Chapter VII (1)

VII. A. The account of this case, given by Mr. E. Mamtchitch, is taken from the "Report on the Census of Hallucinations" in the _Proceedings_ S.P.R., vol. x. pp. 387-91.

ST. PETERSBURG, _April 29th, 1891_.

Comme il s'agira des apparitions de Palladia, je dois dire
auparavant quelques mots sur sa personne. Elle était la fille d'un
riche propriétaire russe, mort un mois avant sa naissance. Sa mère,
dans son désespoir, voua son enfant futur au couvent. De là son
nom, usité parmi les religieuses. Deux ans après, sa mère mourut,
et l'orpheline, jusqu'à l'âge de 14 ans, fut élevée dans un couvent
de Moscou par sa tante, qui en était la supérieure.

En 1870, étant encore étudiant à l'université de Moscou, je fis la
connaissance du frère de Palladia, étudiant comme moi, et il fut
souvent question entre nous de rendre à la société la nonne malgré
soi; mais ce plan ne fut réalisé qu'en 1872. J'étais venu en été à
Moscou, pour voir l'exposition, et j'y rencontrai par hasard le
frère de Palladia. J'appris qu'il était en train de l'envoyer en
Crimée pour cause de santé, et je le secondai de mon mieux. C'est
alors que je vis Palladia pour la première fois; elle avait 14 ans;
quoique haute de taille, elle était fort chétive et déjà
poitrinaire. A la prière de son frère, j'accompagnai Palladia et sa
soeur, Mme. P. S., en Crimée, où elles restèrent pour passer
l'hiver et moi, deux semaines après, je revins à Kieff.

En été 1873 je rencontrai par hasard Palladia et sa soeur à
Odessa, où elles étaient venues pour consulter les médecins,
quoique Palladia avait l'air de se porter assez bien. Le 27 Août,
pendant que je faisais la lecture aux deux dames, Palladia mourut
subitement d'un anévrisme, à l'âge de 15 ans.

Deux ans après la mort de Palladia, en 1875, me trouvant à Kieff,
il m'arriva, par une soirée du mois de Décembre, d'assister pour la
première fois à une séance spiritique; j'entendis des coups dans la
table; cela ne m'étonna nullement, car j'était sûr que c'était une
plaisanterie. De retour chez moi, je voulus voir si les mêmes coups
se produiraient chez moi; je me mis dans la même pose, les mains
sur la table. Bientôt des coups se firent entendre. Imitant le
procédé dont j'avais été le témoin, je commençai à réciter
l'alphabet; le nom de Palladia me fut indiqué. Je fus étonné,
presque effrayé; ne pouvant me tranquilliser, je me mis de nouveau
à la table, et je demandai à Palladia, qu'avait-elle à me dire? La
réponse fut: "_Replacer l'ange, il tombe._" Je ne compris pas de
suite de quoi il s'agissait. Le fait est qu'elle est enterrée à
Kieff, et j'avais entendu dire qu'on voulait mettre un monument sur
sa tombe, mais je n'y avais jamais été, et je ne savais pas de quel
genre était le monument. Après cette réponse, je ne me couchai
plus, et dès que le jour parut je me rendis au cimetière. Non sans
peine, avec l'aide du gardien, je découvris enfin la tombe enfouie
sous la neige. Je m'arrêtai stupéfié: la statue en marbre de l'ange
avec une croix était tout à fait de côté.

Depuis ce moment, il me fut prouvé à l'évidence qu'il y a un autre
monde avec lequel, je ne sais comment, nous pouvons entrer en
rapport, et dont les habitants peuvent nous donner de telles
preuves de leur existence qu'elles désarment le scepticisme le plus
tenace.

En Octobre, 1876, je me trouvais à Kieff, et j'étais en train de
m'installer dans un nouveau logement (rue Prorésnaya) avec mon
camarade de service au Ministère de la Justice, M. Potolof. On
venait de m'apporter un pianino. Il fut placé dans la salle, et je
me mis à jouer; il était à peu près 8 h. du soir; la salle où je
jouais était éclairée par une lampe pendue au mur. A côté se
trouvait mon cabinet de travail, éclairé aussi par une lampe. Je me
rappelle très bien que j'étais de fort bonne humeur. Mon camarade,
M. Potolof, était occupé à sa table, à l'autre bout du logis.
Toutes les portes étaient ouvertes, et de sa place il pouvait voir
très bien le cabinet et la salle où je jouais.[225] Jetant un
regard vers la porte de mon cabinet de travail, je vis tout à coup
Palladia. Elle se tenait au milieu de la porte, un peu de côté,
avec le visage tourné vers moi. Elle me regardait tranquillement.
Elle avait la même robe foncée qu'elle portait lorsqu'elle mourut
en ma présence. Sa main droite pendait librement. Je voyais
distinctement ses épaules et sa taille, mais ne me rappelle pas du
bas de son habit, et avais-je vu les pieds?--peut-être, parce que
tout le temps je lui regardais dans les yeux. En la voyant, j'avais
tout à fait oublié que je voyais devant moi non une personne
vivante, mais morte, tellement je la voyais distinctement; elle
était éclairée de deux côtés; et d'autant plus j'ai la vue très
bonne. Ma première sensation fut un frisson dans le dos. Je fus
comme pétrifié et ma respiration fut suspendue; mais ce n'était pas
un effet causé par le frayeur ou l'excitation,--c'était quelque
chose d'autre. Je puis comparer cela à la sensation que j'éprouve
quand je regarde en bas d'une grande hauteur; je sens alors une
terrible anxiété et en même temps je ne puis me retenir de
regarder, quelque chose m'attire invinciblement. Combien de temps
Palladia resta devant moi, je ne saurais le dire, mais je me
rappelle qu'elle fit un mouvement à droite et disparut derrière la
porte du cabinet du travail. Je me précipitai vers elle, mais dans
la porte je m'arrêtai, car alors seulement je me rappelai qu'elle
était déjà morte, et je craignai d'entrer, étant sûr de la revoir.
Dans ce moment mon camarade vint à moi et me demanda qu'est-ce que
j'avais? Je lui dis ce qui venait de se passer; alors nous entrâmes
au cabinet où nous ne trouvâmes personne. Mon camarade, ayant
entendu la brusque interruption de mon jeu, avait levé la tête et,
tant que je me rappelle, disait avoir vu aussi quelqu'un passer
devant la porte de mon cabinet; mais, voyant mon excitation, il me
dit, pour me tranquilliser, que probablement c'était Nikita, mon
domestique, qui était venu arranger la lampe. Nous allâmes
immédiatement dans sa chambre, il n'y était pas; il était en bas,
dans la cuisine, oú il préparait le samovar. Voilà comment je vis
Palladia pour la première fois, trois ans après sa mort.

