Page:The elephant man and other reminiscences.djvu/172

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160
In Articulo Mortis

capable of making its presence actually felt. Thus in one case the subject saw the apparition of her sister who was dying in a place far away, and at the same time "felt a hand brush lightly against the sheets." The subject, when questioned, said: "No, no, it wasn't a dream! I heard her steps; they made the floor creak. I'm sure of it; I wasn't dreaming; she came; I saw her" (p. 345).

It may be further noted that persons who announce their deaths to others by visions or by spoken words may at the time of such warning be in perfect health. Moreover, the apparition may announce to the dreamer the exact date of the speaker's own death many days in advance. In one such instance a man—then in sound health—appeared to a friend in a dream on August 2 and informed him that he (the subject of the apparition) would die on August 15. The event happened as foretold. An instance which involved an interval of years is recorded by Robert Browning the poet. Seven years after his wife's death she appeared in a dream to her sister. Miss Arabel Barrett. Miss Barrett asked the apparition, "When will the day come on which we shall be reunited? "The dead woman answered, "My dear, in five years." Five years, lacking a