Phenomena of apparition.

The Constitutionnel and the Patrie related some time ago the following fact, according to newspapers of the United States:

“The little town of Liechtfield, in Kentucky, counts numerous adherents of the doctrine of magnetic spiritualism. An incredible fact, which has just taken place there, will certainly contribute not a little to increasing the number of partisans of this new religion.

“The Park family, composed of the parents and three children who are already at the age of reason, was strongly imbued with spiritualist beliefs. On the contrary, Miss Harris, sister of Mrs. Park, placed no faith in the supernatural prodigies with which her relatives incessantly entertained themselves. For the entire family, this was a true cause of distress, and more than once the good harmony between the two sisters was disturbed. “A few days ago, Mrs. Park was suddenly stricken with a sudden ailment which, from the outset, the physicians declared they could not overcome. The patient was the victim of hallucinations, and a terrible fever constantly tormented her. Miss Harris spent the nights wide awake. On the fourth day of her illness, Mrs. Park suddenly rose from her bed, asked for water, and began to converse with her sister. A singular circumstance, the fever had left her all at once, the pulse was regular, she expressed herself with great facility, and Miss Harris, quite happy, judged that her sister was out of danger. “After having spoken of her husband and her children, Mrs. Park drew still closer to her sister, saying to her:

“Poor sister, I am going to leave you; I feel that death is approaching. But, at least, my departure from this world will serve to convince you. I shall die within an hour and shall be buried tomorrow. Avoid with great care following my body to the cemetery, for my Spirit, still clothed in its mortal remains, will appear to you once more, before my coffin is covered over with earth. You will believe, at last, in spiritualism.” “After having finished saying these words, the sick woman lay down tranquilly. An hour later, however, as she had announced, Miss Harris perceived with sorrow that the heart of the sick woman had ceased to beat.

“Keenly moved by the surprising coincidence existing between this event and the prophetic words of the deceased, she decided to follow the order that had been given her and, the next day, remained alone in the house, while everyone took the road to the cemetery.

“After having closed the shutters of the mortuary chamber, she sat down in an armchair, near the bed from which the body of her sister had just been carried.

“Scarcely had five minutes elapsed — Miss Harris recounted later — when I saw something like a white cloud detaching itself at the far end of the apartment. Little by little this form was better outlined: it was that of a half-veiled woman; she approached me slowly; I discerned the noise of light footsteps on the floor; finally my eyes, astonished, found themselves in the presence of my sister… “Her face, far from possessing that dull pallor which in the dead impresses one so disagreeably, was radiant; her hands, the pressure of which I soon felt upon mine, had preserved all the warmth of life. I was as if transported to a new sphere by this marvelous apparition. Believing that I already formed part of the world of the Spirits, I felt my chest and my head to assure myself of my existence; but there was nothing painful in this ecstasy. “After having remained thus before me, smiling but silent, for about a few minutes, my sister, seeming to make an unheard-of effort, said to me in a gentle voice:

“I must depart: my guiding angel awaits me. Farewell! I have fulfilled my promise. Believe and hope!”

“The newspaper — adds the Patrie — from which we extract this marvelous account, did not say whether Miss Harris was converted to the spiritualist doctrine. However, we suppose so, since many persons would have let themselves be convinced by much less.”

On our own account we add that this account contains nothing that should astonish those who have studied the effects and the causes of the spiritist phenomena. Authentic facts of this kind are quite numerous and find their explanation in what we have said on the subject, in various circumstances; we shall have occasion to cite them, and ones coming from far less far away than this one. Allan Kardec.

Paris. — Typ. of COSSON ET Cie, rue du Four-Saint-Germain, 43.