424 C. From the Journal S.P.R., vol. v. p. 252. The following narrative was sent to Dr. Hodgson by Mr. William Tudor: -

Auburndale, Mass., July 11th, 1890.

Your favour of the 30th ult, addressed to Mrs. Tudor, I will answer, as the incident more directly concerned me.

Late in the evening of Monday, March 17th, near midnight, my nephew, Frederic Tudor, jun., fell in front of an electric car going to Cambridge, was dragged some distance, and so badly injured that for a time his life was in doubt, though he recovered with the loss of a foot. My wife heard of the accident on Tuesday afternoon, and was much distressed all the night of Tuesday, and quite restless and wakeful.

At this time I was in Gainesville, Florida, having important business there in connection with land purchases. On the night of Tuesday I went to bed rather early in a calm state of mind. I slept soundly, as I usually do. About midnight, as I should judge, I heard my wife call my name quite distinctly and waked instantly broad awake. I sat up in bed, but soon remembering where I was, fell asleep again and waked no more until morning. The next day the incident of the night made me quite uneasy, also during the following day, and as I was obliged to leave on the afternoon of Friday for a rough journey in the country, I telegraphed to my wife to know what was the matter. I usually receive a letter from home every day and on these days no letter arrived, which added to my uneasiness. No answer was received to my first telegram, for the very good reason that it was never delivered. I was obliged to start, however, in the afternoon of this day, Friday the 21st, and in the morning of the 22nd, from a small town called New Branford, sent another telegram, of which the following is the substance: "Shall be gone three days; what has happened ? Answer Branford." I had a strong impression that something serious had occurred, that my wife was possibly ill, or some of the children were ill, or that some accident or death had occurred to a near relation, not however involving my immediate family.

The following extracts from my letters will illustrate this feeling.

Letter of March 19th: -

"I thought you called me last night, I waked up and was much worried, I hope you are not ill".

Letter of March 22nd, from New Branford: -

"No answer comes to my telegram although I left word to have it forwarded here." "Surely some one would telegraph if you were ill. Surely you would let me know if anything had happened. I do not feel that anything serious has happened, and yet I cannot understand such a combination of circumstances." "I have no confidence in these telegraph people, and daresay you never received my message".

Letter of March 24th, from Gainesville, after telegram giving account of accident was finally received: -

"I had a feeling that something was wrong, but that you were all right"

Such I give as the substance of the facts in this case, which I trust may be interesting to the Society. William Tudor.

Mrs. W. Tudor writes: -

Auburndale, July 29th, 189o.

My nephew's accident occurred on Monday night. Being out of town I heard of it on Tuesday afternoon. I immediately went to Boston and returned the same evening about nine o'clock, feeling greatly distressed. I wrote a letter to my husband after my return describing the accident, and retired to bed rather late and passed a restless night. The telegram received from my husband rather surprised me, as he is not usually anxious when away from home. I believe this is all I know connected with this incident.

Elizabeth Tudor.

425 A. When a prediction affecting the percipient only is fulfilled, it is obviously unnecessary to ascribe the information that has been received to any external intelligence. Apart from the possibility that the fulfilment of the prediction may be due simply to self-suggestion (on the efficacy of which see sections 409 and 410), even when the crisis predicted is death itself, we may in some cases suppose that the subliminal self has but drawn an inference from its perception of a disease likely to be soon fatal. Thus in the following case (quoted from Proceedings S.P.R., vol. xi. p. 428) heart-disease may have been far advanced, unknown to Mr. Pratt's waking self.

The following paragraph was sent to Dr. Hodgson from some unknown newspaper: -

Valparaiso, Ind., January 13th [1894].

Thomas Pratt, an old resident of this city, was found dead in his bed this morning. He was born in 1823 at Cleveland, Ohio, and was a veteran of the civil war.

Pratt's store on College Hill has long been the meeting place of a half-dozen friends and old-time comrades of the proprietor. Last night when his friends came in, Mr. Pratt told a dream he had had the night previous. He had dreamed that he was dead, yet he possessed the peculiar power of one in a trance - to see all that went on about him, though he was unable to move or speak. He had noted the preparations for his burial, and he even named the half-dozen friends who served as pallbearers. He also told of the funeral services being held in the Memorial Hall, and of his ride to the cemetery and the lowering of his coffin into the grave. And when the first dirt was thrown upon the box he awoke from the trance and called to his comrades, and they drew him from the grave. The pallbearers of the dream will be the pallbearers at his burial, Monday, which will be from the new Memorial Hall.

[Dr. Hodgson applied to the postmaster at Valparaiso and received the following reply: - ]

Valparaiso, Ind., January 26th, 1894. Mr. Pratt told his dream the day after it occurred and the day before he died, to John C. Flint, George Herrington, W. S. Flint, and Albert Amos and others. They would give you truthful statements in regard to it.

Mark L. Dickover, Assistant Postmaster.

[In a subsequent letter Mr. Dickover says that a doctor, arriving shortly after Mr. Pratt's death, ascribed it to heart-disease.

Further inquiries elicited the two letters which follow: - ]

Valparaiso, Ind., February 4th, 1894.

Richard Hodgson, - My dear Sir, - Your communication of the 29th ult, asking information of the dream which Thomas Pratt had concerning his death, has been received.

On the night previous to the night on which he died, he said he dreamed that he died at twelve o'clock.

During the dream he selected the pallbearers, and seemed to be conscious of all proceedings of his funeral, until dirt was thrown on the coffin, which suddenly aroused him. William S. Flint.

Valparaiso, Ind., February 2nd, 1894. Dear Sir, - Yours of the 29th received. As regards Mr. Thomas Pratt's dream of January 11th: Mr. Pratt was a merchant here. I went in the store in the morning of the 12th January. He related to me the circumstance of his dream. He said that he died last night. I said, "Well, you are alive yet." Then he told me about his dream. He said that he dreamt that he died and chose his pallbearers, and was taken to the grave, and then lowered down. When they began to put the dirt on the coffin he woke up. When I went down the next morning he was dead. He died 3 a.m., on the 13th of January. The same pallbearers officiated him to the grave.

I was the first one that he related his dream to. He laughed at it the same day that he died, and said that he was good for forty years longer. When he died he was 71 years old. George Herrington.

Compare the case of Christopher Brooks, quoted by Mrs. Sidgwick, Proceedings S.P.R., vol. v. p. 291. The doctor there could find nothing amiss; yet must we not suppose that some heart-disease already existed when the premonition came ? At any rate the death of a healthy and contented young man, at a predetermined day and hour, merely on account of an impression received in a dream, - this would be a result going far beyond any efficacy with which mere unsupported suggestion has hitherto been credited.