Here is a curious tale from the city of Limerick of a lady's "double"
being seen, with no consequent results. It is sent by Mr. Richard Hogan
as the personal experience of his sister, Mrs. Mary Murnane. On
Saturday, October 25, 1913, at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon,
Mr. Hogan left the house in order to purchase some cigarettes. A quarter
of an hour afterwards Mrs. Murnane went down the town to do some
business. As she was walking down George Street she saw a group of four
persons standing on the pavement engaged in conversation. They were her
brother, a Mr. O'S--, and two ladies, a Miss P. O'D--, and her sister,
Miss M. O'D--. She recognized the latter, as her face was partly turned
towards her, and noted that she was dressed in a knitted coat, and light
blue hat, while in her left hand she held a bag or purse; the other
lady's back was turned towards her. As Mrs. Murnane was in a hurry to
get her business done she determined to pass them by without being
noticed, but a number of people coming in the opposite direction blocked
the way, and compelled her to walk quite close to the group of four, but
they were so intent on listening to what one lady was saying that they
took no notice of her. The speaker appeared to be Miss M. O'D--, and
though Mrs. Murnane did not actually hear her _speak_ as she passed her,
yet from their attitudes the other three seemed to be listening to what
she was saying, and she heard her _laugh_ when right behind her--not the
laugh of her sister P--and the laugh was repeated after she had left the
group a little behind.
So far there is nothing out of the common. When Mrs. Murnane returned to
her house about an hour later she found her brother Richard there
before her. She casually mentioned to him how she had passed him and his
three companions on the pavement. To which he replied that she was quite
correct except in one point, namely that there were only _three_ in the
group, as M. O'D-- _was not present_, as she had not come to Limerick at
all that day. She then described to him the exact position each one of
the four occupied, and the clothes worn by them, to all of which facts
he assented, except as to the presence of Miss M. O'D--. Mrs. Murnane
adds, "That is all I can say in the matter, but most certainly the
fourth person was in the group, as I both saw and heard her. She wore
the same clothes I had seen on her previously, with the exception of the
hat; but the following Saturday she had on the same colored hat I had
seen on her the previous Saturday. When I told her about it she was as
much mystified as I was and am. My brother stated that there was no
laugh from any of the three present."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account