Après la première apparition de Palladia, en Octobre, 1876, et
jusqu'à présent, je la vois souvent. Il arrive que je la vois trois
fois par semaine, ou deux fois le même jour, ou bien un mois se
passe sans la voir. En résumé, voilà les traits principaux de ces
apparitions.

(1) Palladia apparait toujours d'une façon inattendue, me prenant
comme par surprise, juste au moment quand j'y pense le moins.

(2) Quand je veux la voir moi-même, j'ai beau y penser ou le
vouloir--elle n'apparait pas.

(3) A de rares exceptions, son apparition n'a aucun rapport avec le
courant de ma vie, comme présage ou avertissement de
quelqu'événement insolite.

(4) Jamais je ne la vois en songe.

(5) Je la vois également quand je suis seul, ou en grande
compagnie.

(6) Elle m'apparait toujours avec la même expression sereine des
yeux; quelque fois avec un faible sourire. Elle ne m'a jamais
parlé, à l'exception de deux fois, que je vais raconter plus loin.

(7) Je la vois toujours dans la robe foncée qu'elle portait
lorsqu'elle mourut sous mes yeux. Je vois distinctement son visage,
sa tête, les épaules et les bras, mais je ne vois pas ses pieds, ou
plutôt je n'ai pas le temps de les examiner.

(8) Chaque fois, en voyant Palladia inopinément, je perds la
parole, je sens du froid dans le dos, je pâlis, je m'écrie
faiblement, et ma respiration s'arrête (c'est ce que me disent ceux
qui par hasard m'ont observé pendant ce moment).

(9) L'apparition de Palladia se prolonge une, deux, trois minutes,
puis graduellement elle s'efface et se dissout dans l'espace.

A présent je vais décrire trois cas d'apparitions de Palladia dont
je me souviens bien.

(1) En 1879, à la fin de Novembre, à Kieff, j'étais assis à mon
bureau à écrire un acte d'accusation; il était 8-1/4 du soir, la
montre était devant moi sur la table. Je me hâtais de finir mon
travail, car à 9 h. je devais me rendre à une soirée. Tout à coup,
en face de moi, assise sur un fauteuil, je vis Palladia; elle avait
le coude du bras droit sur la table et la tête appuyée sur la main.
M'étant remis de mon saisissement, je regardai la montre et je
suivis le mouvement de l'aiguille à seconde, puis je relevai les
yeux sur Palladia; je vis qu'elle n'avait pas changé de pose et son
coude se dessinait clairement sur la table. Ses yeux me regardaient
avec joie et sérénité; alors pour la première fois je me décidai de
lui parler: "Que sentez-vous à présent?" lui demandai-je. Son
visage resta impassible, ses lèvres, tant que je me rappelle,
restèrent immobiles, mais j'entendis distinctement sa voix
prononcer le mot "Quiétude." "Je comprends," lui répondis-je, et
effectivement, en ce moment, je comprenais toute la signification
qu'elle avait mise dans ce mot. Encore une fois, pour être sûr que
je ne rêvai pas, je regardai de nouveau la montre et je suivis les
mouvements de l'aiguille à seconde; je voyais clairement comme elle
se mouvait. Ayant rapporté mon regard sur Palladia, je remarquai
qu'elle commençait déjà à s'effacer et disparaître. Si je m'étais
avisé de noter immédiatement la signification du mot "Quiétude," ma
mémoire aurait retenu tout ce qu'il y avait de nouveau et
d'étrange. Mais à peine avais-je quitté la table pour monter en
haut, chez mon camarade Apouktine, avec lequel nous devions aller
ensemble, que je ne pus lui dire autre chose que ce que je viens
d'écrire.

(2) En 1885, je demeurais chez mes parents, à une campagne du
gouvernement de Poltava. Une dame de notre connaissance était venue
passer chez nous quelques jours avec ses deux demoiselles. Quelque
temps après leur arrivée, m'étant réveillé à l'aube du jour, je vis
Palladia (je dormais dans une aile séparée où j'étais tout seul).
Elle se tenait devant moi, à cinq pas à peu près, et me regardait
avec un sourire joyeux. S'étant approchée de moi, elle me dit deux
mots: "J'ai été, j'ai vu," et tout en souriant disparut. Que
voulaient dire ces mots, je ne pus le comprendre. Dans ma chambre
dormait avec moi mon setter. Dès que j'aperçus Palladia, le chien
hérissa le poil et avec glapissement sauta sur mon lit; se pressant
vers moi, il regardait dans la direction où je voyais Palladia. Le
chien n'aboyait pas, tandis que, ordinairement, il ne laissait
personne entrer dans la chambre sans aboyer et grogner. Et toutes
les fois, quand mon chien voyait Palladia, il se pressait auprès de
moi, comme cherchant un refuge. Quand Palladia disparut et je vins
dans la maison, je ne dis rien à personne de cette incident. Le
soir de même jour, la fille aînée de la dame qui se trouvait chez
nous me raconta qu'une chose étrange lui était arrivée ce matin:
"M'étant réveillée de grand matin," me dit-elle, "j'ai senti comme
si quelqu'un se tenait au chevet de mon lit, et j'entendis
distinctement une voix me disant: 'Ne me crains pas, je suis bonne
et aimante.' Je tournai la tête, mais je ne vis rien; ma mère et ma
soeur dormaient tranquillement; cela m'a fort étonnée, car jamais
rien de pareil ne m'est arrivé." Sur quoi je répondis que bien des
choses inexplicables nous arrivent; mais je ne lui dit rien de ce
que j'avais vu le matin. Seulement un an plus tard, quand j'étais
déjà son fiancé, je lui fis part de l'apparition et des paroles de
Palladia le même jour. N'était-ce pas elle qui était venue la voir
aussi? Je dois ajouter que j'avais vu alors cette demoiselle pour
la première fois et que je ne pensais pas du tout que j'allais
l'épouser.

