Year: 1877




A singular incident happened in connec-
ton with theft in a mansion on Van
Ness avenue, a few nights ago, which
Spiritualists will immediately seize upon
as an evidence that departed spirits are
really wont to return to this mundane
sphere and exercise their power for good
or evil on the inhabitants thereof. In
the elegant mansion referred to live.
lady who has recently been visited by
sister, one of those fortunate mortals who
is the possessor of diamond jewelry and
gold coin in abundance. Shortly after
her arrival the lady of the house, for
some good reason, discharged female
servant and employed another in her
place. A day or t after this event the
visitor, desirons to go on shopping ex-
pedition, took her purse, containing
valuable diamond pin and a respectable
amount of coin, from its place OF security
in drawer and laid it upon the bureau.
She went from the room several times in
making her preparations, and when ready
for departure the purse with it's contents
was missing. The alarm was at once
|
now servant, made a thorough search.
The house was swept, the furniture
moved, and every possible crevice into
which it could have fallen examined, but
all to no avail the purse had disap-
peared as completely as though the earth
had opened and swallowed it. 1t was
late at night before the search ended,
WI NIL al ont ha Inr
retired. In the middle of the night, the
lady of the house was awakened by the
entrance of her sister, who was acting
in the most singular manner, and asking
constantly for writing materials. Her
nervous system seemed to be highly ex-
cited, and she did not appear to be in
her right mind, though it was not case
of somnambulism. Paper and pencil were
given to her, and she Immediately COW
cred the former with scrawls, which were
hardly decipherable. She soon quieted
down and lapsed into her normal condi-
ton, when the two ladies set themselves
to work to decipher the writing, in which
they We're finally successful, finding, how
ever, it all to be repetition of the sem
tence, L" She has hid it under STOOL"
They decided that she " meant the new
sci want, and proceeding to the latter's
door they knocked for admittance. The
girl soon unlocked the door, when the
ladies informed her that they could not
sleep, the loss of the purse made it I'M
possible, and that she must dress and
assist them in a further search. She
grumblingly obeyed, and as she came out
of the door the ladies entered. At the
foot of the bed stood n covered stool, the
cover reaching to the floor. Highly eX-
cited the ladies rushed to it, tippled it
| over, and there lay the lost purse, with
its contents intact. The servant from
the outside had closely watched the
ladies' movements, aud as they placed
their hands upon the stool she turned,
ran down stairs, unlocked door, and
| rushed into the street and away before
she could be apprehended, and she has
| not been seen or heard of since. So far
from being a Spiritualist, the lady is very
positive in her disbelief of any such
agency, and, moreover, is an Old-school
Presbyterian, and in accordance ith her
religious doctrines is opposed to any such
| theory as Spiritualistic influences. She
| ascribes the incident to the fact that her
nervous system was very much over
| wrought; that she had been thinking
and dreaming about her loss, and as
there was no one upon whom the blame
could be charged. she accused the servant
of the crime, though an apparently I'M
| explained circumstance is the fact that
| she had never been in the servants room,
| and knew nothing of how it was fur
| nished. The facts occurred, however, pre-
cisely as above stated, and Splritualists
edly be able to furnish satisfactory ex-
PLANTATION.