BETWEEN THE WORLDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20583, 5 December 1928, Page 12

BETWEEN THE WORLDS.

1 AN,' EIGHT-DAY TRANCE. ■ • MU&IC. '£ HE, RESTORATIVE. Scientists and students of-the occult are E 5? s ‘ u fe r , “J el ; u t 1 1? strange: case of Mrs Ethel Ulaldwin, of ,Long Beach, California, whose apparent death arid seemingly miraculous resurrection recently startled the attendant physicians. ’' The very manner of Mrs Baldwin’s decease—if decease it remarkable. Mer husband, -Roy .Baldwin, had been ill with pneulponia. He was a patient in .a-_ hospital at long. Beach. Mrs Baldwin sat -at -his ,bedside., That - morning ’"a report on Mr Baldwin’s condition had been serious. Toward late afternoon he showed signs of improvement. Then he had a sudden sinking spell and-died.' . His- wife was at- tnel‘bedside when-the end came. ; v ; ~.

On the very, instant; '.'that Baldwin ', breathed his last fluttering' breath.' his : ‘ ' wfe : .lapsed into a death-like coma.AH ; : efforts to rouse her proved futile Elec-" ~ trie current ' applied to- her body had -joa effect.- > Vigorous pinching .produced no "V Visile'reaction. Her face-was the colour '-h o£ -MftrWe.;, and when physicians lifted her - ■ '> eyelids the glassy eyes refused fo respond ‘ even -to - strong Hghts thrown 'into them, ttv&y metnod kiidwii to Bcience' waH used ■ to rouse the woman. .Her, two children ; r were .brought to her side and sat by her for hours calling her name,.- She con- S tinned in her, death-like - trance after she " was .taken home. , v , : ' .. . •■ - . Investigation into. the lives of Mr and‘ « : ■Mrs Baldwin revealed that their marri- - age hfid "been a» r ideal one; They had never, been separated for; a night in- the’ c ' 16 years they .had been.man ind wife. They - loved the same books, andsportsV v and .amusements:' Never/had they known.even, a - trivial quarrelf and never had an.;' unkind wor.d passed between them. Many 1 times they had talked of what would - happen when, death came. .They had,' prayed to pass away together; neither . .one cared to survive, the other.- . “ ‘ Physicians acquainted, with these facts realised, that it would jbeva tremendous., , task .to bring her • out -'of ‘ .the 'apparent •' V cataleptic .state.“ The ydesire to'live,” [■/* they said, is essential-to the recovery of the: majority of patients.’’- Mrs ■ Baldwin " : probably had suffered; thercollapse because ‘ life held' little, interest, for. her after her ■ husband had passed away. > ’ : • ■ Therefore, on the chance that she might !. awaken of her own accords Her children . wa ?to stay in or near the house. \y 1? » r e,, certain, the physicians ‘said, ; i that if consciousness returns Lave can re.new the patient's interest in life by.hav- K ing the children talk toiler.’? , ,i ; V, And so; for eight; long days, and nights, uie .two children, sat by the beside,, callJn g her, ..and took _only -short • periods of. .i rest; Yonng Thufrnan Baldwin, to keep i;. himself awake at night, ~would play his ZJ. jriohn.- 'He is -quite, a gbod,musician,; and : his chum, George-Deßamee, came to the Tf-*, house do'keep him company. v-Dc Ramee \ is a pialiist. and together the, boys would while away-the - weary, hours playing the violin and piano

“ HOLY NIGHT.” . : '' It wag oh the eighth day that the hoys .playing Borrie of s the. favour able airs of i Mrs, Baldwin. .They -hadi just struck :tip! the .fii:silsaehih r hhrs of “ Holy .Night,*’/ ; when; those; at; therbedside,! noticed a faint ■ fluttering;,ofaMrprßaldwih’B eyelids. 'The quick -to realise'itHat' this ,change might be traceable to the effect of .tticV "ft music; bade;;the young .men to contmufe J •their placing; 1 . The bbyh played as if in* spired..- Young, TKurmhn - realised' that upon bis playing might depend the life" of - ' • his mother, •' ■' > ; , v

