APPARITIONS AT OR AFTER DEATH
It has been said by a very eminent literary man that the accounts of the
appearance of people at or shortly after the moment of death make very
dull reading as a general rule. This may be; they are certainly not so
lengthy, or full of detail, as the accounts of haunted houses--nor could
such be expected. In our humble opinion, however, they are full of
interest, and open up problems of telepathy and thought-transference to
which the solutions may not be found for years to come. That people have
seen the image of a friend or relative at the moment of dissolution,
sometimes in the ordinary garb of life, sometimes with symbolical
accompaniments, or that they have been made acquainted in some abnormal
manner with the fact that such a one has passed away, seems to be
demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt. But we would hasten to add that
such appearances are not a proof of existence after death, nor can they
be regarded in the light of special interventions of a merciful
Providence. Were they either they would surely occur far oftener. The
question is, Why do they occur at all? As it is, the majority of them
seem to happen for no particular reason, and are often seen by persons
who have little or no connection with the deceased, not by their nearest
and dearest, as one might expect. It is supposed they are _veridical_
hallucinations, _i.e._ ones which correspond with objective events at a
distance, and are caused by a telepathic impact conveyed from the mind of
an absent agent to the mind of the percipient.
From their nature they fall under different heads. The majority of them
occur at what may most conveniently be described as the time of death,
though how closely they approximate in reality to the instant of the
Great Change it is impossible to say. So we have divided this chapter
into three groups:
(1) Appearances at the time of death (as explained above).
(2) Appearances clearly _after_ the time of death.
(3) In this third group we hope to give three curious tales of
appearances some time _before_ death.
GROUP I
We commence this group with stories in which the phenomena connected with
the respective deaths were not perceived as representations of the human
form. In the first only sounds were heard. It is sent as a personal
experience by the Archdeacon of Limerick, Very Rev. J. A. Haydn, LL.D.
"In the year 1879 there lived in the picturesque village of Adare, at a
distance of about eight or nine miles from my residence, a District
Inspector named ----, with whom I enjoyed a friendship of the most
intimate and fraternal kind. At the time I write of, Mrs. ---- was
expecting the arrival of their third child. She was a particularly tiny
and fragile woman, and much anxiety was felt as to the result of the
impending event. He and she had very frequently spent pleasant days
at my house, with all the apartments of which they were thoroughly
acquainted--a fact of importance in this narrative.
"On Wednesday, October 17, 1879, I had a very jubilant letter from my
friend, announcing that the expected event had successfully happened on
the previous day, and that all was progressing satisfactorily. On the
night of the following Wednesday, October 22, I retired to bed at about
ten o'clock. My wife, the children, and two maid-servants were all
sleeping upstairs, and I had a small bed in my study, which was on the
ground floor. The house was shrouded in darkness, and the only sound that
broke the silence was the ticking of the hall-clock.
"I was quietly preparing to go to sleep, when I was much surprised at
hearing, with the most unquestionable distinctness, the sound of light,
hurried footsteps, exactly suggestive of those of an active, restless
young female, coming in from the hall door and traversing the hall. They
then, apparently with some hesitation, followed the passage leading to
the study door, on arriving at which they stopped. I then heard the sound
of a light, agitated hand apparently searching for the handle of the
door. By this time, being quite sure that my wife had come down and
wanted to speak to me, I sat up in bed, and called to her by name, asking
what was the matter. As there was no reply, and the sounds had ceased, I
struck a match, lighted a candle, and opened the door. No one was visible
or audible. I went upstairs, found all the doors shut and everyone
asleep. Greatly puzzled, I returned to the study and went to bed, leaving
the candle alight. Immediately the whole performance was circumstantially
repeated, but _this_ time the handle of the door was grasped by the
invisible hand, and _partly_ turned, then relinquished. I started out of
bed and renewed my previous search, with equally futile results. The
clock struck eleven, and from that time all disturbances ceased.
"On Friday morning I received a letter stating that Mrs. ---- had died at
about midnight on the previous Wednesday. I hastened off to Adare and had
an interview with my bereaved friend. With one item of our conversation I
will close. He told me that his wife sank rapidly on Wednesday, until
when night came on she became delirious. She spoke incoherently, as if
revisiting scenes and places once familiar. 'She thought she was in
_your_ house,' he said, 'and was apparently holding a conversation with
_you_, as she used to keep silence at intervals as if listening to your
replies.' I asked him if he could possibly remember the hour at which
the imaginary conversation took place. He replied that, curiously enough,
he could tell it accurately, as he had looked at his watch, and found the
time between half-past ten and eleven o'clock--the exact time of the
mysterious manifestations heard by me."
