WONDERFUL INTERCHANGE OF THE SOULS OF TWO MEN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 271, 13 December 1876, Page 4

WONDERFUL INTERCHANGE OF THE SOULS OF TWO MEN.

By the direction of ihe Emperor of Russia, a scientific investigation is now going on into the most astonishing case of metempsychosis, or wandering of the human soul from one body to another, that has ever been known to the world. The instance referred to is vouched for by the Medical Weekly Journal of St. Petersburg, by a newspaper printed at New Westminster, British Columbia, by the Imperial Governor of Orenburg, by Professor Orlow of St. Petersburg, aod by several gentlemen of New York, to whom Orlow told the strange story, and who themselves had an opportunity lo see and converse with the two men whose souls are alleged to bave been so miraculously interchanged. In September, 1874— in Orenburg, Russia — there lay sick with typho'u fever a wealthy Jew, by the name of Abraham Charkov, a native of the place, known to everybody, married, and father of eeveral children. On the 22& d day of that month be appeared to be dying, At midnight he suffered greatly, and the physician pronounced him io tbe agonies of death. A number of Jews were called in, as is customary, prayers were said, wax candles lit, tbe wife and children were sorrowfully weeping over their bereavement, when suddenly the sick man gave a tremendous jerk, heaved a deep sigh, began to breathe more freely, opened bis eyes and began to look with amazement at tbe doings of the people around him, BDd then fell asleep. Tbe physician announced that sow all danger was over. He slept through tbe night; but what happened ia the morning was most wonderful. When he awoke, he refused to recognise either his wife or children, but pushed them away in anger wben they came near bim. Besides, he spoke a language none could understand. Previously he had known only a corrupted mixture of German and Hebrew and some little Russian, but now when addressed he did not seem to understand. Ia a week he w&b well enough to leave the bed, but utterly refused to wear his customary clothes. The physicians unanimously pronounced him insane. In appearance he bad not changed. He was the same tall, lean man, with dark curling locks oi hair, loug black beard, and a dark furrowed line across his forehead. Yet he spoke an unintelligible language, refused to know his family, and even his father aud mother appeared as perfect strangers to him. By chance one day be beheld himeelt in a mirror, aod a fearful shriek escaped bis lips. He touched and pulled at his loug oriental nose, he felt bis long black curls, bis flowing black beard, and wi b a scream he fell to tbe floor as iv a swoon. The esse caused greet excitement, and a full report was made to the medical section of tbe Ministry of the Interior of St. Petersburg. ; went out to Orenburg to send the Jew and his family, his parents end the other witnesses at once to St Petersburg, to be examined by the medical faculty. The examination was conducted by Professor O; low, one of the most learned men of Russia. Ihe -astonishment of the professor may be imagined, when he found that this illiterate Jew from Orenburg spoke pare idiomatic English with fluency and even with /some elegance, that he wrote it also grammatically and orthograpbically correctly, while bis family end friends insisted vehemently that Abraham never in his life spoke anyelse but a German-Jewish jargon and some Russiao, and could never write otherwise tban in Jewish characters. Still more cause for tbe professor's wonderment was tbe statement of the Jew himself in English that he was not Abraham Cbarkov at all, that those who pretended to be his wife and children end parent were total strangers to luoa, that he was not a native of Orenburg, never lived there, aud did not know hpw be got there, and be was npt even a Russian, but an Englishmen emmed Abraham Durham, born in the town of New Westminster, in British Columbia, where be resided aa a furdealer, aod where he had a wife aud one child living; that from some jnex«plicable cause he found bimßelf changed iv appearance, as he naturally was -small in stature, stoat in body, with fair complexion, blonde hair and whuker. The professor and his associated doctors did Dot know what to make of him, since he appeared to them a very intelligent and educated Englishman; while the woman, ber children, aud the other witneßsees claimed him to. be the illiterate Russo- German Jew Abraham Charkov. But while the matter was being further investigated, and the entire family kept in closo confiuemeot in St Petersburg, Abraham was missing one morning, haying escaped on board of an English ship bound for Hull. Tbe case was quietly dropped after bis flight, but subsequent events were still more wonderful, In 1875 Professor Orlow was sent to America by tbe Russian Government to make euquirie* poucerni g the International Exhibition, Whjje io this city he found in a New York paper the following etnrtliog account i copied from the New Westminster Press of British Columbia:— j ''In New Westminster an occurrence rec&mly took place which caused great aeneaiiou throughout the whole territory of British Columbia. On the 22 ad , day of September, 1874, a fur-dealer o! eaid city wus io a dying condition, suffering from typhoid fever, and no one, oot even bis physicians, seemed to entertain any hope as to the possibility of hia recovery. Nevertheless the patient rallied, and fully recovered.