On and ;on the beautiful Christ--■ , mas'-melody;' . Doctors summoned, by -the ■.*> nurse were speeding'to the . house. - Tho- ii" •'alert nurse .and Mrs BnJdwin’s'daugnter > indications of - V life.* Suddenly, the,-,-10ng,,, pale 'fingers, of 'the vVoman ■^a^htl!J^. , ... '■r !. The,.watchers saw that they;.were beat-- - ing a;.feeble .rhyth'm‘ to -the music, and t Convinced the hutse that; the music must continued-until - the doctors came., . The,”.; movement of the fingers gained strength,asThprman repeated : the ■ carol several.,; 'times-to the accompaniment of his chum.:,;! Probably, no musician ever Ifelt a greater " inspiration. ■: .-. > ■'-? v Eventually the doctors camef -and after j a quick of, the-woman, has-! 7 tened; to .the next. v room. where Thurman r tsWs r to. .contimic." : Don t>det7 anythingi. stop lyouVlithey-Re-., manded. Then” tl>ey : returned': ■to • the.' patient; -•- .I, -Thetsleeper; was'now trying io stir in" . the bed. '. It .seemed to' the, people at the lv bedside that ..life was fightingto creep V ' back into the -body-that-had for davs lain; rigid. The eyelids continued to" fluV i ter and-:,the while hands gained strfcwdh...' .As the.chords, floated in from the ■ ing room in-'increased stempo,-the fingers •kept''time.> The* boys' kept playing for ; -mprp.;,thaffr.an:hoiir' and Were almost ex- - ' hausted,l ;,; '', ~ ~;-'”,. •' > ; Then, the ’woman,..-who had been in trance .-.for 'more than-- "a week, slowly”:’ 1 ! 4 opened her eyes. v ■ - EARTH OR ETERNITY’ Holy’ Night,” she whispered. “ I capnot, ’ yet I must —I want to go- back tot;'' him.” 1 Then iier:'murmurs , drifted' into -II uniutelligibility,, I Those who', patched : witnessed' .one ; of’Pthe strangest battles; ; ever'seen by human eye. , It was as if !' the soul of Mrs Baldwin were being pulled !: 1 - bapk dntp space-by" unseen: hands' on the :?v one Side, andVpif.jthe other the forces of ?I' eai-t^'..were trying fp bold it. Agony was - depicted on jthe ashen face of the victim, Slowly, but surely,,however, the call ;of„"I life‘apparently drew the woman’s souT-p' back to' earth; and "Soon-she opened her ,■! eyes, alight with consciousness. ...p.-; “ 1.. am> so tired,” were her first words, . Informed pf her long sleep, Mrs Baldv i win was' amazed. . . .. . •

: There is a 1 wide diversion of opinion concerning the remarkable awakening of .1' Mrs ,Baldwin., Psychologists say that the *- 1 trance was the result of hysteria, ■ pfiysi-"’" Claris- expressed the opinion that • sucir- *' trances may result'pathologically froiii 7; \ great shocks.- .But. students of the occult insist that Mrs Baldwin’s soul fled wheii' " her husband died, and .that she was back to life by the strains of her son’s r music. ! •- ■

they did, • that increased • rates did not ■ necessarily mean increased revenue. : v ? Speaking, finally, of the policy likely to ~ oc pursued: by the.' railway' companies 'iu/5* making, use? of the recently granted par- -:? liamentary powers; to operate direct road ‘ transport services. Sir Josiah said .that, in Lancashire and the great- commercial 1 ""- city of Manchester ami its environs one saw an immense activity in transport du * the roads. 1 It was there mainly for-one of two reasons, or both—first, because its cost was competitive with railway charges: ' second, because its service in some cases could not be provided through the medium of the, railway. Where the factor cost alone was responsible for the diversion of" traffic from the railway the remedy im- " pinged upon, and was part of the whole question of connection’between road and ■ rail rates! . . This was not a problem which the ever- , cise of road transport would solve;' al- : though in the case of short-distance-traffic,'- \ where the expense of its transport .by ' rail, would be-uneconomic at rates com- » petnve by. mad, the powers provided the ■means of assihungvthe railway companies to retrieve the position. Where, however, business bad left the railways in conse- -'i quenhe o'f their inhbilit-v ns nn..~—■>,- . ..;i .; r ,,, n nnrtirnTar RPrvfe^-«Uhem;;.'c-on grounds of urgency or adaptability to the. needs of tlie trade—it .would be' thu policy of his own company to cater for : such'business by .road, and no stone would. ; . be left unturned to give a first-class trails- • . port service, for' the commerce requiring whether by road or rail. They- recognised the peculiarities of tho.: V’ Liancusluie Hade, with processes following on tlie same material in different, interests, reejuirihg rapid transportation, but not sufficient to provide train loads ; nor to justify mid-clay train running.. The use of. the road services as auxiliaries would be their special pre-occupation in order that afternoon deliveries might be a regular' feature/ and the co-operation of .traders in working these matters out would be very welcome.

Son and heir of the Earl of Wicklow, Lord Clonmore has taken up his duties as curate of St. Mary’s, Somers Town, one of the poorer of London. He has taken rooms above a fried-fish shop in Selmour street, a district he knows intimately, having worked lor some time with the Magdalen College •Mission. Although he has no intention of dropping his title, Lord Clonmore prefers to be known by bis people OS Father Cloiimmc, and by his coilen«uos and friends as Billy, Lord Clonmore is 20, and his family has a mansion near Park Dane, ns well as a seat in Ireland.