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Crosse, Andrew – Recalling perceptions perfectly of when he was two years old
Identifier
026640
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Memorials, Scientific and Literary of Andrew Crosse, the Electrician – Cornelia and Andrew Crosse
Andrew had a profound respect, mingled with some fear, of his father, who appears to have been a strict disciplinarian, but never a harsh parent. Mr. Crosse's character might well call forth the respect of his son, for he had the reputation of the most unflinching integrity.
I have been told a singular instance of little Andrew's memory: he perfectly well recollected a dog called Rover; he used to describe where the dog had had his dinner, and many particulars about him. Rover died before he was two years old! …………..
[Before he was six] It appears that the family remained for some time at Orleans, for Andrew went to school there, and many are the childish anecdotes he remembered of the time and place. How he wandered away from his Swiss servant Barthelemy, and was found walking on the quay, lost in admiration of the ships; and was accidentally met by a French abbe, a friend of his father's. He could then speak French perfectly, but he entirely lost it afterwards, and was never a good modern linguist.
He returned from France with his mother, and from the age of six till eight he was with the Rev. Mr. White, who then resided at Dorchester. He was one evening walking out with this gentleman; they both stood gazing at a brilliant sunset; the child seemed much struck by the glorious flood of light which gilded the passing clouds, and Mr. White asked him what he was thinking about.
"I was thinking," replied the little boy, "that this must be like the kingdom of heaven opening to all believers."
The little Andrew was scarcely eight years old when he left his kind friend and instructor Mr. White, but he had benefited so much by his teaching that he could read Greek tolerably well, and wrote a good Greek hand; he had not learnt Latin, and he wrote Greek before English. This circumstance affected his handwriting ever afterwards, his pen always flew very rapidly over a sheet of paper, which was the more singular as he wrote almost every letter detached.