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Flammarion, C., Carroll, L, - Death and its mystery: before death

270 death and its mystery

On June 27, 1894, at about nine o'clock in the morning, Dr. Gallet, who was at the time a student of medicine at Lyons, was working in his room, in the company of a fellow-student, now Dr. Varay, himself a doctor of medicine at Annecy.

At the time Gallet was very much occupied and preoccupied with the preparation for an examination that was about to occur, the first examination for the doctor's degree; and he was not thinking of anything but this examination.

In particular, he took absolutely no interest in politics, gave only a hasty glance to the papers, and in the past few days had discussed only superficially and incidentally the election of the President of the Republic, which was to take place on this very day. The electoral congress was to meet at noon at Versailles.

All at once, Gallet, who was entirely absorbed in his work, was dictatorially diverted from it by an obsessing thought. An unexpected phrase was imposed on his mind with such force that he could not help writing it down with a pen in his note-book. This phrase was literally:

“Monsieur Casimir-Perier is elected President of the Republic by 451 votes!”

This took place, I repeat, before the meeting of the congress. We must notice, however, a curious thing, the phrase, of which Dr. Gallet has the most distinct memory, indicates the present and not the future.

Stupefied, Dr. Gallet called his comrade Varay and held out to him the paper on which he had just written.

Varay read, shrugged his shoulders and as his friend, very much interested, became insistent, declaring he believed in the premonition, begged him a little coldly, to let him work in peace.

After lunch Gallet went out to attend a class at the Faculty. On his way he met two other students, Monsieur Bouchet, now a doctor at Conseilles, Haute Savoie, and Mousieur Debome, now a pharmacist at Thonou. He announced to them that Casimir-Perier would be elected by 451 votes. Despite the laughter and mockery of his comrades, he continued several times to affirm his conviction.

When they came out of the class the four friends met again and went to refresh themselves on the terrace of a neighbouring cafe. At this moment the newsboys arrived with the special editions which announced the result of the presidential election, crying:

“Monsieur Casimir-Perier is elected by four hundred and fifty-one votes l"

'We can assuredly believe the word of Dr. Gallet. But he has been careful to add to his tale irrefutable confirmations, the signed statements of the witnesses:

1 The affidavit of Dr Varay, former interne at the hospitals of Lyons.

2 The affidavit of Monsieur Deborne, pharmacist at Thonon.

3 The affidavit of Dr. Bouchet, physician at Conseilles.

It is well to notice that the election of Casimir-Perier, by a majority of only twenty-eight votes, was unexpected and that people had rather counted on the success of Monsieur Brisson or Monsieur Depuy.