Some weeks after a strong body of Austrian troops pa.s.sed through the village on their way to the Netherlands. While resting there a day, the snow fell nearly three feet deep. At the same time, a woman died in another village of the same parish. The military took away all the horses out of the country to drag the waggons. Meanwhile the corpse lay there, no horses came back; the body began to putrify; they were, therefore, compelled to make a virtue of necessity-to place the corpse upon a sledge, and harness an ox to it.
In the meantime the clergyman, and the teacher with his scholars, proceeded to the village to meet the corpse; and, as the funeral came along the meadow in this array, the gravedigger came up to the clergyman, pulled him by the gown, pointed with his finger toward the sledge, and said not a word.
Such was the tale as related by the clergyman. I was well acquainted with the good man, and he was incapable of telling an untruth, much less in a matter which contradicted all his principles.
PROVIDENTIAL FOREBODING.
IN the "Museum of Wonders," Vol. II., page 153, there is a striking presentiment related, which Madame de Beaumont received from the lips of a credible person. This individual had a friend in the country, who, being unmarried, committed his domestic concerns to the care of an housekeeper who had been with him for many years. When his birthday arrived, he made many preparations for celebrating it, and told his housekeeper in the morning to clean out a certain arbour in the garden, which he named, because, as the weather was fine, he intended to pa.s.s the day in it with his guests. She seeming quite amazed at this, told and entreated him to receive his guests in a room, for she had last night in her dream a presentiment that the arbour would that day be struck by lightning. He laughed at the a.s.sertion, as there was no appearance of a storm coming on that day, and he told her not to mind her foolish dream, and to prepare the arbour for the reception of his guests. She did as she was ordered, the guests arrived, and as the day was fine, made themselves merry. But in the meantime clouds gathered in the distant horizon and were at last powerfully driven to that place by the wind.
The company were so intent on their entertainment that they did not in the least observe it: but scarcely was the housekeeper aware that the storm was approaching, than she begged her master to leave the arbour with his company, for she could not divest herself at all of the idea of the lightning striking it. At first they would not listen, but at last, when she continued her entreaties and the thunder commenced to approach with great violence, they suffered themselves to be induced to leave the arbour. Hardly had they reached the room when they heard a heavy crash of thunder, and the quick following lightning struck the arbour and dashed everything that had been left in it to pieces.
WONDERFUL PRESENTIMENT.
Madame Beaumont relates the following:
My whole family still remember an accident from which my father was preserved by a presentiment of danger. On one occasion, he agreed with a party to sail to Port St. Osmer. When it was time to go on board, an aunt of my father"s, who was deaf and dumb, uttered a kind of howl, placed herself at the door, blocked up the way with her arms, struck her hands together, and gave him, by signs, to understand that she conjured him to stay at home. My father, who had promised himself much pleasure from this excursion, only laughed at her entreaties; but the lady fell at his feet, and manifested such signs of poignant grief, that he at length determined to yield to her entreaties, and postponed his excursion to Port St. Osmer until some other day.
He therefore endeavoured to detain the rest also; but they laughed at him for being so easily persuaded, and set sail. Scarcely had the vessel proceeded half the distance, before those on board of it had the greatest reason to repent that they had not followed his advice. Some serious accidents happened to the vessel, so that it broke to pieces; several lost their lives, and those who saved themselves by swimming were so much terrified at their narrow escape, that they, with difficulty, got the better of it.
By some written statements the dumb afterwards made, it was shown that, in the night preceding, she had an awful and life-like dream, in which it seemed that the excursion-boat, which would set sail on the following day for Port St. Osmer, would be wrecked; and that most of the persons on board would either get drowned or barely escape. The warning angel found that he could influence no one more effectually than the deaf and dumb aunt; he therefore selected her for the execution of his commission. My father, all his life, was profoundly thankful, both to her and the guardian angel, for this providential warning and foreboding.