(3) En Octobre, 1890, je me trouvais avec ma femme et mon fils, âgé
de deux ans, chez mes anciens amis, les Strijewsky, à leur
campagne du gouvernement de Woronèje. Un jour, vers les 7 h. du
soir, rentrant de la chasse, je passai dans l'aile que nous
habitons pour changer de toilette; j'étais assis dans une chambre
éclairée par une grande lampe. La porte s'ouvrit et mon fils Olég
accourut; il se tenait auprès de mon fauteuil, quand Palladia
apparut tout à coup devant moi. Jetant sur lui un coup d'oeil, je
remarquai qu'il ne détachait pas les yeux de Palladia; se tournant
vers moi et montrant Palladia du doigt, il prononça: "La tante." Je
le pris sur les genoux et jetai un regard sur Palladia, mais elle
n'était plus. Le visage d'Olég était tout à fait tranquil et
joyeux; il commençait seulement à parler, ce qui explique la
dénomination qu'il donna à Palladia.

EUGÈNE MAMTCHITCH.

Mrs. Mamtchitch writes:--

_5 Mai, 1891._

Je me rappelle très bien que le 10 Juillet 1885, lorsque nous
étions en visite chez les parents de M. E. Mamtchitch, je m'étais
réveillée à l'aube du jour, car il avait été convenu entre moi et
ma soeur que nous irions faire une promenade matinale. M'étant
soulevée sur le lit, je vis que maman et ma soeur dormaient, et
en ce moment je sentis comme si quelqu'un se tenait à mon chevet.
M'étant tournée à demi--car je craignais de bien regarder--je ne
vis personne; m'étant recouchée, j'entendis immédiatement, derrière
et au dessus de ma tête, une voix de femme me disant doucement,
mais distinctement: "Ne me crains pas, je suis bonne et aimante,"
et encore toute une phrase que j'oubliai à l'instant même.
Immédiatement après je m'habillai et j'allai me promener. C'est
étrange que ces paroles ne m'effrayèrent pas du tout. De retour, je
n'en dis rien ni à ma mère, ni à ma soeur, car elles n'aimaient
pas de telles choses et n'y croyaient pas; mais le soir du même
jour, comme la conversation tourna sur le spiritisme, je racontai à
M. M. ce qui venait de m'arriver le matin; il ne me répondit rien
de particulier.

Je n'ai jamais eu aucune hallucination, ni avant, ni après cet
incident, à l'exception d'un cas tout récent, quand je me suis vue
moi-même, de quoi je parlerai une autre fois.

SOPHIE MAMTCHITCH.

Mr. Potolof writes to Mr. Aksakoff, through whom the case was sent:--

RUE SCHPALERNAYA, 26. S. PÉTERSBOURG, _le 10 Mai, 1891_.

MONSIEUR,--En réponse à votre lettre du 8 Mai et les questions que
vous me posez relativement à l'incident avec M. E. Mamtchitch,
lorsque dans les années 1876-77 nous habitions ensemble Kieff, rue
Proresnaya, maison Barsky, je puis vous communiquer ce qui suit.
Effectivement, je fus alors témoin comme M. M., pendant qu'il
jouait un soir du piano quelque air mélancolique, s'interrompait
brusquement (comme si après avoir fortement attaqué le clavier, ses
mains s'étaient subitement affaissées), et lorsque je vins lui
demander ce qui lui était arrivé, il me répondit qu'il venait de
voir apparaître le fantôme de Palladia, se tenant derrière la
draperie de la porte de la chambre contigue à celle où se trouvait
le piano. Je dois ajouter que notre appartement commun formait une
enfilade de trois chambres, sans compter celle de l'entrée, qui
occupait le milieu; je travaillais dans ma chambre, qui était à
droite de celle de l'entrée, et je pouvais voir toute l'enfilade
bien éclairée. Ce qui me regarde personnellement, je ne vis en ce
moment aucune figure humaine passer par les chambres de M. M., mais
je ne nie pas que pour le tranquilliser j'essayai d'expliquer cet
incident par l'entrée de notre domestique Nikita; il se peut aussi
que, ne l'ayant pas trouvé dans nos appartements, nous allâmes le
chercher en bas, dans la cuisine. Voilà tout ce que je puis vous
dire relativement à cet incident.

W. POTOLOF.

Note by Mr. Aksakoff:--

S. PÉTERSBOURG, _Le 16|28 Mai, 1891_.

Traduit des manuscrits russes de M. et Madame Mamtchitch, et de M.
Potolof. La première partie du manuscrit de M. Mamtchitch, jusqu'à
la première apparition de Palladia, est abrégé.

J'avais rencontré M. Mamtchitch plusieurs fois, mais je n'avais
aucune idée de ces apparitions constantes de Palladia. M.
Mamtchitch a vu aussi d'autres figures que celle de Palladia, mais
je n'ai pas eu le temps d'en faire un mémorandum circonstantiel.