A lady sends the following personal experience: "I had a cousin in the
country who was not very strong, and on one occasion she desired me to go
to her, and accompany her to K----. I consented to do so, and arranged a
day to go and meet her: this was in the month of February. The evening
before I was to go, I was sitting by the fire in my small parlour about
5 P.M. There was no light in the room except what proceeded from the
fire. Beside the fireplace was an armchair, where my cousin usually sat
when she was with me. Suddenly that chair was illuminated by a light
so intensely bright that it actually seemed to _heave_ under it, though
the remainder of the room remained in semi-darkness. I called out in
amazement, 'What has happened to the chair?' In a moment the light
vanished, and the chair was as before. In the morning I heard that my
cousin had died about the same time that I saw the light."
We now come to the ordinary type, _i.e._ where a figure appears. The
following tale illustrates a point we have already alluded to, namely,
that the apparition is sometimes seen by a disinterested person, and
_not_ by those whom one would naturally expect should see it. A lady
writes as follows: "At Island Magee is the Knowehead Lonan, a long,
hilly, narrow road, bordered on either side by high thorn-hedges and
fields. Twenty years ago, when I was a young girl, I used to go to the
post-office at the Knowehead on Sunday mornings down the Lonan, taking
the dogs for the run. One Sunday as I had got to the top of the hill
on my return journey, I looked back, and saw a man walking rapidly after
me, but still a good way off. I hastened my steps, for the day was muddy,
and I did not want him to see me in a bedraggled state. But he seemed to
come on so fast as to be soon close behind me, and I wondered he did not
pass me, so on we went, I never turning to look back. About a quarter of
a mile farther on I met A. B. on 'Dick's Brae,' on her way to church or
Sunday school, and stopped to speak to her. I wanted to ask who the man
was, but he seemed to be so close that I did not like to do so, and
expected he had passed. When I moved on, I was surprised to find he was
still following me, while my dogs were lagging behind with downcast heads
and drooping tails.
"I then passed a cottage where C. D. was out feeding her fowls. I spoke
to her, and then feeling that there was no longer anyone behind, looked
back, and saw the man standing with her. I would not have paid any
attention to the matter had not A. B. been down at our house that
afternoon, and I casually asked her:
"'Who was the man who was just behind me when I met you on Dick's Brae?'
"'What man?' said she; and noting my look of utter astonishment, added,
'I give you my word I never met a soul but yourself from the time I left
home till I went down to Knowehead Lonan.'
"Next day C. D. came to work for us, and I asked her who was the man who
was standing beside her after I passed her on Sunday.
"'Naebody!' she replied,' I saw naebody but yoursel'.'
"It all seemed very strange, and so they thought too. About three weeks
later news came that C. D.'s only brother, a sailor, was washed overboard
that Sunday morning."
The following story is not a first-hand experience, but is sent by the
gentleman to whom it was related by the percipient. The latter said to
him:
"I was sitting in this same chair I am in at present one evening, when I
heard a knock at the front door. I went myself to see who was there, and
on opening the door saw my old friend P. Q. standing outside with his gun
in his hand. I was surprised at seeing him, but asked him to come in and
have something. He came inside the porch into the lamplight, and stood
there for a few moments; then he muttered something about being sorry he
had disturbed me, and that he was on his way to see his brother, Colonel
Q., who lived about a mile farther on. Without any further explanation he
walked away towards the gate into the dusk.
"I was greatly surprised and perplexed, but as he had gone I sat down
again by the fire. About an hour later another knock came to the door,
and I again went out to see who was there. On opening it I found P. Q.'s
groom holding a horse, and he asked me where he was, as he had missed his
way in the dark, and did not know the locality. I told him, and then
asked him where he was going, and why, and he replied that his master was
dead (at his own house about nine miles away), and that he had been sent
to announce the news to Colonel Q."
