712 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 409. 



agitated me that I rose quickly, fully awake, 

 and so realistic had been my dream that for 

 a time I could hardly believe that I had been 

 asleep. Indeed, I think I had slept only a 

 few moments, because I had not that feeling 

 of lassitude which one has upon awaking from 

 profound sleep. Wishing to preserve a record 

 of such a strange dream I wrote out the fore- 

 going account of it within a few hours after 

 its occurrence. 



The few dreams I have are usually of a 

 perplexing and irrational character, and have 

 little relevancy to any of my past or present 

 waking experiences. But this one was visional 

 in form, wholly pleasing, without irrelevant 

 deflection, and entirely rational in character 

 except that it involved an inconspicuous 

 anachronism, the scene of the vision being 

 laid for more than thirty years before the 

 occurrences which formed the subjects of our 

 conversation. That is, the personal appear- 

 ance of my friend and my apparent surround- 

 ings were those of more than thirty years 

 before, and not those of our later years, for 

 he was nearly eighty when he died, we had 

 long dwelt apart and in surroundings unlike 

 those of our earlier years,' and his latest 

 photograph, since received, shows that he had 

 a very different appearance in his later years 

 from that which I saw in the visional visita- 

 tion. But I did not observe that discrepancy 

 then, and the visitation seemed entirely 

 natural and purposeful. 



I have always admired the definiteness of 

 your faith and that of our friend IT., in the 

 future life, and I can well understand how it 

 is that you are more disposed to regard my 

 vision as an objective, than as a subjective, 

 occurrence. Indeed, the dream was so dis- 

 tinctly visional in character that it is difficult 

 for me to avoid taking the same view of it 

 that you do, for even now the shadowy inter- 

 view with my reverend friend seems as real 

 to me as any that I ever ha,d with him in the 

 flesh. It was so pleasing that I can only regret 

 that I have not had similar visional inter- 

 views with other departed friends, and that 

 others whom he loved have not been thus 

 visited since his departure. I am sure that I 

 take less pleasure in a subjective than an 



objective view of my vision, but it is only 

 proper that I should state the facts which 

 favor the former view. I shall do little more 

 than state those facts because I have never 

 made myself familiar with psychic subjects. 



When considering this vision subjectively 

 reference must necessarily be made to my own 

 physical and mental condition, but for the 

 purpose of comparison it is necessary first to 

 note the personal characteristics of the one 

 whose shadowy form was the chief figure in it. 

 I have already mentioned a part of them, but 

 so far as they relate to the visional inter- 

 view they may be summed up as follows: He 

 was of an extremely genial disposition, 

 although his manner m general was that of 

 proper reserve. He was earnest but tactful in 

 conversation and prompt to express approval 

 of what he thought commendable. His usual 

 garb was recognizably clerical, and he often 

 carried a book or a small portfolio under his 

 arm when he came to see me. His calls were 

 often brief and sometimes closed abruptly, 

 but always in a kindly manner. The expres- 

 sions ' by the bye ' and ' a grand, good thing ' 

 were habitual with him in conversation. All 

 these characteristics, as well as his personal 

 appearance and distinguishing tones of voice, 

 were clearly brought out in the vision and 

 made it harmonize completely with my dis- 

 tinct recollection of his personality, and of 

 the many real interviews I had with him in 

 those early years. It was really a composite 

 representation of many of those interviews, 

 and not a duplication of any one of them. 



As to my own personality with reference 

 to this vision it is perhaps enough to say that 

 I am in good health although I am past the 

 years of active life. My surroundings are 

 congenial, and among my pleasantest memo- 

 ries are those concerning my early friends, 

 most of whom I have outlived. I have written 

 for publication biographical sketches of no 

 Ifess than six of them, but I have never 

 received a visional call from any other than 

 Dr. Barris; and I have never had a similar 

 vision before or since. The sketch of his life 

 before referred to was written while I was 

 keenly sensible of the loss occasioned by his 

 death, and while mentally reviewing his 



