The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-20

WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
To account for the extraordinary attain
ments Of a notable figure in history there
are always large numbers Of people willing
to lend ready credence to stories which en-
dow such parsonage with supernatural
| gifts or with the possession of familiar
spirits who guide him along the path Of
destiny.
Socrates and his Daemon. Napoleon and
his book Of dreams. are familiar examples,
and It has also been assertsd-somewhat
covertly: 1t Is true. but none the less en-
phaticalIy-that Abraham Lincoln was q
seer of visions: or. in the iargon OF these
latter days. a Psychic Of the most ad-
vanced type.
L. is said that the frequent nts Of melan-
choly and moody depression in which he
INDUCED after his accession to the presi-
dency. were due to the foreknowledgs
granted to him concerning his own tragic
end. and 1t is also said that by way Of
confirming these impressions he often con-
suited spiritualistic mediums. the holding
Of seances at the White House being by
no means a rare occurrence during his first
administration.
These matters were limited at at the time
and were afterward distinctly set forth in
a little book. now out Of print. entitled.
Was Lincoln . spiritualist?'' written by q
woman medium who claimed that she had
frequently oflciated for Mr.. Lincoln as the
ink between the unseen and the material
world.
Further assurance has been given to such
statements by the well-known fact that
Mrs. Lincoln was an vowed spiritualist,
having associated herself with that faith
after the death Of her son. Willie. II is q
well authenticated piece Of Washington Cos
sip that she received many communications
through tho fraud-medium. Colchester. and
that after his exposure that clever char
latan attempted to create through this fact
an official scandal.
The most persistent Of the tales concern
ing Lincoln's supernatural powers which
have crept down through the years Is the
one ascribing ability to him as a crystal
gazer," and 1t is asserted that on more than
one occasion he obtained in this way an
exact VISION OIL inc CuCuu4AdlSeS OI MS
own death.
Noah Brooks, in his personal reminis-
cences of Lincoln, relates one such circum-
stance which. he says. was told to him by
the martyred President himself.
1t was in 1860. on the day Of his FIRST cleo
ton Of the presidency. Worn out by the
long strain of the campaign and by the con-
CALCULATIONS showered upon him. Lincoln
retired to his home to rest. He threw him.
self down on a lounge and was just falling
asleep, when he suddenly opened his eyes
and beheld a reflection Of himself in a mir
TOR across the room
Strange to say. though. the mirror pre-
sented two reflections Of his recumbent fig
ure-one bearing the familiar suise in which
he knew himself: the other also himself, but
as though he had grown, older. the face
set. the eyes closed. the complexion the
cold, paid hue of death
Startled by the apparition. Mr.. Lincoln
sprang to his feet. and at once the vision
vanished. When he lay down again, how
ever. 1t instantly reappeared. This occur
ring three or four times. he called Mrs. Lin
ccln, and She, too, was able to see the puz-
cling phenomenon, until at length it final
ly disappeared.
NIrA Lincoln, Mr.. Brooks says, was
greatly perturhed at the incident and inter-
preted it as meaning that her husband
would be twice elected to the presidency,