The record-union., 1897-10-08
MURDER IN DREAMS.
VISIONS THAT HAVE HELPED
CONVICT CRIMINALS.
Phenomena as Yet Beyond the
Power of Science to
Explain.

In last Sundays Herald" among
other matters pertaining to the Mack
case, there appeared the following:
Coroner Haslam of Woodside has
received another anonymous letter, pur-
porting to give the location of the spot
where Guldensuppe's head was disposed
of. The communication reads;
Dear Sir: IF near Woodside YOU can
find a narrow stream of water with
small bridge across, look there for the
head of Guldensuppe, for in my dream
l saw woman go up the steps ana
throw the thing over the railing into
the water
A diagram accompanied the letter
On the following day a letter was re-
ceived by the Herald" The letter was
accompanied bx a drawing 1t runs as
follows:
In reading in to-day's Herald about
the case of Mrs. Mack, who is charged
with the murder of Guldensuppe, was
surprised to find at the end Of the article
the mention of a dream which comedies
with the one 1 had the first week the
case appeared in the newspapers. in
tended to do then what do now.
send you a drawing picturing the dream.
l am not a believer in dreams, but it is
very curious that the bridge men
toned to-day should exactly fit in with
my experience. You can see the bridge
in the picture as I saw it in my dream.
Through the little archway 1 saw q man
wearing a black Derby hat thEow a
head below, on which he afterward flung
earth and stones. A woman clad in
black sat on a stone OF rock watching
the deed. We are such stuff as dreams
are made Of says the great Shake
sPeare and more than one murder has
been discovered through dream"
MURDER AND DREAMS.
This is all very strange and weird, and
dreams, as the writer says, have played
at times a remarkab, part in connection
with murders. Sir Henry Irving's rem
dering of The Bells" is familiar to all.
The play is founded on a fact-the con-
viction OF a murderer through a dream,
and reveals his crime by word and ac-
ton during a hypnotic sleep.
But the following story, vouched for
by DR.. Abercrombie, is that of a murder
directly discovered through the dream
OF an innocent party.
During an investigation in the north
murder committed on a peddler, a man
came forward voluntarily and declared
that he had had a dream, in which there
was represented to him a. house, and a
voice directed him to a spot near the
house, in which there was buried the
pack or box for small articles of mer-
chandise of the murdered person. On
search being made the pack was found,
of ba xKrhi
mentioned, but very near it. The first
impression on the minds of the public
authorities was that he was either the
murderer or an accomplice in the
crime; but the Individual accused was
soon after clearly convicted. Before his
execution he fully confessed his crime,
and in the strongest manner exculpated
the dreamer from any participation in
or knowledge of the murder.
MURDER OF CHANCELLOR PERCE-
VAL.
Another case in point is well authen-
ticated, though the dream played no
part in the actual conviction of the
murderer. On the night of May IL, 1872
a Welshman named Williams, who lived
near Redruth, in Cornwall, woke his
wife and told her in great agitation of a
strange dream he had just had. He
dreamed that he was in the lobby of the
House Of Commons. He saw small
man enter. dressed in a blue coat and
white waistcoat Immediately after he
saw a man, dressed in a brown coat, with
yellow metal buttons draw a pistol from
his coat and shoot the man who had
just entered. The latter instantly fel
TO the floor bleeding from a wound above
the left breast He saw the murderer
seized. by some gentlemen present and
observed his countenance; and on asking
who the gentleman was that had beer
shot he was informed that it was Mr.
PerceVal, the Chancellor of the E,x-
chequer.
During the course of the night the
dream occurred to Mr.. Williams three
times without the least variation in any
of the circumstances. The next day ht
related the dream to some friends, and
had scarcely finished the recital wher
the sound of a horse galloping to the
door Of the house was heard. Immedi-
ately after a son of Mr.. Williams en-
tered the room and said that he had gal.
loped from Truro where he had heard
news of the shooting of Chancellor Per
ceval by a man called Bellingham.
After the astonishment which this in.
teIIigence created had somewhat sub
sided. Mr. Williams described most mi.
nutely the appearance and dress of the
man whom he had seen in his dream firt
the pistol at the Chancellor as also tht
appearance and dress of the Chancellor