ASPR Journal, V14 - Iapsop.com

146 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.
One evening Samuel Bowles, formerly editor of the Springfield
Republican, who had died not long before, came. He and I had
been great friends. He always called me, "John," and in his frequent
spiritualistic communications, in different places and before
different mediums, he generally so addressed me. I asked him who
were with him. He named several persons and among them Dr.
Smith, a Springfield physician, who had died a short time before.
I said a few words to him, to which he replied, stammering a little
as he spoke. I had known him slightly, and knew that he had an
impediment in his speech, but it was wholly out of my mind. It is
stated to be a general, perhaps universal rule, that spirits returning
to earth put on the old earth conditions. I have seen many illustrations
of this, but not enough to safely generalize from. Soon
after Dr. Smith came my wife said, "I am glad to meet you, Dr.
Smith; I have often heard of you, but never saw you." Said he.
"I met you once, Mrs. Hooker." "Why," said she, "I have no
recollection of it." "Yes," said he, " I met you in London." I
could not at the moment recall the fact, and my wife was totally
unable to, and we passed on to other communications. I very soon,
however, recollected the circumstances. My wife and I were in
London in 1875, and she went into a shop on Regent Street to make
some purchases, while I went on to attend to another, and was to
call for her there on my way back. While returning I overtook
Bowles and Dr. Smith, and we stopped and had a chat. I had not
before known that they were in the city, or indeed that they had left
home. After awhile I said to Bowles that my wife was in a shop
near by, and he must step in and see her. So he came along and Dr.
Smith with us. She was sitting at a counter looking at some goods.
Bowles shook hands with her very cordially, but Dr. Smith was
merely formally introduced, and then stepped back and waited at
the door. This little incident (of Dr. Smith's coming in) my wife
had totally forgotten, and could not recall it after I stated my recollection
of it. I cannot see how any theory of mind-reading can explain
this occurrence. I suppose mind-reading to be the reading
of what is then in one's tnind,-of what the mind is then doitrg,
and not of what is laid away in the memory and perhaps substantially
forgotten.
* * * * ••
Nearly ten years ago I made a contract with a florist by which
he was to hire of me a piece of land in Hartford for a nursery and
garden, with a small house upon it. with the expectation of purchasing
it at a price agreed, but without a binding agreement that he
should purchase, as he felt that he could not safely come under such
an obligation; after a while he wanted to have me build a green-
4. An incident is omitted, for the reason stated in Note 1.
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