Varieties
The Manufacturer of St. Petersburg
His countryman Baron Gabriel Tscherkassoff, who lives in Cannes
and who attests to its authenticity, transmitted the following facts of
a spontaneous manifestation to our colleague, Mr. Kratzoff, from St.
Petersburg. As a matter of fact, it seems that the facts are very well
known and were a sensation in its day.
“In the beginning of the century there was a rich artisan
in St. Petersburg that employed a large number of workers in
his workshops. I can’t remember his name but I believe he was
English. He was a rightful, decent, humane person, not only
enjoying the good returns of his products but also ensuring the
moral as well as physical well being of his workers who, in turn,
offered the example of good behavior and an almost fraternal
agreement. According to Russian costumes, still existent in our
days, food and lodging were covered by the employer, where they
occupied the upper floors and the attic of the same house. One
morning several workers could not find their clothes after waking
up, clothes they had set beside their beds before going to sleep.
Nobody thought of robbery. They unsuccessfully questioned one another, suspecting that the most malicious ones could be tricking
the group. Finally, thanks to their searches, all missing objects
were found in the cellar, in the fireplaces and even on top of
the roof. The boss warned everyone since nobody would confess
wrongdoing. On the contrary, everyone protested innocence.”
“Some time later the same thing happened again. There
was new recommendations, new protests. It gradually began to
happen every night and the owner was really upset because he
saw his work suffering and the threat of his workers leaving the
house where, they said, supernatural things were taking place.
Following the owner’s advice, a nightly watch was organized by
the employees themselves in order to catch the offender, but it
was unsuccessful. On the contrary, things changed from bad to
worse. The workers had to climb dimly lit stairs to get to their
rooms. When they would arrive, several of them received blows
on the head and had their faces slapped. Whenever they tried to
defend themselves they would only find emptiness, while the violence
of the blows gave them the impression that they were dealing
with a solid creature. This time the owner advised them to
form two groups: one should stay on the top of the stairwell, the
other on the bottom. Following that procedure the bad guy could
not escape and would receive the deserved correction. However,
the owner’s strategy failed once again. The two groups were badly
beaten and one accused the other. The complaints became violent
and as it reached the highest possible level of disagreement among
the workers, the owner was even considering moving or shutting
down the whole operation.”
“One evening he sat, sad and full of thoughts, surrounded
by his family. Everyone was feeling disheartened when suddenly
a huge noise was heard in the room next door, which was used
as his office. He stood up promptly, looking for the cause of that
noise. The first thing he saw was an open desk with a lit oil lamp.
However, he had just closed that desk and put the light out. He approached the desk and saw a glass inkpot and a pen that did
not belong to him and a sheet of paper on which he read still in
fresh ink: “Have the wall in such a place taken down (above the
stairwell). There you will find human remains which you will
have buried in sacred land.” The owner grabbed the piece of paper
and rushed to the police.”
“The day after they tried to identify the origin of the inkpot
and the pen. They were shown to the neighbor who had their
business on the ground floor and confirmed that the pieces were
his. Once questioned about the person to whom he had given
them, he said: “Last night I had already closed shop when I heard
knocks on the window; I opened and saw a man whose looks were
not familiar, who said: “I need you to give me an inkpot and a
pen. I will pay for that.” I gave him the objects and he threw a
large copper coin which I heard falling on the ground but I could
not find it.”
“The wall was demolished at the indicated spot and there
they found the human remains which were duly buried and everything
went back to normal. The origin of that skeleton was
never known.”
Facts of such a nature must have happened at all times and
it can be seen that they were not provoked by the spiritist knowledge.
It is understandable that in remote centuries or among ignorant
people they have given rise to all kinds of superstitious
assumptions.
Tangible Apparition
Last January 14th Mr. Lecomte, a farmer from the village of Brix,
in the district of Valognes, was visited by an individual who was
said to be one of his old comrades, with whom he had worked
at the Port of Cherburg, and whose death goes back two and
half years. The apparition wished to ask Lecomte to have a mass
celebrated in his name at the Church. On the 15th the apparition
showed up again. Lecomte, less afraid this time, effectively recognized
his old comrade. Still disturbed, he did not know what to
answer though. The same thing happened again on January the
17th and 18th. It was only on the 19th that Lecomte said:
• Since you want a mass, where do you want it celebrated? Will
you attend it?
• I want, responded the spirit, that the mass be celebrated at St.
Savior Chapel, in eight days. I will be there. And he added:
I haven’t seen you for a long time and it was far away for me
to come and see you. That was what he said and then he left
with a handshake.
Mr. Lecomte did not fail his promise. The mass was celebrated
on the 27th at the St. Savior Chapel and he saw his old comrade kneeling on the steps of the altar, near the vicar. Nobody else had
seen him and although he had asked the priest and the assistants,
they did not see him as well. Since then Lecomte was no longer
visited, returning to his usual tranquility.
OBSERVATION: According to this report, whose authenticity
is attested by a trustworthy source, it is not related to a simple
vision but to a tangible apparition, since the deceased friend of
Lecomte had shaken his hand. The incredulous will say that it
was a hallucination. However, we still wait for their clear, logical
and truly scientific explanation of the strange phenomena that
they designate by that name, with the only objective, as it seems
to us, of denying any solution.