A. AKSAKOFF.

VII. B. The account, which I quote from _Proceedings_ S.P.R., vol. vi. p. 17, was sent in 1887 to the American Society for Psychical Research by Mr. F. G., of Boston. Professor Royce and Dr. Hodgson vouch for the high character and good position of the informants; and it will be seen that, besides the percipient himself, his father and brother are first-hand witnesses as regards the most important point,--the effect produced by a certain symbolic item in the phantom's aspect. Mr. G. writes:--

_January 11th, 1888._

SIR,--Replying to the recently published request of your Society
for actual occurrences of psychical phenomena, I respectfully
submit the following remarkable occurrence to the consideration of
your distinguished Society, with the assurance that the event made
a more powerful impression on my mind than the combined incidents
of my whole life. I have never mentioned it outside of my family
and a few intimate friends, knowing well that few would believe it,
or else ascribe it to some disordered state of my mind at the time;
but I well know I never was in better health or possessed a clearer
head and mind than at the time it occurred.

In 1867 my only sister, a young lady of eighteen years, died
suddenly of cholera in St. Louis, Mo. My attachment for her was
very strong, and the blow a severe one to me. A year or so after
her death the writer became a commercial traveller, and it was in
1876, while on one of my Western trips, that the event occurred.

I had "drummed" the city of St. Joseph, Mo., and had gone to my
room at the Pacific House to send in my orders, which were
unusually large ones, so that I was in a very happy frame of mind
indeed. My thoughts, of course, were about these orders, knowing
how pleased my house would be at my success. I had not been
thinking of my late sister, or in any manner reflecting on the
past. The hour was high noon, and the sun was shining cheerfully
into my room. While busily smoking a cigar and writing out my
orders, I suddenly became conscious that some one was sitting on my
left, with one arm resting on the table. Quick as a flash I turned
and distinctly saw the form of my dead sister, and for a brief
second or so looked her squarely in the face; and so sure was I
that it was she, that I sprang forward in delight, calling her by
name, and, as I did so, the apparition instantly vanished.
Naturally I was startled and dumbfounded, almost doubting my
senses; but the cigar in my mouth, and pen in hand, with the ink
still moist on my letter, I satisfied myself I had not been
dreaming and was wide awake. I was near enough to touch her, had it
been a physical possibility, and noted her features, expression,
and details of dress, etc. She appeared as if alive. Her eyes
looked kindly and perfectly natural into mine. Her skin was so
life-like that I could see the glow or moisture on its surface,
and, on the whole, there was no change in her appearance, otherwise
than when alive.

Now comes the most remarkable _confirmation_ of my statement, which
cannot be doubted by those who know what I state actually occurred.
This visitation, or whatever you may call it, so impressed me that
I took the next train home, and in the presence of my parents and
others I related what had occurred. My father, a man of rare good
sense and very practical, was inclined to ridicule me, as he saw
how earnestly I believed what I stated; but he, too, was amazed
when later on I told them of a bright red line or _scratch_ on the
right-hand side of my sister's face, which I distinctly had seen.
When I mentioned this my mother rose trembling to her feet and
nearly fainted away, and as soon as she sufficiently recovered her
self-possession, with tears streaming down her face, she exclaimed
that I had indeed seen my sister, as no living mortal but herself
was aware of that scratch, which she had accidentally made while
doing some little act of kindness after my sister's death. She said
she well remembered how pained she was to think she should have,
unintentionally, marred the features of her dead daughter, and
that, unknown to all, how she had carefully obliterated all traces
of the slight scratch with the aid of powder, etc., and that she
had never mentioned it to a human being from that day to this. In
proof, neither my father nor any of our family had detected it, and
positively were unaware of the incident, yet _I saw the scratch as
bright as if just made_. So strangely impressed was my mother, that
even after she had retired to rest she got up and dressed, came to
me and told me _she knew_ at least that I had seen my sister. A few
weeks later my mother died, happy in her belief she would rejoin
her favourite daughter in a better world.

In a further letter Mr. F. G. adds:--

There was nothing of a spiritual or ghostly nature in either the
form or dress of my sister, she appearing perfectly natural, and
dressed in clothing that she usually wore in life, and which was
familiar to me. From her position at the table, I could only see
her _from the waist up_, and her appearance and everything she wore
is indelibly photographed in my mind. I even had time to notice the
collar and little breastpin she wore, as well as the comb in her
hair, after the style then worn by young ladies. The dress had no
particular association for me or my mother, no more so than others
she was in the habit of wearing; but _to-day, while I have
forgotten all her other dresses, pins, and combs_, I could go to
her trunk (which we have just as she left it) and pick out the very
dress and ornaments she wore when she appeared to me, so well do I
remember it.

You are correct in understanding that I returned home earlier than
I had intended, as it had such an effect on me that I could hardly
think of any other matter; in fact, I abandoned a trip that I had
barely commenced, and, ordinarily, would have remained on the road
a month longer.

Mr. F. G. again writes to Dr. Hodgson, January 23rd, 1888:--

As per your request, I enclose a letter from my father which is
indorsed by my brother, confirming the statement I made to them of
the apparition I had seen. I will add that my father is one of the
oldest and most respected citizens of St. Louis, Mo., a retired
merchant, whose winter residence is at----, Ills., a few miles out
by rail. He is now seventy years of age, but a remarkably
well-preserved gentleman in body and mind, and a very learned man
as well. As I informed you, he is slow to believe things that
reason cannot explain. My brother, who indorses the statement, has
resided in Boston for twelve years, doing business on---- Street,
as per letter-head above, and the last man in the world to take
stock in statements without good proof. The others who were present
(including my mother) are now dead, or were then so young as to now
have but a dim remembrance of the matter.

