The story of Dr. Donne's vision is well known, and deserves all the more
serious attention as his candor was above suspicion, and his judgment
held in the highest esteem. He formed part of an embassy sent to Henry
IV. of France, and had been two days in Paris, thinking constantly and
anxiously of his wife, whom he had left ill in London. Towards noon he
suddenly fell into a kind of trance, and when he recovered his senses
related to his friends that he had seen his beloved wife pass him twice,
as she walked across the room, her hair dishevelled and her child dead
in her arms. When she passed him the second time, she looked sadly into
his face and then disappeared. His fears were aroused to such a degree
by this vision that he immediately dispatched a special messenger to
England, and twelve days later he received the afflicting news that on
that day and at that hour his wife had, after great and protracted
suffering, been delivered of a still-born infant (Beaumont, p. 96). In
Macnish's excellent work on "Sleep," we find (p. 180) the following
account: "A Mr. H. went one day, apparently in the enjoyment of full
health, down the street, when he saw a friend of his, Mr. C., who was
walking before him. He called his name aloud, but the latter pretended
not to hear him, and steadily walked on. H. hastened his steps to
overtake him, but his friend also hurried on, and thus remained at the
same distance from him; thus the two walked for some time, till suddenly
Mr. C. entered a gateway, and when Mr. H. was about to follow, slammed
the door violently in his face. Perfectly amazed at such unusual
conduct, Mr. H. opened the door and looked down the long passage, upon
which it opened, but saw no one. Determined to solve the mystery, he
hurried to his friend's house, and there, to his great astonishment,
learnt that Mr. C. had been confined to his bed for some days. It was
not until several weeks later that the two friends met at the house of a
common acquaintance; Mr. H. told Mr. C. of his adventure, and added
laughingly, that having seen his double, he was afraid Mr. C. would not
live long. These words were received by all with hearty laughter; but
only a few days after this meeting the unfortunate friend was seized
with a violent illness, to which he speedily succumbed." What is most
remarkable, however, is that Mr. H. also followed him, quite
unexpectedly, soon to the grave. Whatever may have been the nature of
the event itself, it cannot be doubted that the minds of both friends
were far more deeply impressed by its mysteriousness than they would
probably have been willing to acknowledge to themselves, and that the
nervous excitement thus produced brought out an illness lurking already
in their system, and rendered it fatal. A very remarkable case was that
of a distinguished diplomat, related by A. Moritz in his "Psychology."
He was lying in bed, sleepless, when he noticed his pet dog becoming
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