chapter I am compelled to give credence to the cabalistic power

displayed by three persons, two women and one man, in their wonderful predictions of three separate and distinct turning points in the life of the Servian nation.

The first of these was the prognostication of the fate of Prince Michael, the second was that of the social ascendency of Draga, and the third, that of the horrible death of Queen Draga and her husband—this latter foretold in a foreign city, almost three months before the tragedy really occurred, by one who had neither seen nor had had any connection whatever with the King and Queen of Servia.

On the morning of the very day of the assassination of Prince Michael Obrenovitch in Topchidere Park, a poor peasant of Cremna, of local distinction because of his occult powers of divination but unknown outside of his immediate community, tore through the mountains like a madman, beating his breasts with his fists and crying, “Our Prince is dead! They have murdered our Prince!”

The cry was taken up by all with whom he came in contact, repeated broadcast and, in an incredibly short space of time, it was upon the lips of every one in Belgrade.

The peasant of Cremna was seized and thrown into prison, charged with being a fanatical disturber, but hardly before the verification of the tragedy had reached the capital.

The facts of this case are now preserved in the minutes of the national assembly.

The second instance of occultism occurred in 1897 while Draga was in the service of Queen Natalie, the year before she met her future husband.

Natalie had laughingly suggested to Draga and Mademoiselle Tzanka, another member of the Queen’s coterie, that they accompany her on a visit to a certain mind-reader and spiritualistic medium of wide reputation in Paris. The trio called upon this supernaturally-endowed person, Madame de Thebes by name, and Natalie requested that the future be read for her son, the young Alexander, and for her friends. To her the Parisian fortune-teller replied, “Madame, you nourish in your bosom a viper which will turn and sting you”; evidently meaning Draga. She continued that the marriage of the young King would determine the whole future of Servia.

Some inept futurity was predicted for Mademoiselle Tzanka, but to Draga the woman said: “You, Madame, will rise to a higher position than you even imagined. One day you will even reign a queen; but when that day dawns your life will be in danger, and you will drag your lover and your husband to his ruin and his death.”

This story was published eventually in the newspapers and, three years after Draga’s ascent to the throne was prophesied, she denied vehemently that such had ever been predicted, but in the same breath she denounced Mademoiselle Tzanka scurrilously for having dared to repeat what had taken place in Paris.

In describing the _seance_ at which the prediction was made of the murder of Alexander and Draga I can do no better than to take, verbatim, in part or as a whole, the statements of Mr. William Stead, editor of the _Review of Reviews_, who was the host on that occasion, and of his Excellency, M. Mijatovich, at that time Servian Minister at the Court of St. James and a distinguished diplomat. These signed statements were made to the press by Mr. Stead and others who were present, and relate what actually took place at the _seance_.

_Mr. Stead’s Statement_

“I had invited a numerous company, including M. Mijatovich, Earl Grey, Mr. L——, Mr. Gilbert Elliot, etc., to come on Friday, March 20th, 1903, to witness an experiment in psychometry by Mrs. Burchell at our weekly ‘at home’ in Mowbray House.

“The ‘at home’ at Mowbray House began at four in the afternoon. The psychometric experiment began an hour later, in the presence of seventy or eighty persons. In about half an hour it was seen that the conditions were adverse, and Mrs. Burchell went upstairs to give private sittings, where she succeeded much better, while the company remained below and discussed psychometry. This went on till after seven.... About eight we went to the restaurant of Gatti and Rodesano, Strand ... I sat at the head of the table, with Mrs. Burchell on my right and Mrs. Manks on my left. Mr. L—— sat at the opposite end of the table, next to my private secretary, on the other side of Mrs. Burchell....