You will note that my father refers to the "scratch," and it was
this that puzzled all, even himself, and which we have never been
able to account for, further than that in some mysterious way I had
actually seen my sister _nine years after death_, and had
particularly noticed and described to my parents and family this
bright red scratch, and which, beyond all doubt in our minds, was
unknown to a soul save my mother, who had accidentally caused it.

When I made my statement, all, of course, listened and were
interested; but the matter would probably have passed with comments
that it was a freak of memory had not I asked about the scratch,
and the instant I mentioned it my mother was aroused as if she had
received an electric shock, as she had kept it secret from all, and
_she alone_ was able to explain it. My mother was a sincere
Christian lady, who was for twenty-five years superintendent of a
large infant class in her church, the Southern Methodist, and a
directress in many charitable institutions, and was highly
educated. No lady at the time stood higher in the city of St.
Louis, and she was, besides, a woman of rare good sense.

I mention these points to give you an insight into the character
and standing of those whose testimony, in such a case, is
necessary.

(Signed) F. G.

From Mr. H. G.:--

-----, ILLS., _January 20th, 1888_.

DEAR F.,--Yours of 16th inst. is received. In reply to your
questions relating to your having seen our Annie, while at St.
Joseph, Mo., I will state that I well remember the statement you
made to family on your return home. I remember your stating how she
looked in ordinary home dress, and particularly about the scratch
(or red spot) on her face, which you could not account for, but
which was fully explained by your mother. The spot was made while
adjusting something about her head while in the casket, and covered
with powder. All who heard you relate the phenomenal sight thought
it was true. You well know how sceptical I am about things which
reason cannot explain.

(Signed) H. G. (father).

I was present at the time and indorse the above.

(Signed) K. G. (brother).

The apparent _redness_ of the scratch on the face of the apparition goes naturally enough with the look of life in the face. The phantom did not appear as a corpse, but as a blooming girl, and the scratch showed as it would have shown if made during life.

Dr. Hodgson visited Mr. F. G. later, and sent us the following notes of his interview:--

ST. LOUIS, MO., _April 16th, 1890_.

In conversation with Mr. F. G., now forty-three years of age, he
says that there was a very special sympathy between his mother,
sister, and himself.

When he saw the apparition he was seated at a small table, about
two feet in diameter, and had his left elbow on the table. The
scratch which he saw was on the right side of his sister's nose,
about three fourths of an inch long, and was a somewhat ragged
mark. His home at the time of the incident was in St. Louis. His
mother died within two weeks after the incident. His sister's face
was hardly a foot away from his own. The sun was shining upon it
through the open window. The figure disappeared like an
instantaneous evaporation.

Mr. G. has had another experience, but of a somewhat different
character. Last fall the impression persisted for some time of a
lady friend of his, and he could not rid himself for some time of
thoughts of her. He found afterwards that she died at the time of
the curious persistence of his impression.

Mr. G. appears to be a first-class witness.

R. HODGSON.

I have ranked this case _primâ facie_ as a perception by the spirit of her mother's approaching death. That coincidence is too marked to be explained away: the son is brought home in time to see his mother once more by perhaps the only means which would have succeeded; and the mother herself is sustained by the knowledge that her daughter loves and awaits her. Mr. Podmore[226] has suggested, on the other hand, that the daughter's figure was a mere projection from the mother's mind: a conception which has scarcely any analogy to support it; for the one ancient case of Wesermann's projection of a female figure to a distance (_Journal_ S.P.R., vol. iv. p. 217) remains, I think, the sole instance where an agent has generated a hallucinatory figure or group of figures which did not, at any rate, _include_ his own. I mean that he may spontaneously project a picture of himself as he is or dreams himself to be situated, perhaps with other figures round him, but not, so far as our evidence goes, the single figure of some one other than himself. Whilst not assuming that this rule can have no exceptions, I see no reason for supposing that it has been transgressed in the present case. Nay, I think that the very fact that the figure was not that of the corpse with the dull mark on which the mother's regretful thoughts might dwell, but was that of the girl in health and happiness, with the symbolic _red_ mark worn simply as a test of identity, goes far to show that it was not the _mother's_ mind from whence that image came. As to the spirit's own knowledge of the fate of the body after death, there are other cases which show, I think, that this specific form of _post-mortem_ perception is not unusual.

VII. C. From _Proceedings_ S.P.R., vol. x. pp. 380-82.

From Miss L. Dodson:--

_September 14th, 1891._

On June 5th, 1887, a Sunday evening,[227] between eleven and twelve
at night, being awake, my name was called three times. I answered
twice, thinking it was my uncle, "Come in, Uncle George, I am
awake," but the third time I recognised the voice as that of my
mother, who had been dead sixteen years. I said, "Mamma!" She then
came round a screen near my bedside with two children in her arms,
and placed them in my arms and put the bedclothes over them and
said, "Lucy, promise me to take care of them, for their mother is
just dead." I said, "Yes, mamma." She repeated, "_Promise_ me to
take care of them." I replied, "Yes, I promise you"; and I added,
"Oh, mamma, stay and speak to me, I am so wretched." She replied,
"Not yet, my child," then she seemed to go round the screen again,
and I remained, feeling the children to be still in my arms, and
fell asleep. When I awoke there was nothing. Tuesday morning, June
7th, I received the news of my sister-in-law's death. She had given
birth to a child three weeks before, which I did not know till
after her death.

I was in bed, but not asleep, and the room was lighted by a
gaslight in the street outside. I was out of health, and in anxiety
about family troubles. My age was forty-two. I was quite alone. I
mentioned the circumstance to my uncle the next morning. He thought
I was sickening for brain fever. [I have had other experiences,
but] only to the extent of having felt a hand laid on my head, and
sometimes on my hands, at times of great trouble.

LUCY DODSON.

Mr. C. H. Cope, who sent the case, wrote in answer to our questions:--

BRUSSELS, _October 17th, 1891_.

