on. The parties were entirely unknown to
one another, so that it was not caused by any close sympathy between
them. If it was an attempt made by some helper to avert the threatened
doom, it seems strange that no one who was sufficiently impressible
could be found nearer than Cornwall. Perhaps Mr. Williams, when on the
astral plane during sleep, somehow came across this reflection of the
future, and being naturally horrified thereby, passed it on to his
lower mind in the hope that somehow something might be done to
prevent it; but it is impossible to diagnose the case with certainty
without examining the akashic records to see what actually took place.

A typical instance of the absolutely purposeless foresight is that
related by Mr. Stead, in his _Real Ghost Stories_ (p. 83), of his
friend Miss Freer, commonly known as Miss X. When staying at a country
house this lady, being wide awake and fully conscious, once saw a
dogcart drawn by a white horse standing at the hall door, with two
strangers in it, one of whom got out of the cart and stood playing
with a terrier. She noticed that he was wearing an ulster, and also
particularly observed the fresh wheel-marks made by the cart on the
gravel. Nevertheless there was no cart there at the time; but half an
hour later two strangers _did_ drive up in such an equipage, and every
detail of the lady's vision was accurately fulfilled. Mr. Stead goes
on to cite another instance of equally purposeless prevision where
seven years separated the dream (for in this case it was a dream) and
its fulfilment.

All these instances (and they are merely random selections from many
hundreds) show that a certain amount of prevision is undoubtedly
possible to the Ego, and such cases would evidently be much more
frequent if it were not for the exceeding density and lack of response
in the lower vehicles of the majority of what we call civilized
mankind--qualities chiefly attributable to the gross practical
materialism of the present age. I am not thinking of any profession of
materialistic belief as common, but of the fact that in all practical
affairs of daily life nearly everyone is guided solely by
considerations of worldly interest in some shape or other.

In many cases the Ego himself may be an undeveloped one, and his
prevision consequently very vague; in others he himself may see
clearly, but may find his lower vehicles so unimpressible that all he
can succeed in getting through into his