Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-14
MINISTER SCARED
Iowa Divine Thought He Was
About to Die.
THE POWER OF MIND OVER MATTER

Stillman Writes a Letter Which He
Says is Worthy of Place in Print
Is a Tale of Morbid Minister of
the Gospel.
Washington D. c., Aug. ia min
lister, formerly a pastor in Iowa, now
actively engaged in ministerial work
in Indiana, told me story
that ought to be recorded in print He
declined to permit me to use his name
but said he had no objections to my
using the narrative SO long as his
identity should not be divulged.
The event in question occurred I'M
Iowa thirty years ago. The minister,
whom we will call Rev. Brown, was
thirty years of age at that time, and
had been a sufferer with stomach
trouble several years. Normally he
weighed 200 pounds, but the ailmentI
had reduced him until he weighed 127
pounds.
AS is always the case the stomach
difficulty produced a depressed feel
ing, which finally developed into a.
the young minister but little peace of
bad that he became convinced in his
own mind that he would live but a.
short time.
That spring Rev. Brown found he
needed light overcoat. The weather
was raw but not cold enough for a
heavy overcoat. 1t appears that next
door to the clothing store was an I'M
dertaking establishment. In some mys-
FERROUS manner Rev. Brown passed the
clothing store and walked into the I'm
dertaking establishment. AS he en-
tered the door he noticed a casket, be-
ing trimmed, just before him. AS he
looked at the casket he saw the fig
ures "39" in metallic form. upon the
top Of the coffin. Having entered the
store he passed on, met the proprietor,
whom he knew well, carried on brief
general conversation and then return
ed, passing by the casket as he went
from the room. He scanned the cas-.
ket closely but there were no figures
upon it.
The incident unnerved Rev. Brown
to such an extent that he made up his
mind that before buying the coat he
would take a walk. He was near the
railroad track and started to walk
away from the station. A quarter of a
mile down the track was a pile of rail
road ties. AS the minister walked
along the figures '99" kept coming up
into his mind; he could think of moth
| ing but 80. That those metallic fig
ures should have appeared upon the
casket when he entered the undertake
| er's place and then disappeared with.
| in five minutes; no one having touch,
| ed the Casket during the time; filled
/ his mind with multitude of conflict
/ ing fancies and vague premonitions.
He was fairly beside himself with APP.
| prehension and fear.
Rev. Brown passed the pile of rail
road ties, and then the impression
seized him that the ties were in some
way involved in his wretched condi-
ton of mind. He walked on but be-
fore he had proceeded more than half
a dozen rods the feeling that the pile
of ties must be considered In some
/ manner became so overwhelming that
he was compelled to retrace his steps
| He could think of nothing but 'S9"
and when he returned to the ties he
said to himself suppose there should
4 be thirty-nine ties in this pilep Pant
ing with nervous excitement he count
1 ed the ties, slowly, so as to make no
mistake
There were thirty-nine ties.
I He continued his walk back to town
and entered the clothing store. In a
/ dazed sort of way he went through the
process of selecting the coat and final
4 ly reached home
The coat was taken from the box
and tried on in the presence OF Mrs.
Brown. The fit was satisfactory and
as Rev. Brown was about to hang 1t
Fun in the closet, his wife remarked
Don't forget to take off the tag
Rev. Brown discovered the tag upon
the collar.
| 1t was marked 49,.
4 Some days after this Rev. Brown
went to Des Moines to attend the an
nual meeting of the ministers of his
denomination. He put up at one OF
I the leading hotels and after register
I ing was shown to his room.
i When he reached the apartment des.
Il ignated for his use the number "39
stared at him as he seized the door
knob
: This seems to have been the last
straw In the mind of Rev. Brown
there was no longer any doubt but
that these figures which mysteriously
confronted him at every turn, signi
fled that he was to die at the age OF
, thirty-nine, and that he should drag
out miserable existence until that
time arrived He firmly believed thai
{ the Almighty had appointed the veal
; and the day and that he had giver
him this vision and warning in ad
vance. He believed God had made thu
figures "39" to appear upon the cas-
ket, and then to emphasize the FACT
that supernatural power was in the
case had removed the vision when he
: saw the casket the second time.
t Rev Brown confided his fears to his
/ wife and told her of all that had trans
. pired. She endeavored to dispel the
!, illusion from his mind but without
=, Thora uac mn homo for him