Fevunr of Hcvivira, 1112/13. 



969 



W. T. Sl'EAD AND HIS BKOTHER, DR. J. E. STEAD, F.K.S., ETC. 



MY FATHER: W. T. STEAD.— VII. 



Bv HENRY STEAD. 



Miss Estelle Stead has just brought 

 out a book devoted chiefly to the 

 psychical activities of my father.* It 

 is more an autobiography than a bio- 

 graphy, tor it is really a collection of 

 his writings and extracts from his 

 diaries, strung together in chronologi- 

 cal sequence. It is all the more interest- 

 ing in consequence, for it tells in his 

 own words about the most important 

 epochs in his life. His note books 

 supply most of the particulars given of 

 his early life. He tells of his appoint- 

 ment as editor of the " Northern Echo," 

 his work on the "Pall Mall Gazette." 

 He describes the trial at the Old Baile)-, 

 tells in detail his relations with Cecil 

 John Rhodes. Much of the book con- 

 sists of his personal experience of spiri- 

 tual nhenomena, and affords convincing 

 proof of the authenticity of his com- 

 munications with those who had crossed 

 over. 



*"My Father." By Estelle Stead. (Heinc- 

 mann.) Melville and Mullen, .'Vngus and 

 Robertson. 10/-. 



Father never did anything momentous 

 unless he had what he called a signpost. 

 Until he got it he used to be rather un- 

 settled, but he always received his 

 marching orders finally, and once he 

 had them, he never hesitated. He had 

 several remarkable premonitions which 

 are chronicled in his own words in the 

 book. As they are of peculiar interest, 

 I give three of them here : — • 



I can make no claim, he says, to the 

 proud prerogative of the seer, but on 

 several occasions I have had some ex- 

 traordinary premonitions of what was 

 about to happen. I can give no explana- 

 tion as to how they came, all I know is 

 that they arrived, and when they arrived 

 I recognised them beyond all possi- 

 bility of mistake. I have had three or 

 four ver)- vivid and striking premoni- 

 tions in my life which have been ful- 

 fllled to the letter. . . . 



PREMONITION ABOUT LEAVING 

 DARLINGTON. 



The first occasion on which I had an 

 absolutely unmistakable intimation of 



