W. C., January 14th, 1874.
"You wish the simple facts of my dream. They are these:—One afternoon in October [1873], being tired, I lay down to rest. I soon fell asleep; at least I have no reason for thinking that I did not sleep. I was not on the bed more than a few minutes. During this time I dreamed of being near a large body of water. I knew it to be the Oneida Lake. The wind was blowing violently, and the waves ran exceedingly high. While standing near the lake I felt under a strong disposition to sleep. My eyes were heavy, they would close themselves. It was with an exertion that I kept them open. I was like a man under nightmare; struggling to rouse myself, yet only partially successful. Darkness was settling over me. Suddenly, when the wind was blowing a gale and the waves seemed rolling one over the other, a small sail-boat broke upon my sight, driven wildly before the storm. For the moment it seemed as if it would be lost. It appeared to be at the mercy of the waves, for they rose high above its sides and almost concealed it at times. It was manned by two persons—one in the after part; the other trying to pull down the sail! Their situation was critical. At this moment a feeling of horror shot through me as I recognised in the man whose full length I saw standing near the mast and struggling with the sail my brother Charles! The man in the stern I did not recognise. In the time of the greatest peril, something—I can scarcely tell what; I dare not call it an apparition—gave me the impression that good beings were interested and watchful over the voyagers.
"The shock I received on seeing my brother did not allow me to sleep long. On awaking I was troubled, and thought I would immediately write to Charles, entreating him to be careful. Afterwards, thinking it merely a dream, I turned my attention from writing, but I mentioned to Frank Smith that I had a troubled dream about Charles. After this experience, perhaps three or four days, a letter was received from Mrs. Mallory giving an account of Charles' condition when he returned to the Joppa station.
"This letter recalled the dream; and the coincidence of time and circumstances made a deep impression on me, though I was unable then, and am now, to accurately identify the time of my vision with the time of actual peril described in Mrs. Mallory's letter. (The letter, however, came so soon as to make it certain that the peril and the vision were nearly, if not exactly, simultaneous.)"
Mr. C. R. Marks explains that on a beautiful day in October he and a friend sailed eighteen miles down the lake in a small open boat. They started for the return voyage on the day following, at 2.45 P.M., in threatening weather. They had gone but a short distance when a violent storm came on, and they were in a position of considerable peril:—
"To add to our apprehensions it began raining, and the wind instead of slacking was evidently increasing. We had gone about two miles when I was startled by a cry from Arthur to 'look out for the sail!' as it was shifting to the other side. I lay down to let the sail pass over me, and got on to the other side of the boat to counteract the effect of the sail. This is told in a few words, but the actual event seemed to take a long time. When down in the boat I heard and felt the swash of the waves coming in, and for a moment I had the impression that Arthur was already in the water and that it would soon be my turn. But on looking round I saw he was still in his place, and also that we had shipped considerable water. The next thing was to take in sail, and that quickly. I let go the halyards, but the sail would not come down, as it was held by a miserable toggle at the top. In the excitement of the moment I jumped upon the seat at the imminent risk of capsizing the boat, and pulled down the sail as far as it would go, which left it about six feet high. This was still dangerous, as the slack of the sail was distended, looking like a huge bag. This was remedied by cutting away the rings in the lower part of the sail and winding up the lower yard. After this, with considerable baling, we got along tolerably well."
Appended is an extract from a letter written by Mr. B. Bristol, with whom Mr. F. A. Marks was working at the time of the vision, corroborating the accounts given above:—
"I was living in Wallingford at that time, raising small fruit. My principal helper was a young man named Frederic Marks, a graduate of Yale Scientific School. Frederic had a brother named Charles, who was living then in Central New York, near Oneida Lake. One rainy afternoon Frederic went upstairs to his room and lay down on a lounge. An hour or so after he came back and said he had just seen his brother Charles in vision, he thought, as he was not conscious of having been asleep. Charles was in a small sail-boat, and a companion with him, who sat in the stern steering. There seemed to be a wild storm prevailing, for the sea ran high. Charles stood in the bow grasping the mast with one arm, with the other he had hold of the boom, which appeared to have broken loose. His dangerous position so frightened Frederic that he awoke, or the vision departed."
In the next case the coincidence was not of itself a striking one, nor, as the account was not sent to the American S.P.R. until six years after the event, is the evidence as good as in the last narrative. But as an incident in itself trivial has remained in the memories of the other persons concerned, as well as in that of the percipient, it may be presumed to have made some impression at the time. The case is quoted from the Proceedings of the American S.P.R. (pp. 464-467).
No. 110.—From MRS. L. Z.
"June 6th, 1887.