent ladies and
gentlemen OF Washington society at that
Early date. One evening | asked her
among all OF her acquaintance who was
his most talented. accomplished. and
agreeable. as well as the handsomest
young gentleman she had ever met. either
In Washington or elsewhere. She stated
In an instant that she had no hesitation
In answering Solomol J.. Sharp. many
years since young congressman from the
ttate OF kentucky She described him In a
most graphic manner, and II Is 10 be pre-
sumed that he was one Of the hand
pnnest and most talented and promising
Snen Of his day and generation. / had
hever before heard OF him In my life
ON the morning after this conversation
J waa walking on my farm, and met my
neighbor. himself than. now, n distin-
guished physician. and a writer, and
ocholar OF no mean note. who was about
FORTY years since one OF the leading
editors In Virginia. | had been thinking
Ut the memory OF Solomon 4. Sharp al
egoet ali OF the morning. IL was about II