I have received replies from Miss Dodson to your inquiries.

(1) "Yes [I was] perfectly awake [at the time]."

(2) "Was she in anxiety about her sister-in-law?" "None whatever; I
did not know a second baby had been born; in fact, had not the
remotest idea of my sister-in-law's illness."

(3) "Did she think at the time that the words about the children's
mother having just died referred to her sister-in-law? Had she two
children?" "No, I was at a total loss to imagine whose children
they were."

(4) "I was living in Albany Street, Regent's Park, at the time. My
sister-in-law, as I heard afterwards, was confined at St. André
(near Bruges), and removed to Bruges three days prior to her death.
(_N.B._--She had two children including the new-born baby.)"

(5) "My late uncle only saw business connections, and having no
relations or personal friends in London, save myself, would not
have been likely to mention the occurrence to any one."

Mr. Cope also sent us a copy of the printed announcement of the death, which Miss Dodson had received. It was dated, "Bruges, June 7th, 1887," and gave the date of death as June 5th. He quotes from Miss Dodson's letter to him, enclosing it, as follows: "[My friend], Mrs. Grange, tells me she saw [my sister-in-law] a couple of hours prior to her death, which took place about nine o'clock on the evening of June 5th, and it was between eleven and twelve o'clock the same night my mother brought me the two little children."

Professor Sidgwick writes:--

_November 23rd, 1892._

I have just had an interesting conversation with Miss Dodson and
her friend, Mrs. Grange.

Miss Dodson told me that she was not thinking of her brother or his
wife at this time, as her mind was absorbed by certain other
matters. But the brother was an object of special concern to her,
as her mother on her deathbed, in 1871, had specially charged
her--and she had promised--to take care of the other children,
especially this brother, who was then five years old. He had
married in April, 1885, and she had not seen him since, though she
had heard of the birth of his first child, a little girl, in
January, 1886; and she had never seen his wife nor heard of the
birth of the second child.

She is as sure as she can be that she was awake at the time of the
experience. She knew the time by a clock in the room and also a
clock outside. She heard this latter strike twelve afterwards, and
the apparition must have occurred after eleven, because lights were
out in front of the public-house. The children seemed to be with
her a long time; indeed, they seemed to be still with her when the
clock struck twelve. The room was usually light enough to see
things in--_e.g._ to get a glass of water, etc.--owing to the lamp
in the street, but the distinctness with which the vision was seen
is not explicable by the real light. The children were of ages
corresponding to those of her sister-in-law's children, _i.e._ they
seemed to be a little girl and a baby newly born; the sex was not
distinguished. She was not at all alarmed.

She heard from Mrs. Grange by letter, and afterwards orally from
her brother, that her sister-in-law died between eight and nine the
same night.

She never had any experience of the kind, or any hallucination at
all before: but _since_ she has occasionally felt a hand on her
head in trouble.

Mrs. Grange told me that she was with the sister-in-law about an
hour and a half before her death. She left her about seven o'clock,
without any particular alarm about her; though she was suffering
from inflammation after childbirth, and Mrs. Grange did not quite
like her look; still her state was not considered alarming by those
who were attending on her. Then about 8.30 news came to Mrs. Grange
in her own house that something had happened at the
sister-in-law's. As it was only in the next street, Mrs. Grange put
on her bonnet and went round to the house, and found she was dead.
She then wrote and told Miss Dodson.

VII. D. From _Proceedings_ S.P.R., vol. viii. pp. 200-205.[228]

The first report of the case appeared in _The Herald_ (Dubuque, Iowa), February 11th, 1891, as follows:--

It will be remembered that on February 2nd, Michael Conley, a
farmer living near Ionia, Chickasaw County, was found dead in an
outhouse at the Jefferson house. He was carried to Coroner
Hoffmann's morgue, where, after the inquest, his body was prepared
for shipment to his late home. The old clothes which he wore were
covered with filth from the place where he was found, and they were
thrown outside the morgue on the ground.

His son came from Ionia, and took the corpse home. When he reached
there, and one of the daughters was told that her father was dead,
she fell into a swoon, in which she remained for several hours.
When at last she was brought from the swoon, she said, "Where are
father's old clothes? He has just appeared to me dressed in a white
shirt, black clothes, and felt [mis-reported for _satin_]
slippers, and told me that after leaving home he sewed a large roll
of bills inside his grey shirt with a piece of my red dress, and
the money is still there." In a short time she fell into another
swoon, and when out of it demanded that somebody go to Dubuque and
get the clothes. She was deathly sick, and is so yet.

The entire family considered it only a hallucination, but the
physician advised them to get the clothes, as it might set her mind
at rest. The son telephoned Coroner Hoffmann, asking if the clothes
were still in his possession. He looked and found them in the
backyard, although he had supposed they were thrown in the vault,
as he had intended. He answered that he still had them, and on
being told that the son would come to get them, they were wrapped
in a bundle.

The young man arrived last Monday afternoon, and told Coroner
Hoffmann what his sister had said. Mr. Hoffmann admitted that the
lady had described the identical burial garb in which her father
was clad, even to the slippers, although she never saw him after
death, and none of the family had seen more than his face through
the coffin lid. Curiosity being fully aroused, they took the grey
shirt from the bundle, and within the bosom found a large roll of
bills sewed with a piece of red cloth. The young man said his
sister had a red dress exactly like it. The stitches were large and
irregular, and looked to be those of a man. The son wrapped up the
garments and took them home with him yesterday morning, filled with
wonder at the supernatural revelation made to his sister, who is at
present lingering between life and death.

Dr. Hodgson communicated with the proprietors of _The Herald_, and both they and their reporter who had written the account stated that it was strictly accurate. The coroner, Mr. Hoffmann, wrote to Dr. Hodgson on March 18th, 1891, as follows:--

In regard to the statements in the Dubuque _Herald_, about February
19th, about the Conley matter is more than true by my
investigation. I laughed and did not believe in the matter when I
first heard of it, until I satisfied myself by investigating and
seeing what I did.

