From Miss Clark.
"Monday, August 27th, 1888, 10.30 A.M.
"Thanks for your letter. I am sorry it was you crying. You don't seem at all struck. I was very much so. It was a subdued sort (sic) I heard, and thought H. was trying not to let it be heard. I shall always be afraid now of hearing things."
The sound here was of an inarticulate kind, nor was it immediately referred to the actual agent, and both these facts must be held to detract from the evidential value of the coincidence. In the next case, however, the voice, it will be seen, was at once recognised. The voice in this case awoke the percipient, and the impression should therefore be classed as a hallucination rather than as a dream, but it was of the "borderland" type. The uneasiness caused to the percipient, as attested by the letter and telegram sent, is sufficient proof that the impression was of a kind unusual in his experience.
No. 69.—From MR. WILLIAM TUDOR.
"AUBURNDALE, MASS., July 11th, 1890.
"Your favour[115] of the 30th ult., addressed to Mrs. Tudor, I will answer, as the incident more directly concerned me.
"Late in the evening of Monday, March 17th, near midnight, my nephew, Frederic Tudor, Jun., fell in front of an electric car going to Cambridge, was dragged some distance and so badly injured that for a time his life was in doubt, though he recovered with the loss of a foot. My wife heard of the accident on Tuesday afternoon and was much distressed all the night of Tuesday, and quite restless and wakeful.
"At this time I was in Gainesville, Florida, having important business there in connection with land purchases. On the night of Tuesday I went to bed rather early in a calm state of mind. I slept soundly, as I usually do. About midnight, as I should judge, I heard my wife call my name quite distinctly and waked instantly broad awake. I sat up in bed, but soon remembering where I was, fell asleep again and waked no more until morning. The next day the incident of the night made me quite uneasy, also during the following day, and as I was obliged to leave on the afternoon of Friday for a rough journey in the country I telegraphed to my wife to know what was the matter. I usually receive a letter from home every day, and on these days no letter arrived, which added to my uneasiness. No answer was received to my first telegram, for the very good reason that it was never delivered. I was obliged to start, however, in the afternoon of this day, Friday the 21st, and in the morning of the 22nd, from a small town called New Branford, sent another telegram, of which the following is the substance:—'Shall be gone three days; what has happened? Answer Branford.' I had a strong impression that something serious had occurred, that my wife was possibly ill, or some of the children were ill, or that some accident or death had occurred to a near relation, not however involving my immediate family. The following extracts from my letters will illustrate this feeling:—
"Letter of March 19th:
"'I thought you called me last night. I waked up and was much worried; I hope you are not ill.'
"Letter of March 22nd, from New Branford:
"'No answer comes to my telegram, although I left word to have it forwarded here. Surely some one would telegraph if you were ill. Surely you would let me know if anything had happened. I do not feel that anything serious has happened, and yet I cannot understand such a combination of circumstances. I have no confidence in these telegraph people, and daresay you never received my message.'
"Letter of March 24th, from Gainesville, after telegram giving account of accident was finally received:
"'I had a feeling that something was wrong but that you were all right.'
"Such I give as the substance of the facts in this case, which I trust may be interesting to the Society.
"WILLIAM TUDOR."
Mrs. W. Tudor writes:—
"AUBURNDALE, July 29th, 1890.
"My nephew's accident occurred on Monday night. Being out of town I heard of it on Tuesday afternoon. I immediately went to Boston and returned the same evening about nine o'clock, feeling greatly distressed. I wrote a letter to my husband after my return describing the accident and retired to bed rather late and passed a restless night. The telegram received from my husband rather surprised me, as he is not usually anxious when away from home. I believe this is all I know connected with this incident.
ELIZABETH TUDOR."
An account of a similar experience was sent to us in 1889 by the late Sir John Drummond Hay, K.C.B. He wrote that about 1 A.M. on some day in February 1879 he heard distinctly the voice of his daughter-in-law saying, "Oh, I wish papa only knew that Robert was ill." Sir John awoke Lady Drummond Hay to tell her what he had heard, and made a note of the incident in his diary. It was shortly ascertained that Mr. R. D. Hay had been taken seriously ill on that night, and that Mrs. Hay had used the words heard. Sir John's account is confirmed by Lady Hay and Mrs. R. D. Hay.
Visual Hallucinations.