Bur, wonderful to relate, the patient, who was an intelligent Englishman, had forgotten his mother tongue, and speaks a language which is understood by no one around him, but which at last is recognised by an inhabitant of tbe city to be a jwgon ot bad JewishGerman. The who patient before his sickness was a short, stout fellow, and a blonde, is now thin and lean, like a stick, refuses to recognise his wife and child, but insists that he has a wife and children somewhere else; the man is believed to be insane. All at once a European traveller arrives, marked with a genuine Hebrew face, and claims to be the husband of the wife of the fur dealer. He speaks to the woman in the same language as her husband was wont to speak to her; he gives her, and even his parents, who live in said city, but who of course do not recognise him as their son, the most detailed and minutest description of bygone eveuts, and insists upon being the poor woman's husband aod the parents' son. The poor woman is almost in peril of her reason — the efft-ct of tbe trying ordeal. She incessantly asks " Who is this fellow? How does hs come to claim to be my husband ? " When she hears him speak aod does not look at bis figure, she is reaJy to think he is her husband; but as soon as she looks at him the spell ig broken; for surely tbis stranger with the Jewish face can not be her husband whom she just nursed in his sickness. But the man continues to press his claim, and tells her the most delicate and secret facts, evidently known only to husband and wife.'' Professor Orlow read and re-read this account, and the thought struck him that tbis seemingly impossible occurrence may have some connection witb the strikingly similar case of the Orenburg Jew, Abraham Charkov, tbe investigation of which so puzzled him at St Petersburg. He sent a brief extract of it to tbe Home Minister of Russia, and asked permission to go to British Columbia and continue his examination there. Leave was granted him, and June last found bim at New Westminister. Tbere, to his utter surprise, he lound the same man, tbe lank, blackhaired, black-whiskered Orenburg Jew, Abraham Cbarkov, who had escaped lrom St Petersburg, but now claiming to be Abraham Duram. But there he lound the very representative of the man described to him by tbe Jew as he ought to look, a man small in stature, short in body, with a fair complexion and blonde hair, whom all his neighbors and bis wife and child said was Abraham Duram, an intelligent, educated Englishman, but who since bis paroxysm of the 22nd day of September, 1874, at high noon, had seemingly forgotten all bis knowledge of the English language, and was since speaking In a tongue none could understand Addres^og bim the Professor at once ascertained him to speak the JewishGerman dialect prevalent at Orenburg and aeked him who he was ; the man promptly replied that his name was Abraham Charkov, a Jewish trader of means, born and residing at Orenburg, in Russia, where his parents still lived; giving their correct name, stating also that he had a wife and three children there, describing them miuntely by name and features. Tbere was, at that moment, a nonplussed Professor. There was evidently no fraud in the matter, because each of the two men were exceedingly earnest in his assertion that he was not himself but the other man, A strange circumstance was also that the change in both ocurred precisely on the same day, the 220 d day of September, 1874, both wore sick with typhoid, and both presomed to be in the agonies of death. The distance between Orenburg and Newminister is about 9000 miles, but tbe two places are exactly opposite eaeb other's direct antipodes. Hence Professor Orlow came to the conclusion that if such a thing as metempsychosis, or tbe transmigration of souls from on« human body to another, be within the range of possibilities, the case of the two Abrahams in Russia and America seems to be an evidence of it, since the Boul life or inner consciousness of the ono has been completely changed to tbat of the other without any outward change iv the appenranco of the men. He was still more inclined to this belief from the fact that not only the day, but the very moment of the change in the two men -.greed. The Russian suffered this change on t' c 22nd of September, 1874, at precisely at midnight; ihe EuglUhra-Au at Britiah ColumbU underwent a like transformation on the same uay at noon, and the difference of time and longitude is such that when it is midnight at Orenburg it is noon at Newminister, M May not the cause for these occur, repoes be foynd in eqme as yet undis. covered ioatancea of terrestrial magnetism ?" was one of the thoughts of the learned professor, and he concluded to i m*ke exhaustive enquiries into tbe J affair. For this purpose he prevailed upon both the men to accompany him lo Russia, which they did, remainiug for some days in I-Jew York, where the profess -r finished the work for which he originally was aeot for by his Government. While there, Professor Orlow told the account to several gentlemen, I whoee acquaintance he had made, find they also spoke to the two mixed up Abrahams, coming to the same conclusion with the Professor that here indeed was a case wholly inexplicable by aDy known law of nature. Since last November Professor Orlow and tho two wonders of the age have been at St Petersburg, where the inquiry it I progressing slowly.