“Go to them and ask where you will find the military gentleman.”
(After a pause.) “They do not speak as we do—and I have been obliged to wait while they called a little boy with a red cap, who understands me. He leads me on, slowly, because we are walking in sand. Ah! there is the military gentleman. He has red trousers and an officer’s cap. But he is so very thin and ill. What a pity he has not some of your medicine!”
“What does he say caused his illness?”
“He shows me his bed—three planks on pickets—over wet sand.”
“Thanks. Advise him to go to the hospital, and now return to Blois.”
The letter was then opened and read to the company and caused no little astonishment.
Remarkable instances of clairvoyance have not been frequently reported in America. Nevertheless, well-authenticated cases are by no means wanting. Dr. S. B. Brittan, in his book entitled “Man and His Relations,” relates several such cases. The following came under his own observation:—
In the autumn of 1855 he saw Mr. Charles Baker of Michigan, who, while out on a hunting excursion, had been accidentally shot by his companion. The charge passed through his pocket, demolishing several articles and carrying portions of the contents of the pocket deep into the fleshy part of his thigh. The accident was of a serious character, causing extreme suffering, great debility, and emaciation, lasting several months, as well as much anxiety regarding his ultimate recovery.
He was in this low condition when seen by Dr. Brittan. The doctor soon after returned East, and called on Mrs. Metler of Hartford, with whose clairvoyant power he was familiar, and requested her to examine into the condition of a young man who had been shot. No information was given as to his residence, condition, or the circumstances attending the accident.
She directly found the patient, described the wound, and declared that there was a piece of copper still in the wound, and that he would not recover until it was removed.