M. M. HOFFMANN, _County Coroner_.

Further evidence was obtained through Mr. Amos Crum, pastor of a church at Dubuque. The following statement was made by Mr. Brown, whom Mr. Crum described as "an intelligent and reliable farmer, residing about one mile from the Conleys."

IONIA, _July 20th, 1891_.

Elizabeth Conley, the subject of so much comment in the various
papers, was born in Chickasaw township, Chickasaw County, Iowa, in
March, 1863. Her mother died the same year. Is of Irish parentage;
brought up, and is, a Roman Catholic; has been keeping house for
her father for ten years.

On the 1st day of February, 1891, her father went to Dubuque, Iowa,
for medical treatment, and died on the 3rd of the same month very
suddenly. His son was notified by telegraph the same day, and he
and I started the next morning after the remains, which we found in
charge of Coroner Hoffmann.

He had 9 dollars 75 cents, which he had taken from his pocket-book.
I think it was about two days after our return she had the dream or
vision. She claimed her father had appeared to her, and told her
there was a sum of money in an inside pocket of his undershirt. Her
brother started for Dubuque a few days afterwards, and found the
clothes as we had left them, and in the pocket referred to found 30
dollars in currency. These are the facts of the matter as near as I
can give them.

GEORGE BROWN.

Mr. Crum wrote later:--

DUBUQUE, IOWA, _August 15th, 1891_.

DEAR MR. HODGSON,--I send you in another cover a detailed account
of interview with the Conleys. I could not get the doctor.

I have had a long talk with Mr. Hoffmann about the Conley incident,
and think you have all the facts--and they are _facts_.

The girl Lizzie Conley swooned. She saw her dead father; she heard
from him of the money left in his old shirt; she returned to bodily
consciousness; she described her father's burial dress, robe,
shirt, and slippers exactly, though she had never seen them. She
described the pocket in the shirt that had been left for days in
the shed at the undertaker's. It was a ragged-edged piece of red
cloth clumsily sewn, and in this pocket was found a roll of
bill--35 dollars in amount--as taken out by Mr. Hoffmann in
presence of Pat Conley, son of the deceased, and brother of the
Lizzie Conley whose remarkable dream or vision is the subject of
inquiry.

AMOS CRUM, _Past. Univ. Ch._

...I herewith transcribe my questions addressed to Miss Elizabeth
Conley, and her replies to the same concerning her alleged dream or
vision....

On July 17th, about noon, I called at the Conley home near Ionia,
Chickasaw County, Iowa, and inquired for Elizabeth Conley. She was
present, and engaged in her domestic labours. When I stated the
object of my call, she seemed quite reluctant for a moment to
engage in conversation. Then she directed a lad who was present to
leave the room. She said she would converse with me upon the matter
pertaining to her father.

Q. What is your age? A. Twenty-eight.

Q. What is the state of your health? A. Not good since my father's
death.

Q. What was the state of your health previous to his death? A. It
was good. I was a healthy girl.

Q. Did you have dreams, visions, or swoons previous to your
father's death? A. Why, I had _dreams_. Everybody has dreams.

Q. Have you ever made discoveries or received other information
during your dreams or visions previous to your father's death? A.
No.

Q. Had there been anything unusual in your dreams or visions
previous to your father's death? A. No, not that I know of.

Q. Was your father in the habit of carrying considerable sums of
money about his person? A. Not that I knew of.

Q. Did you know _before his death_ of the pocket in the breast of
the shirt worn by him to Dubuque? A. No.

Q. Did you wash or prepare that shirt for him to wear on his trip
to Dubuque? A. No. It was a heavy woollen undershirt, and the
pocket was stitched inside of the breast of it.

Q. Will you recite the circumstances connected with the recovery of
money from clothing worn by your father at the time of his death?
A. (after some hesitation) When they told me that father was dead I
felt very sick and bad; I did not know anything. Then father came
to me. He had on a white shirt and black clothes and slippers. When
I came to, I told Pat [her brother] I had seen father. I asked him
(Pat) if he had brought back father's old clothes. He said, "No,"
and asked me why I wanted them. I told him father said to me he had
sewed a roll of bills inside of his grey shirt, in a pocket made of
a piece of my old red dress. I went to sleep, and father came to me
again. When I awoke I told Pat he must go and get the clothes.

Q. While in these swoons did you hear the ordinary conversations or
noises in the house about you? A. No.

Q. Did you see your father's body after it was placed in its
coffin? A. No; I did not see him after he left the house to go to
Dubuque.

Q. Have you an education? A. No.

Q. Can you read and write? A. Oh yes, I can read and write; but
I've not been to school much.

Q. Are you willing to write out what you have told me of this
strange affair? A. Why, I've told you all I know about it.

She was averse to writing or to signing a written statement. During
the conversation she was quite emotional, and manifested much
effort to suppress her feelings. She is a little more than medium
size, of Irish parentage, of Catholic faith, and shows by her
conversation that her education is limited.

Her brother, Pat Conley, corroborates all that she has recited. He
is a sincere and substantial man, and has no theory upon which to
account for the strange facts that have come to his knowledge. In
his presence Coroner Hoffmann, in Dubuque, found the shirt with its
pocket of red cloth stitched on the inside with long, straggling,
and awkward stitches, just as a dim-sighted old man or an awkward
boy might sew it there. The pocket was about 7 [seven] inches deep,
and in the pocket of that dirty old shirt that had lain in
Hoffmann's back room was a roll of bills amounting to 35 dollars.
When the shirt was found with the pocket, as described by his
sister after her swoon, and the money as told her by the old man
_after his death_, Pat Conley seemed dazed and overcome by the
mystery. Hoffmann says the girl, after her swoon, described
exactly the burial suit, shirt, coat or robe, and satin slippers
in which the body was prepared for burial. She even described
minutely the slippers, which were of a new pattern that had not
been in the market here, and which the girl could never have seen a
sample of; and she had not seen, and never saw, the body of her
father after it was placed in the coffin, and if she had seen it
she could not have seen his feet "in the nice black satin slippers"
which she described....

