“WE DO NOT COMPREHEND”
I am not superstitious nor a believer in spiritualism, and yet I
believe there is something connected with the after life which we do
not comprehend.
In far-away Co. Roscommon, is the town of Frenchpark and, close to
the town, a very ancient residence—the family seat of the famous
Frenches—occupied by Lord De Freyne. One night, accompanied by my
brother, I walked along by the demesne wall, and came face to face
with old Lord De Freyne (who had died long years previous)—a tall
thin figure, as we knew him in life. He appeared to pass through
the closed gates and walk up the drive towards the house. The
following morning brought the sad news that young Lord De Freyne and
his brother, the Hon. George French, had both been killed in action
out in France.
THE following experience occurred towards the end of 1918.
During the Armistice I was released from internment at Ruhleben and
went to stay for a few weeks with my sister at Evesham. At that time,
my fiancée (since become my wife), whom I had not seen for the whole
course of the war, was still in Italy with the American Red Cross. On
getting up one morning, I happened to look out of the window and, to
my astonishment, saw my fiancée walking along the pavement towards
the house where I was. The figure was so real that, although to my
certain knowledge she was still in Italy, I imagined that, by some
means or other, she had come on a flying visit to see me, even
though, as far as I was aware, she did not know my present address. I
watched her coming along, and saw her open the gate and walk up the
path, and then I distinctly heard a rap with the knocker on the
front-door. I hurried up with my toilet and rushed downstairs,
thinking to find her in the breakfast-room. However, there was no one
there, but, thinking that she might have been shown into the
drawing-room, I looked in there too, only to find it empty also.
Perplexed as to what had become of her, I made inquiries, but was
informed that no knock had been heard, and no one had been admitted.
As it afterwards turned out, my fiancée was still in Italy.