Miss Grene, of Grene Park, Co. Tipperary, relates a story which was told
her by the late Miss ----, sister of a former Dean of Cashel. The latter,
an old lady, stated that one time she was staying with a friend in a
house in the suburbs of Dublin. In front of the house was the usual grass
plot, divided into two by a short gravel path which led down to a gate
which opened on to the street. She and her friend were one day engaged in
needlework in one of the front rooms, when they heard the gate opening,
and on looking out the window they saw an elderly gentleman of their
acquaintance coming up the path. As he approached the door both
exclaimed: "Oh, how good of him to come and see us!" As he was not shown
into the sitting-room, one of them rang the bell, and said to the maid
when she appeared, "You have not let Mr. So-and-so in; he is at the door
for some little time." The maid went to the hall door, and returned to
say that there was no one there. Next day they learnt that he had died
just at the hour that they had seen him coming up the path.
The following tale contains a curious point. A good many years ago the
Rev. Henry Morton, now dead, held a curacy in Ireland. He had to pass
through the graveyard when leaving his house to visit the parishioners.
One beautiful moonlight night he was sent for to visit a sick person, and
was accompanied by his brother, a medical man, who was staying with him.
After performing the religious duty they returned through the churchyard,
and were chatting about various matters when to their astonishment a
figure passed them, both seeing it. This figure left the path, and went
in among the gravestones, and then disappeared. They could not understand
this at all, so they went to the spot where the disappearance took place,
but, needless to say, could find nobody after the most careful search.
Next morning they heard that the person visited had died just after their
departure, while the most marvellous thing of all was that the burial
took place at the very spot where they had seen the phantom disappear.
The Rev. D. B. Knox communicates the following: In a girls'
boarding-school several years ago two of the boarders were sleeping
in a large double-bedded room with two doors. About two o'clock in the
morning the girls were awakened by the entrance of a tall figure in
clerical attire, the face of which they did not see. They screamed in
fright, but the figure moved in a slow and stately manner past their
beds, and out the other door. It also appeared to one or two of the other
boarders, and seemed to be looking for some one. At length it reached the
bed of one who was evidently known to it. The girl woke up and recognised
her father. He did not speak, but gazed for a few moments at his
daughter, and then vanished. Next morning a telegram was handed to her
which communicated the sad news that her father had died on the previous
evening at the hour when he appeared to her.
Here is a story of a very old type. It occurred a good many years ago. A
gentleman named Miller resided in Co. Wexford, while his friend and
former schoolfellow lived in the North of Ireland. This long friendship
led them to visit at each other's houses from time to time, but for Mr.
Miller there was a deep shadow of sorrow over these otherwise happy
moments, for, while he enjoyed the most enlightened religious opinions,
his friend was an unbeliever. The last time they were together Mr. Scott
said, "My dear friend, let us solemnly promise that whichever of us shall
die first shall appear to the other after death, if it be possible." "Let
it be so, if God will," replied Mr. Miller. One morning some time after,
about three o'clock, the latter was awakened by a brilliant light in his
bedroom; he imagined that the house must be on fire, when he felt what
seemed to be a hand laid on him, and heard his friend's voice say
distinctly, "There is a God, just but terrible in His judgments," and all
again was dark. Mr. Miller at once wrote down this remarkable experience.
Two days later he received a letter announcing Mr. Scott's death on the
night, and at the hour, that he had seen the light in his room.
The above leads us on to the famous "Beresford Ghost," which is generally
regarded as holding the same position relative to Irish ghosts that Dame
Alice Kyteler used to hold with respect to Irish witches and wizards. The
story is so well known, and has been published so often, that only a
brief allusion is necessary, with the added information that the best
version is to be found in Andrew Lang's _Dreams and Ghosts_, chapter
viii. (Silver Library Edition). Lord Tyrone appeared after death one
night to Lady Beresford at Gill Hall, in accordance with a promise (as in
the last story) made in early life. He assured her that the religion as
revealed by Jesus Christ was the only true one (both he and Lady
Beresford had been brought up Deists), told her that she was _enceinte_
and would bear a son, and also foretold her second marriage, and the time
of her death. In proof whereof he drew the bed-hangings through an iron
hook, wrote his name in her pocket-book, and finally placed a hand cold
as marble on her wrist, at which the sinews shrunk up. To the day of her
death Lady Beresford wore a black ribbon round her wrist; this was taken
off before her burial, and it was found the nerves were withered, and the
sinews shrunken, as she had previously described to her children.
