66 301 message. There was nothing to suggest such a name, or such a confession as was made. Yet, on inquiry, both name and confession were found to correspond with facts that had taken place thirty or forty years before: to say nothing of a new fact, tallying with all the rest: the cessation of the spiritual visits, as soon as the visitor had no longer any motive to show herself. I pass now to another class of manifestations, in which, it will be remarked, the same element of unexpectedness is found. CHAPTER II. ANIMALS PERCEIVING SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA. "The ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way."-NUMBERS xxii. 23. THOSE Who deem incredible certain details of the interruption which befell Balaam during his unwilling journey to meet the King of Moab, may find, in modern incidents, cause for beliet that there might have been an important truth underlying the story. I think it the more important to adduce some of these incidents because, if sufficiently authenticated, they set at rest the vague theories touching "expectant attention" and "dominant ideas," that have been propounded to explain away, as figments of the brain, all perceptions of spiritual appearances. First let us examine one which occurred in Holland. WHAT BEFELL A SWISS OFFICER. I take the following from a well-known English work on Sleep, by Dr. Binns. The author gives it on the authority of Lord Stanhope, who had it directly from the gentleman to whom the incident occurred, Mr. C. de Steiguer, a nephew of the celebrated Avoyer de Steiguer, of Berne. That gentleman, in relating it to Lord Stanhope, said: "I do not believe in apparitions, but there is something very extraordinary in the subject; and I would not relate what I am about to mention if many persons, some of whom are now alive, could not bear witness to its truth." Lord Stanhope then proceeds to give "as nearly as possible ANIMALS AFFECTED. 303 an exact translation of the expressions which he (Monsieur de Steiguer) used." Here it is: "I was early in life in the Dutch service, and had occupied my lodgings, for some weeks, without hearing anything remarkable. My bedroom had, on one side of it, my sitting room; on the other, a room in which my servant slept; and it communicated with each of them by a door. “One night, being in bed but not asleep, I heard a noise as if some person was walking, in slippers, up and down the room. The noise continued for some time. "Next morning I asked my servant if he had heard anything. 'Nothing,' he replied, 'except that you walked up and down the room last night, when it was late.' I assured him that I had not done so; and, as he appeared incredulous, I told him that, if I should again hear the sounds I would let him know. "On the following night I called him, desiring him to bring a candle and to take notice if he saw anything. He informed me that he did not; but that he heard a noise as if some person were approaching him, and then moving off in a contrary direction. "I had three animals in my room; a dog, a cat, and a canary-bird; each of which was affected in a peculiar manner, whenever the noise was heard. The dog immediately jumped into my bed and lay close to me, trembling as if from fear. The cat followed the noise with her eyes, as if she saw, or attempted to see, what caused it. The canary bird, which was sleeping on its perch, instantly awoke, and fluttered about the cage, in great perturbation. 66 Occasionally a noise was heard as if the keys of the piano in my sitting room were slightly touched, and as if the key of my desk was turned and the desk opened; but nothing moved. I mentioned these things to the officers of my regiment, all of whom slept by turns on the sofa in my sitting room, and heard the same sounds." 304 ARE ANIMALS DECEIVED BY FANCIES? M. de Steiguer had the floor and skirting-board taken up, but could find not even a trace of rats or mice. After a time he became unwell; and, his illness increasing, he sent for a physician who urgently advised him to change his lodgings, though he would give no reason for this advice. Finally M. de Steiguer had himself removed. He stated further to Lord Stanhope that when he became convalescent and insisted on knowing why the doctor had so strongly urged him to leave his rooms, the latter informed him that they had a bad reputation; that one man had hung himself in them, and that it was supposed another had been murdered.”* This narrative bears the stamp of authenticity. We cannot believe that Lord Stanhope would have allowed Dr. Binns to use his name and that of his Swiss friend, in attestation of such a story, without a deep conviction of its truth. The witness appears to have been a cool-headed and dispassionate observer; but let us suppose him nervous and imaginative. Did his servant share his temperament? Were the senses of all the officers whom he called in, as additional witnesses, misled by the excitement of expectation? Let us concede these extreme improbabilities. Another difficulty remains. Was the dog, was the cat, was the canary-bird, nervously expectant? Were their senses deceived by "dominant ideas"? As regards the most sagacious of domestic animals, what has been usually called popular superstition has assigned to it an occasional power beyond mere spiritual perceptions—a species of presentiment in certain cases of approaching death. I do not venture to affirm that dogs ever have such a power; yet I know of one strongly-attested case which goes to prove that sometimes they have an instinct which greatly resembles it. * EDWARD BINNS, M.D., Anatomy of Sleep; second edition, London, 1845; pp. 479, 480. THE DOG UNDER THE WINDOW. 305 WHAT PRECEDED A CHILD'S UNEXPECTED Death. For thirty years past I have been well acquainted with Mrs. D————, daughter of the late Rev. Mr. R-, long and favorably known in Indiana. Her grandparents, named Haas, were living in Woodstock, Virginia, when her mother, afterward Mrs. R was twenty years old and still unmarried. Miss Haas had a brother, two years old, and the child had a favorite dog, who was his constant companion and seemed to take special care of him. The circumstances connected with this child's sudden death, Mrs. L had often heard repeated by her mother. It was about mid-day that this boy, running over the parlor floor, tripped his foot in the carpet and fell. His sister picked him up and soon succeeded in soothing him. At dinner, however, it was observed that he gave his left hand, not being able to stretch out his right. They rubbed the right arm with camphor and the child made no complaint. While they were at dinner, the dog approached the child's chair and began whining in the most piteous way. They put him out, then he howled. They drove him off, but he returned and took his post under the window of the room in which the child was, continuing to howl from time to time; and there he remained during the night, in spite of all attempts to dislodge him. In the evening the child was taken seriously ill, and died about one o'clock in the morning. So long as it lived the dog's dismal lament was heard, at brief intervals; but as soon as the child died, the howling ceased, and was not renewed either then or afterward. D * I have entire confidence in Mrs. D——'s truthfulness, and it was by her that the above story was related to me. This, however, is the only example of the kind that has come to me directly authenticated; and I refrain from build * On June 27, 1859. I took notes of it at the time. |