The prisoner of Limoges

The following fact was communicated to the Society by Mr. Achille R…, one of its members, according to a letter from one of his friends in Limoges, dated July 18:

“At this moment our city is occupied with a fact interesting to Spiritists, which I hasten to pass on to Mr. Kardec through your intermediary. I myself gathered the most detailed information from the witnesses in question, that is, in the prison where the hero of the adventure now finds himself.

“A soldier of the 1st line, named Mallet, was sentenced to a month of prison for having diverted the sum of three francs, which belonged to one of his comrades. His sentence will expire in seven days. The young soldier lost a brother of nineteen years, a servant, about eight years ago, and for seven years he has seen, at least every four days, after midnight, a great flame in the midst of which a little lamb stands out. This vision terrifies him, but he does not dare to speak of it. When he was alone in the prison, he became even more terrified, begging the jailer to give him companions. Thus, four soldiers of the 2nd Regiment of mounted chasseurs were placed near him. At one o'clock in the morning, Mallet having risen, the four witnesses also saw the flame and the lamb behind his back. “As I said, the apparition is repeated many times; the poor lad becomes so distressed and so disconsolate that he weeps and no longer eats. The surgeon-major of the regiment wished to assure himself of the fact in person, but he did not stay long enough, for the vision occurred only an hour and a half after his departure. An abbot of Saint-Michel, Mr. E…, was more fortunate, it seems, for he took notes. I will visit him to ask what he thinks about it.

“But that is not all. The jailer told me he had several times seen the prison door open in the morning, although he had carefully bolted it the evening before. They advised Mallet to question the lamb, which he did last night, and these words were answered to him, which I gathered textually from his mouth: Have a De Profundis and masses said; I am your brother; I will not return again. Such is the exact description of the facts; I deliver them to Mr. Kardec so that he may make of them whatever use he deems suitable.”