AS GOOD AS A GHOST STORY.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3009, 16 February 1881, Page 4

AS GOOD AS A GHOST STORY.

In the Friend of India, published at Calcutta on Oct. 13, there appears a narrative whish will gratify the lover of the mysterious. Here it is : " The following remarkable statement has been forwarded to us for publication —On Sunday, the 3rd of October, at Mr. Hume's houso, at Simla, there were present at dinner Mr and Mrs Hume, Mr and Mrs Sinnott, Mrs Gordon, Mr F. Hogg, Capt. P. J. Maitland, Mr Beatson, Mr Davison, Col. Olcott, and Mrne. Blavatsky. Most of the persons present having recently seen many remarkable occurrences in Mdme. Blavatsky's presence, conversations turned on occult phenomena, and in tho course of this Mme. Blavatsky asked Airs. Hume if there was anything she particularly wished for. Mrs Hume at first hesitated, but in a short time said there was something she would particularly like to have brought to her, namely, a small article of jewellery that she had formerly possessed, but had given away to a person who had allowed it to pass out of their possession. Mme. Blavatsky then said if she would fix the image of the article in question very definitely in her mind, she, Mme. Blavatsky, would endeavor to procure it. Mrs Hume then said that she vividly remembered the article, and described it as an old-fashioned breast brooch set round will pearls, with glass at the front, and the back made to contain hair. She then, on being asked, drew a rough sketch of the brood). Mme. Blavatsky then wrapped up a coin attached to her watchchain in two cigarette papers, and put it in her dress, and said that she hoped the brooch might be obtained in the course of the evening. At the close of dinner she said to Mrs Hume that the paper in which the coin had been wrapped was gone. A little later, in the drawing room, she said that the brooch would not be brought into the house, but that it must be looked for in the garden ; and then, as the party went out accompanying her, she said she had clairvoyantly seen the brooch fall into a star-shaped bed of flowers. Mrs Hume led the way to such a bed in a distant part of the garden. A prolonged and careful search was made with lanterns, an d eventually a small paper packet, consisting of two cigarette papers, was found amongst the leaves by Mrs Sinnet. This, being opened on the spot, was found to contain a brooch exactly corresponding to the previous description, and which Mrs Hume identified as that which she had originally lost. None of the party, except Mr ancl Mrs Hume, had ever seen or heard of the brooch. Mr Hume had not thought of it for years. Mrs Hume had never spoken of it to anyone since she parted with it, nor had she for long even thought of it. She herself stated, after it was found, that it was only when Madame asked her whether there was anything she would like to have, that the remembrance of this brooch, the fift of her mother, flashed across her mind. Irs Hume is not a spiritualist, and up to the time of the occurrence described was no believer either in occult phenomena or in Mme. Blavatsky's powers. The conviction of all present was that the occurrence was of an absolutely unimpeachable character as an evidence of the truth of the possibility of occult phenomena. The brooch is unquestionably the one which Mrs Hume lost. Even supposing, which is practically impossible, that the article, lost months before Mrs Hume ever heard of Mme. Blavatsky, and bearing letters of other indication of original ownership, could have passed in a natural way into Mme. Blavatsky's possession, even then she could not possibly have foreseen that it woidd be asked for, as Mrs Hume herself had not given it a thought for months. This narrative, read over to the party, is signed by A. O. Hume, M. A. Hume, Fred R, Hogg, A. P. Sinnett, Patience Sinnet, Alice Gordon, P. J. Haitland, Wm. Davidson, Stuart Beatson."

Hereupon the Pioneer, which seems to have been the first publisher of the above document, thus comments : —

" In another column to-day will be found a remarkable statement concerning an occurrence lying outside the range of those which can be accounted for in an ordinary way; but it is authenticated by nine witnesses, all well known in Simla society. It has not lain within the province of a journal like the Pioneer to collect or discuss the various tales of wonder connected with Mme. Blavatzkv's powers that have been freely circulating about India among persons interested in occult research, within the last twelve months. But a special case is now presented to public attention in a way which put the facts in a light which, however startling they may seem, illuminates them clearly enough for the purpose of general consideration. It is rarely of much use to build theories, or even to attempt the vaguest speculation, or strange anecdotes whioh are cloudy in their details, or possibly subject to inaccurate narration. But in the present case we have a very precise statement testified to by witnesses of unimpeachable character and intelligence. We leave it for the present as it stands, as the task of elucidating it by any explanation of the occult theories on which phenomena of the kind

described would appear to rest, can hardly be undertaken at a moment's notice. It is enough to add that anyone who h;; 1 oke.l into Mmo. Blavatsky's great wrrh, 'ia.s Unveiled,' will be awaro of the general character of the position she takes up in reference to such phenomena as this now before us. They are not alleged to be the work of ' spirits 'in any way. On the contrary, the weight of all argument in the book mentioned is turned against the conclusions of the spiritualists. But it is contended by Mme. Blavatsky that many forces residing in nature are of a kind which ordinary science has altogether failed to comprehend, and that by means of these the wonderful phenomena she describes —and in the present case, it appears, has exhibited —are accomplished. " Wo only note that all the recorded members of th 3 Simla Sunday evening party, except Col. Olcott and the seeress, sign the report.