GROUP II
We now come to some stories of apparitions seen some time after the hour
of death. Canon Ross-Lewin, of Limerick, furnishes the following incident
in his own family. "My uncle, John Dillon Ross-Lewin, lieutenant in the
30th Regiment, was mortally wounded at Inkerman on November 5, 1854, and
died on the morning of the 6th. He appeared that night to his mother, who
was then on a visit in Co. Limerick, intimating his death, and indicating
where the wound was. The strangest part of the occurrence is, that when
news came later on of the casualties at Inkerman, the first account as to
the wound did _not_ correspond with what the apparition indicated to his
mother, but the final account did. Mrs. Ross-Lewin was devoted to her
son, and he was equally attached to her; she, as the widow of a field
officer who fought at Waterloo, would be able to comprehend the battle
scene, and her mind at the time was centred on the events of the Crimean
War."
A clergyman, who desires that all names be suppressed, sends the
following: "In my wife's father's house a number of female servants were
kept, of whom my wife, before she was married, was in charge. On one
occasion the cook took ill with appendicitis, and was operated on in the
Infirmary, where I attended her as hospital chaplain. She died, however,
and was buried by her friends. Some days after the funeral my wife was
standing at a table in the kitchen which was so placed that any person
standing at it could see into the passage outside the kitchen, if the
door happened to be open. [The narrator enclosed a rough plan which made
the whole story perfectly clear.] She was standing one day by herself at
the table, and the door was open. This was in broad daylight, about
eleven o'clock in the morning in the end of February or beginning of
March. She was icing a cake, and therefore was hardly thinking of ghosts.
Suddenly she looked up from her work, and glanced through the open
kitchen door into the passage leading past the servants' parlour into the
dairy. She saw quite distinctly the figure of the deceased cook pass
towards the dairy; she was dressed in the ordinary costume she used to
wear in the mornings, and seemed in every respect quite normal. My wife
was not, at the moment, in the least shocked or surprised, but on the
contrary she followed, and searched in the dairy, into which she was just
in time to see her skirts disappearing. Needless to say, nothing was
visible."
Canon Courtenay Moore, M.A., Rector of Mitchelstown, contributes a
personal experience. "It was about eighteen years ago--I cannot fix the
exact date--that Samuel Penrose returned to this parish from the
Argentine. He was getting on so well abroad that he would have remained
there, but his wife fell ill, and for her sake he returned to Ireland. He
was a carpenter by trade, and his former employer was glad to take him
into his service again. Sam was a very respectable man of sincere
religious feelings. Soon after his return he met with one or two rather
severe accidents, and had a strong impression that a fatal one would
happen him before long; and so it came to pass. A scaffolding gave way
one day, and precipitated him on to a flagged stone floor. He did not die
immediately, but his injuries proved fatal. He died in a Cork hospital
soon after his admission: I went to Cork to officiate at his funeral.
About noon the next day I was standing at my hall door, and the form of
poor Sam, the upper half of it, seemed to pass before me. He looked
peaceful and happy--it was a momentary vision, but perfectly distinct.
The truncated appearance puzzled me very much, until some time after I
read a large book by F.W.H. Myers, in which he made a scientific analysis
and induction of such phenomena, and said that they were almost
universally seen in this half-length form. I do not profess to explain
what I saw: its message, if it had a message, seemed to be that poor Sam
was at last at rest and in peace."
A story somewhat similar to the above was related to us, in which the
apparition seems certainly to have been sent with a definite purpose. Two
maiden ladies, whom we shall call Miss A. X. and Miss B. Y., lived
together for a good many years. As one would naturally expect, they were
close friends, and had the most intimate relations with each other, both
being extremely religious women. In process of time Miss B. Y. died, and
after death Miss A. X. formed the impression, for some unknown reason,
that all was not well with her friend--that, in fact, her soul was not at
rest. This thought caused her great uneasiness and trouble of mind. One
day she was sitting in her armchair thinking over this, and crying
bitterly. Suddenly she saw in front of her a brilliant light, in the
midst of which was her friend's face, easily recognisable, but
transfigured, and wearing a most beatific expression. She rushed towards
it with her arms outstretched, crying, "Oh! B., why have you come?" At
this the apparition faded away, but ever after Miss A. N. was perfectly
tranquil in mind with respect to her friend's salvation.
This group may be brought to a conclusion by a story sent by Mr. T.
