A PHANTASM OF THE LIVING.
(To THE EDITOR. Or THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The very interesting letter in last week's Spectator re- specting " precursors " reminds me of a phenomenon which I —in common with many other people — have frequently experienced, and which is probably known to the majority of your readers—namely, that when we think we see a friend or acquaintance, and find we are mistaken, we almost invariably meet the real person shortly afterwards. And this does not apply only to persons whom we are expecting to see, or who are constantly in our thoughts (in which case it could easily be accounted for), but to the merest and most casual acquaintances. To give an example : Some little time ago I was at Harrogate, and said to a friend with whom I was walking, " Look, there is Mr. X ! " On finding, however, that it was not Mr. X, I added, " Mark my
words, we shall see the real Mr. X soon!" And so we did. I had not seen or heard of, or even thought of, Mr. X for several years, so he was not in my conscious mind ; and I could not have been subconsciously associating him with the place, as he lives in the South of England, spends most of his time abroad, and had never been to Harrogate in his life before. This is only one instance out of scores ; I might almost say out of hundreds. What I always wonder is whether the explanation lies in the strong individuality of the object, who subconsciously gives warning of his or her approach, or in the possession, by the subject, of that power (in an elementary form) which, when more fully developed, is called " second sight."—I am, Sir, &c.,
ELLEN THORNEYCROFT FOWLER.
Kingscroft, Eltham, Kent.
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