AMOS CRUM, _Pastor Univ. Church_.

If we may accept the details of this narrative, which seems to have been carefully and promptly investigated, we find that the phantasm communicates two sets of facts: one of them known only to strangers (the dress in which he was buried), and one of them known only to himself (the existence of the inside pocket and the money therein). In discussing from what mind these images originate it is, of course, important to note whether any living minds, known or unknown to the percipient, were aware of the facts thus conveyed.

There are few cases where the communication between the percipient and the deceased seems to have been more direct than here. The hard, prosaic reality of the details of the message need not, of course, surprise us. On the contrary, the father's sudden death in the midst of earthly business would at once retain his attention on money matters and facilitate his impressing them on the daughter's mind. One wishes that more could be learned of the daughter's condition when receiving the message. It seems to have resembled trance rather than dream.[229]

One other case in this group I must quote at length. It illustrates the fact that the cases of deepest interest are often the hardest for the inquirer to get hold of.

From the _Proceedings_ S.P.R., vol. x. pp. 385-86.

The account of the percipient, Baron B. von Driesen, was written in November, 1890, and has been translated from the Russian by Mr. M. Petrovo-Solovovo, who sent us the case.

[Baron von Driesen begins by saying that he has never believed and
does not believe in the supernatural, and that he is more inclined
to attribute the apparition he saw to his "excited fancy" than to
anything else. After these preliminary remarks he proceeds as
follows:--]

I must tell you that my father-in-law, M. N. J. Ponomareff, died in
the country. This did not happen at once, but after a long and
painful illness, whose sharp phases had obliged my wife and myself
to join him long before his death. I had not been on good terms
with M. Ponomareff. Different circumstances, which are out of place
in this narrative, had estranged us from each other, and these
relations did not change until his death. He died very quietly,
after having given his blessing to all his family, including
myself. A liturgy for the rest of his soul was to be celebrated on
the ninth day. I remember very well how I went to bed between one
and two o'clock on the eve of that day, and how I read the Gospel
before falling asleep. My wife was sleeping in the same room. It
was perfectly quiet. I had just put out the candle when footsteps
were heard in the adjacent room--a sound of slippers shuffling, I
might say--which ceased before the door of our bedroom. I called
out, "Who is there?" No answer. I struck one match, then another,
and when after the stifling smell of the sulphur the fire had
lighted up the room, I saw M. Ponomareff standing before the closed
door. Yes, it was he, in his blue dressing-gown, lined with
squirrel furs and only half-buttoned, so that I could see his white
waistcoat and his black trousers. It was he undoubtedly. I was not
frightened. They say that, as a rule, one is _not_ frightened when
seeing a ghost, as ghosts possess the quality of paralysing fear.

"What do you want?" I asked my father-in-law. M. Ponomareff made
two steps forward, stopped before my bed, and said, "Basil
Feodorovitch, I have acted wrongly towards you. Forgive me! Without
this I do not feel at rest there." He was pointing to the ceiling
with his left hand, whilst holding out his right to me. I seized
this hand, which was long and cold, shook it, and answered,
"Nicholas Ivanovitch, God is my witness that I have never had
anything against you."

[The ghost of] my father-in-law bowed [or bent down], moved away,
and went through the opposite door into the billiard-room, where he
disappeared. I looked after him for a moment, crossed myself, put
out the candle, and fell asleep with the sense of joy which a man
who has done his duty must feel. The morning came. My wife's
brothers, as well as our neighbours and the peasants, assembled,
and the liturgy was celebrated by our confessor, the Rev. Father
Basil. But when all was over, the same Father Basil led me aside,
and said to me mysteriously, "Basil Feodorovitch, I have got
something to say to you in private." My wife having come near us at
this moment, the clergyman repeated his wish. I answered, "Father
Basil, I have no secrets from my wife; please tell us what you
wished to tell me alone."

Then Father Basil, who is living till now in the Koi parish of the
district of Kashin [Gov. of Tver], said to me in a rather solemn
voice, "This night at three o'clock Nicholas Ivanovitch
[Ponomareff] appeared to me and begged of me to reconcile him to
you."

(Signed) BARON BASIL DRIESEN.

Mr. Solovovo adds:--

The Baroness von Driesen is now dead, so that her evidence cannot
be obtained....

I also saw Baron Basil von Driesen himself, and spoke with him
about M. Ponomareff's ghost. He stated to me that if he were going
to die to-morrow, he should still be ready to swear to the fact of
his having seen the apparition, or something to this effect. I
asked him to obtain for me the clergyman's account, to whom I had
already written before seeing Baron von Driesen (though not knowing
him), but without receiving an answer--which is but natural, after
all. Baron von Driesen kindly promised to procure for me the
account in question, as it was then his intention to visit
different estates in Central Russia, including the one that had
belonged to M. Ponomareff.

Baron Nicholas von Driesen--Baron Basil's son--called on me a few
days ago. He stated, with regard to the case in question, that it
was necessary to see the clergyman in order to induce him to write
an account of what had happened to him.

Baron N. von Driesen afterwards sent a note to Mr. Solovovo, stating that his grandfather (M. Ponomareff) died on November 21st, 1860; and the testimony of the priest was obtained later. Mr. Solovovo, who had already ascertained independently that the Rev. Basil Bajenoff had been a priest at Koi in the year 1861, and was there still, writes:--

* * * * *

The following is the translation of the Rev. Basil Bajenoff's statement:--

"KOI, _July 23rd [August 4th], 1891_.