Premonitions Of Death

aoldiers had strangepremomtions of death before going into battle during I the war," said an old soldier. "I conld not teil you how many times I have seen my comrades foretell thcir death. They seemed to feel it was coming and weut into battle fully prepared to meet their end. So commou was this, and so regulwly did death f ollow when f oretold, that I oiteu heard offlcers upbraiding their inen for speaking of death, reniarking: 'A man never speaks of a fear of death without death following shortly aftor. It'8 like the smallpox; the one that dreads it most is sure to be the first victim. ' But the officers were reasoning backward. In all the cases I saw the prediction of death was cansed by an inward feelüig, telling that his end was near. "It wasn'tfear, for Iremember 'Boss' McKellur, as we used to cali him, who caine froin Butler couuty. He had been a brave soldier, serviug his full three years, never ouce failing in his duty. The day before his three years were up he went into the battle of the Wilderness. He was so pale and careworn and lacked so much the nsnal vigor with which he entered battle that some of his friends remarked how changed he was. He looked like a ghost and was trembling all over. They asked hiru what was the matter. ' Why, ' he replied, 'niy three years are up tomorrow, but I '11 never see my service out. I will be killed in this battle - that I know. ' "His friends tried to cheer him up, betting him that it was only a morbid fancy, but no amount of talk could enliven him. He went into the battle and was among the first to fall, being hit squarely in the forehead. I also remember John Duubar sitting eating crackers with an officer before a campfire on the eve of battle. He had a sad expression when he turned, and breaking the cracker in his fingers said in a contemplative marnier, 'Well, boys, this is my last night on earth. ' In the dim firelight I saw the big tears well up as the officer iuquired what he meant. 'I'll be shot tomorrow sure. ' The officer, ing how doeply the man was afïected, placed his hand upou his shoulder and said: 'Brace up, John. Don't be foolish. Men of Ohio don't talk like that. ' But this only made the soldier break down. In the battle next day he was killed among the flrst. I could give you an indeflnite nuraber of such instances, which show that soldiers really had death foretold to thern, but these are sufficient. To me it was a most solemn moment when I heard a man say he was going to be killed. It invariably turned out that way. "-