The case comes to us through the American Branch of the S.P.R. The evidence has been prepared by Mr. A. B. Wood, who received an account of the incident from Mrs. Paquet at a personal interview. Mr. Wood writes on April 29th, 1890:—[148]
"On October 24th, 1889, Edmund Dunn, brother of Mrs. Agnes Paquet, was serving as fireman on the tug Wolf, a small steamer engaged in towing vessels in Chicago Harbour. At about 3 o'clock A.M., the tug fastened to a vessel, inside the piers, to tow her up the river. While adjusting the tow-line Mr. Dunn fell or was thrown overboard by the tow-line, and drowned."
Mrs. Paquet's Statement.
"I arose about the usual hour on the morning of the accident, probably about six o'clock. I had slept well throughout the night, had no dreams or sudden awakenings. I awoke feeling gloomy and depressed, which feeling I could not shake off. After breakfast my husband went to his work, and, at the proper time, the children were gotten ready and sent to school, leaving me alone in the house. Soon after this I decided to steep and drink some tea, hoping it would relieve me of the gloomy feelings aforementioned. I went into the pantry, took down the tea canister, and as I turned around my brother Edmund—or his exact image—stood before me and only a few feet away. The apparition stood with back towards me, or, rather, partially so, and was in the act of falling forward—away from me—seemingly impelled by two ropes or a loop of rope drawing against his legs. The vision lasted but a moment, disappearing over a low railing or bulwark, but was very distinct. I dropped the tea, clasped my hands to my face, and exclaimed, 'My God! Ed. is drowned.'
"At about 10.30 A.M. my husband received a telegram from Chicago, announcing the drowning of my brother. When he arrived home he said to me, 'Ed. is sick in hospital at Chicago; I have just received a telegram,' to which I replied, 'Ed. is drowned; I saw him go overboard.' I then gave him a minute description of what I had seen. I stated that my brother, as I saw him, was bareheaded, had on a heavy, blue sailor's shirt, no coat, and that he went over the rail or bulwark. I noticed that his pants' legs were rolled up enough to show the white lining inside. I also described the appearance of the boat at the point where my brother went overboard.
"I am not nervous, and neither before nor since have I had any experience in the least degree similar to that above related.
"My brother was not subject to fainting or vertigo.
"AGNES PAQUET."
Mr. Paquet's Statement.
"At about 10.30 o'clock A.M., October 24th, 1889, I received a telegram from Chicago, announcing the drowning of my brother-in-law, Edmund Dunn, at 3 o'clock that morning. I went directly home, and, wishing to break the force of the sad news I had to convey to my wife, I said to her: 'Ed. is sick in hospital at Chicago; I have just received a telegram.' To which she replied: 'Ed. is drowned; I saw him go overboard.' She then described to me the appearance and dress of her brother as described in her statement; also the appearance of the boat, etc.
"I started at once for Chicago, and when I arrived there I found the appearance of that part of the vessel described by my wife to be exactly as she had described it, though she had never seen the vessel; and the crew verified my wife's description of her brother's dress, etc., except that they thought that he had his hat on at the time of the accident. They said that Mr. Dunn had purchased a pair of pants a few days before the accident occurred, and as they were a trifle long before, wrinkling at the knees, he had worn them rolled up, showing the white lining as seen by my wife."
Visions of this kind are of rare occurrence with waking percipients. The preoccupations of the daytime are probably in themselves sufficient to prevent the emergence of telepathic impressions under ordinary circumstances. But in the present instance it will be observed that the vision occurred in an interval of comparative rest after a period of active occupation. The feeling of gloom and depression mentioned by Mrs. Paquet may have marked the period of incubation, so to speak, of a latent impression of calamity. But a comparison of the case with those which follow suggests that this feeling of depression may have been not the effect, but the necessary condition of the transmission of the agent's thought, and that a slight degree of fatigue or ill-health may under certain circumstances facilitate the emergence of impressions of this kind. It is, at all events, noteworthy that in two of the three cases quoted the percipient was suffering from unusual fatigue or depression, and in the third was recovering from a long illness. In the next two cases the percipient's experience may have been actually synchronous with the events perceived.
No. 109.—From MR. F. A. MARKS.
The accounts, from which extracts are given below, were published in the Oneida Circular (U.S.A.) for January 19th, 1874. The percipient, Mr. F. A. Marks, writes:—