MacFadden. It is not a personal experience, but happened to his father,
and in an accompanying letter he states that he often heard the latter
describe the incidents related therein, and that he certainly saw the
ghost.
"The island of Inishinny, which is the scene of this story, is one of the
most picturesque islands on the Donegal coast. With the islands of Gola
and Inismaan it forms a perfectly natural harbour and safe anchorage for
ships during storms. About Christmas some forty or fifty years ago a
small sailing-ship put into Gola Roads (as this anchorage is called)
during a prolonged storm, and the captain and two men had to obtain
provisions from Bunbeg, as, owing to their being detained so long, their
supply was almost exhausted. They had previously visited the island on
several occasions, and made themselves at home with the people from the
mainland who were temporarily resident upon it.
"The old bar at its best was never very safe for navigation, and this
evening it was in its element, as with every storm it presented one
boiling, seething mass of foam. The inhabitants of the island saw the
frail small boat from the ship securely inside the bar, and prophesied
some dire calamity should the captain and the two sailors venture to
return to the ship that night. But the captain and his companions, having
secured sufficient provisions, decided (as far as I can remember the
story), even in spite of the entreaties of those on shore, to return to
the ship. The storm was increasing, and what with their scanty knowledge
of the intricacies of the channel, and the darkness of the night, certain
it was the next morning their craft was found washed ashore on the
island, and the body of the captain was discovered by the first man who
made the round of the shore looking for logs of timber, or other useful
articles washed ashore from wrecks. The bodies of the two sailors were
never recovered, and word was sent immediately to the captain's wife in
Derry, who came in a few days and gave directions for the disposal of her
husband's corpse.
"The island was only temporarily inhabited by a few people who had cattle
and horses grazing there for some weeks in the year, and after this
catastrophe they felt peculiarly lonely, and sought refuge from their
thoughts by all spending the evening together in one house. This
particular evening they were all seated round the fire having a chat,
when they heard steps approaching the door. Though the approach was
fine, soft sand, yet the steps were audible as if coming on hard ground.
They knew there was no one on the island save the few who were sitting
quietly round the fire, and so in eager expectation they faced round to
the door. What was their _amazement_ when the door opened, and a tall,
broad-shouldered man appeared and filled the whole doorway--and that man
the captain who had been buried several days previously. He wore the
identical suit in which he had often visited the island and even the
"cheese-cutter" cap, so common a feature of sea-faring men's apparel, was
not wanting. All were struck dumb with terror, and a woman who sat in a
corner opposite the door, exclaimed in Irish in a low voice to my father:
"'O God! Patrick, there's the captain.'
"My father, recovering from the first shock, when he saw feminine courage
finding expression in words, said in Irish to the apparition:
"'Come in!'
"They were so certain of the appearance that they addressed him in his
own language, as they invariably talked Irish in the district in those
days. But no sooner had he uttered the invitation than the figure,
without the least word or sign, moved back, and disappeared from their
view. They rushed out, but could discover no sign of any living
person within the confines of the island. Such is the true account of an
accident, by which three men lost their lives, and the ghostly sequel, in
which one of them appeared to the eyes of four people, two of whom are
yet alive, and can vouch for the accuracy of this narrative."
GROUP III
We now come to the third group of this chapter, in which we shall relate
two first-hand experiences of tragedies being actually witnessed some
time before they happened, as well as a reliable second-hand story of an
apparition being seen two days before the death occurred. The first of
these is sent by a lady, the percipient, who desires that her name be
suppressed; with it was enclosed a letter from a gentleman who stated
that he could testify to the truth of the following facts:
"The morning of May 18, 1902, was one of the worst that ever dawned in
Killarney. All through the day a fierce nor'-wester raged, and huge
white-crested waves, known locally as 'The O'Donoghue's white horses,'
beat on the shores of Lough Leane. Then followed hail-showers such as I
have never seen before or since. Hailstones quite as large as small
marbles fell with such rapidity, and seemed so hard that the glass in the
windows of the room in which I stood appeared to be about to break into
fragments every moment. I remained at the window, gazing out on the
turbulent waters of the lake. Sometimes a regular fog appeared, caused by
the terrible downpour of rain and the fury of the gale.
"During an occasional lull I could see the islands plainly looming in the
distance. In one of these clear intervals, the time being about 12.30
P.M., five friends of mine were reading in the room in which I stood.
