Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death Part 53

"The following account" (writes Dr. Hodgson) "was sent to me by Mr. John E. Wilkie at the suggestion of one of our American members who is well known to me, and who speaks in the highest terms of Mr. Wilkie as a witness:"--

WASHINGTON, D. C., _April 11th, 1898_.

In October 1895, while living in London, England, I was attacked by bronchitis in rather a severe form, and on the advice of my physician, Dr. Oscar C. De Wolf, went to his residence in 6 Grenville Place, Cromwell Road, where I could be under his immediate care. For two days I was confined to my bed, and about five o'clock in the afternoon of the third day, feeling somewhat better, I partially dressed myself, slipped on a heavy bath robe, and went down to the sitting-room on the main floor, where my friend, the doctor, usually spent a part of the afternoon in reading. A steamer chair was placed before the fire by one of the servants, and I was made comfortable with pillows. The doctor was present, and sat immediately behind me reading. I dropped off into a light doze, and slept for perhaps thirty minutes. Suddenly I became conscious of the fact that I was about to awaken; I was in a condition where I was neither awake nor asleep. I realised fully that I had been asleep, and I was equally conscious of the fact that I was not wide awake. While in this peculiar mental condition I suddenly said to myself: "Wait a minute. Here is a message for the doctor." At the moment I fancied that I had upon my lap a pad of paper, and I thought I wrote upon this pad with a pencil the following words:--

"DEAR DOCTOR,--Do you remember Katy McGuire, who used to live with you in Chester? She died in 1872. She hopes you are having a good time in London."

Instantly thereafter I found myself wide awake, felt no surprise at not finding the pad of paper on my knees, bcause I then realised that that was but the hallucination of a dream, but impressed with that feature of my thought which related to the message, I partly turned my head, and, speaking over my shoulder to the doctor, said: "Doctor, I have a message for you."

The doctor looked up from the _British Medical Journal_ which he was reading, and said: "What's that?"

"I have a message for you," I repeated. "It is this: 'Dear Doctor: Do you remember Katy McGuire, who used to live with you in Chester?

She died in 1872. She hopes you are having a good time in London.'"

The doctor looked at me with amazement written all over his face, and said: "Why,---- what the devil do you mean?"

"I don't know anything about it except that just before I woke up I was impelled to receive this message which I have just delivered to you."

"Did you ever hear of Katy McGuire?" asked the doctor.

"Never in my life."

"Well," said the doctor, "that's one of the most remarkable things I ever heard of. My father for a great many years lived at Chester, Ma.s.s. There was a neighbouring family named McGuire, and Katy McGuire, a daughter of this neighbour, frequently came over to our house, as the younger people in a country village will visit their neighbours, and used to a.s.sist my mother in the lighter duties about the house. I was absent from Chester from about 1869 to about 1873. I had known Katy, however, as a daughter of our neighbour and knew that she used to visit the house. She died some time during the absence I speak of, but as to the exact date of her death I am not informed."

That closed the incident, and although the doctor told me that he would write to his old home to ascertain the exact date of Katy's death, I have never heard from him further in the matter. I questioned him at the time as to whether he had recently thought of Katy McGuire, and he told me that her name had not occurred to him for twenty years, and that he might never have recalled it had it not been for the rather curious incident which had occurred. In my own mind I could only explain the occurrence as a rather unusual coincidence. I was personally aware of the fact that the doctor's old home had been Chester, Ma.s.s., and had frequently talked with him of his earlier experiences in life when he began practice in that city, but never at any time during these conversations had the name of this neighbour's daughter been mentioned, nor had the name of the neighbour been mentioned, our conversation relating entirely to the immediate members of the family, particularly the doctor's father, who was a noted pract.i.tioner in that district.

JOHN E. WILKIE.

Dr. De Wolf, in reply to Dr. Hodgson's first inquiry, wrote:--

6 GRENVILLE PLACE, CROMWELL ROAD, S.W., _April 29th, 1898_.

DEAR SIR,--In reply to your letter of the 27th inst., I regret that I cannot recall with any definite recollection the incident to which Mr. Wilkie refers.

I _do_ remember that he told me one morning he had had a remarkable dream--or conference with some one who knew me when a young lad.--Very truly yours,

OSCAR C. DE WOLF.

Dr. Hodgson then sent Mr. Wilkie's account to Dr. De Wolf, with further inquiries, to which Dr. De Wolf replied as follows:--

6 GRENVILLE PLACE, CROMWELL ROAD, S.W., _May 4th, 1898_.

DEAR SIR,--Mr. Wilkie's statement is correct except as to unimportant detail. My father practised his profession of medicine, in Chester, Ma.s.s., for sixty years--dying in 1890. I was born in Chester and lived there until 1857, when I was in Paris studying medicine for four years. In 1861 I returned to America and immediately entered the army as surgeon and served until the close of the war in 1865. In 1866 I located in Northampton, Ma.s.s., where I practised my profession until 1873, when I removed to Chicago.

Chester is a hill town in Western Ma.s.s., and Northampton is seventeen miles distant. While in Northampton I was often at my father's house--probably every week--and during some of the years from 1866 to 1873 I knew Katy McGuire as a servant a.s.sisting my mother.

She was an obliging and pleasant girl and always glad to see me.

She had no family in Chester (as Mr. Wilkie says) and I do not know where she came from. Neither do I know where or when she died--but I know she is dead. There is nothing left of my family in Chester.

The old homestead still remains with me, and I visit it every year.

The strange feature (to me) of this incident is the fact that I had not thought of this girl for many years, and Mr. Wilkie was never within 500 miles of Chester.

We had been warm friends since soon after my location in Chicago, where he was connected with a department of the Chicago _Tribune_.

I came to London in 1892 and Mr. Wilkie followed the next year as the manager of Low's _American Exchange_, 3 Northumberland Avenue.

His family did not join him until 1895, which explains his being in my house when ill.

Mr. Wilkie is a very straightforward man and not given to illusions of any kind. He is now the chief of the Secret Service Department of the U.S. Government, Washington, D. C.

Neither of us were believers in spiritual manifestations of this character, and this event so impressed us that we did not like to talk about it, and it has been very seldom referred to when we met.--Very truly yours,

OSCAR C. DE WOLF.