'Quick! quick!' I cried. 'Is that a boat turned over?' My friends all ran
to the windows, but could see nothing. I persisted, however, and said,
'It is on its side, with the keel turned towards us, and it is empty.'
Still none of my friends could see anything. I then ran out, and got one
of the men-servants to go down to a gate, about one hundred yards nearer
the lake than where I stood. He had a powerful telescope, and remained
with great difficulty in the teeth of the storm with his glass for
several minutes, but could see nothing. When he returned another man took
his place, but he also failed to see anything.
"I seemed so distressed that those around me kept going backwards and
forwards to the windows, and then asked me what was the size of the boat
I had seen. I gave them the exact size, measuring by landmarks. They then
assured me that I must be absolutely wrong, as it was on rare occasions
that a 'party' boat, such as the one I described, could venture on the
lakes on such a day. Therefore there were seven persons who thought I was
wrong in what I had seen. I still contended that I saw the boat, the
length of which I described, as plainly as possible.
"The day wore on, and evening came. The incident was apparently more or
less forgotten by all but me, until at 8 A.M. on the following morning,
when the maid brought up tea, her first words were, 'Ah, miss, is it not
terrible about the accident!' Naturally I said, 'What accident, Mary?'
She replied, 'There were thirteen people drowned yesterday evening out of
a four-oared boat.' That proved that the boat I had seen at 12.30 P.M.
was a vision foreshadowing the wreck of the boat off Darby's Garden at
5.30 P.M. The position, shape, and size of the boat seen by me were
identical with the one that was lost on the evening of May 18, 1902."
The second story relates how a lady witnessed a vision (shall we call it)
of a suicide a week before the terrible deed was committed. This incident
surely makes it clear that such cannot be looked upon as special
interventions of Providence, for if the lady had recognised the man, she
might have prevented his rash act. Mrs. MacAlpine says: "In June 1889, I
drove to Castleblaney, in Co. Monaghan, to meet my sister: I expected her
at three o'clock, but as she did not come by that train, I put up the
horse and went for a walk in the demesne. At length becoming tired, I sat
down on a rock by the edge of a lake. My attention was quite taken up
with the beauty of the scene before me, as it was a glorious summer's
day. Presently I felt a cold chill creep through me, and a curious
stiffness came over my limbs, as if I could not move, though wishing to
do so. I felt frightened, yet chained to the spot, and as if impelled to
stare at the water straight before me. Gradually a black cloud seemed
to rise, and in the midst of it I saw a tall man, in a tweed suit, jump
into the water, and sink. In a moment the darkness was gone, and I again
became sensible of the heat and sunshine, but I was awed, and felt eerie.
This happened about June 25, and on July 3 a Mr.----, a bank clerk,
committed suicide by drowning himself in the lake.[8]"
[Footnote 8: _Proceedings S.P.R._, x. 332.]
The following incident occurred in the United States, but, as it is
closely connected with this country, it will not seem out of place to
insert it here. It is sent by Mr. Richard Hogan as the personal
experience of his sister, Mrs. Mary Murnane, and is given in her own
words.
"On the 4th of August 1886, at 10.30 o'clock in the morning, I left my
own house, 21 Montrose St., Philadelphia, to do some shopping. I had not
proceeded more than fifty yards when on turning the corner of the street
I observed my aunt approaching me within five or six yards. I was greatly
astonished, for the last letter I had from home (Limerick) stated that
she was dying of consumption, but the thought occurred to me that she
might have recovered somewhat, and come out to Philadelphia. This opinion
was quickly changed as we approached each other, for our eyes met, and
she had the colour of one who had risen from the grave. I seemed to feel
my hair stand on end, for just as we were about to pass each other she
turned her face towards me, and I gasped, 'My God, she is dead, and is
going to speak to me!' but no word was spoken, and she passed on. After
proceeding a short distance I looked back, and she continued on to
Washington Avenue, where she disappeared from me. There was no other
person near at the time, and being so close, I was well able to note what
she wore. She held a sunshade over her head, and the clothes, hat, etc.,
were those I knew so well before I left Ireland. I wrote home telling
what I had seen, and asking if she was dead. I received a reply saying
she was not dead at the date I saw her, but had been asking if a letter
had come from me for some days before her death. It was just two days
before she actually died that I had seen her."