“During the dinner the conversation was general. We talked at my end of the table about many things, and as Mr. L—— was present, I talked about him and about Servia. But as far as I can remember the name of the King was never mentioned, nor was anything said that directly or indirectly could suggest the idea of his assassination. No such thought was present to my mind. As for Mrs. Burchell, she is a plain North Country woman, who dispenses medicine of her own making, who has had a family of ten children and who did not seem to me a person who had either interest in, or knowledge of, the Balkan Peninsula. She has since, in the _St. James Gazette_, written: ‘As to my knowledge of Servian affairs, I was then completely ignorant, and did not know either the King’s name or the Queen’s antecedents or name, or anything in connection with them in any way.’ She was tired and silent at dinner, depressed by the consciousness of the afternoon failure at psychometry, and I addressed most of my remarks to Mrs. Manks.

“After the dinner there were several descriptions given by Mrs. Burchell of the impressions which she had received in connection with various members of the company. It was in her descriptions of the impressions she had received from Mr. L—— that he nodded from time to time; an indiscretion which led to a protest from my private secretary. This, however, had nothing to do with the vision of the assassination. When the prediction was made Mrs. Burchell had her eyes closed. I had no idea, while she was speaking, whether she was describing a tragedy that had taken place long ago or was predicting what would happen. I did not know what was in the envelope which she placed to her brow until after all was over. When the paper was taken out of the envelope, not being able to decipher the Cyrillic characters, I asked Mr. L—— whose name it was. He replied, ‘The King.’ He then entered into conversation with Mrs. Burchell, but I did not hear what she said.

“The other two clairvoyants present, Mrs. Brenchley and Mrs. Manks, declared that they saw the same scene when it was in progress, and Mrs. Brenchley was only one degree less excited than Mrs. Burchell. It was she who added the detail about the Russian uniforms.”

_The Statement of M. Mijatovich_

“I, Chedomille Mijatovich, now residing at 51, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, make this statement, as being, to the best of my knowledge and belief, a full and exact narrative of what I know of this remarkable affair.

“I have long taken a deep interest in psychical research, and this brought me, five or six years ago, to make the acquaintance of Mr. Stead, the editor of _Borderland_ and _The Review of Reviews_. Knowing my interest in these subjects, Mr. Stead invited me to be present at a meeting in his office in Mowbray House, Norfolk Street, London, on Friday afternoon, March 20, 1903, when a psychometrist of some repute was to give a demonstration of her capacity to receive impressions from articles held in her hand, of the origin and nature of which she had no information. The following is an extract from Mr. Stead’s letter:

“‘On Friday next at our “at home” we shall have a very good clairvoyant at Mowbray House. She has undertaken to do from twelve to twenty tests. That is to say, ten or twenty articles will be submitted to her at random, of all of which she will know nothing, and she will state what she sees in connection with each. I hope that you will be able to come and to bring with you one or two articles, the clairvoyant reading of which might be of interest or value....’

“I accepted the invitation. The rooms at Mowbray House were crowded. The lady, whose name I was told was Mrs. Burchell, complained that the conditions were bad, and the experiment was a failure.

“Among the articles brought to Mowbray House for submission to the psychometrist was the signature of King Alexander. The name was signed in Cyrillic characters on a sheet of paper which was enclosed in an envelope. It was prepared in order to see whether the psychometrist, from handling the envelope, could ‘sense’ and describe the person of the King. That was the sole object of the experiment. Nothing more was claimed or expected.

“Owing to the number of articles offered for experiment, and owing also to the abrupt termination of the trials, the envelope with the King’s signature was not produced.... While I was present nothing was said as to its existence.

“When I quitted Mowbray House the King’s signature was left with one of the company, Mr. L——, who remained behind to dine with Mr. Stead, Mrs. Burchell and some others. I was unable to stay to dinner as I had to go to the Court at Buckingham Palace that evening. I returned home feeling that the experiment had been a failure.

“On the following morning ... I was surprised to receive a visit at my house ... from Mr. L——. He said that after the dinner in the restaurant a _seance_ had been held, at which he had submitted the envelope, containing the King’s signature, to Mrs. Burchell. He told me that on receiving the envelope she had been thrown into a state of violent agitation. She had then described the assassination of the King and the attempted assassination of the Queen in the interior of the palace. He gave me many details which had convinced him that Mrs. Burchell had actually seen in clairvoyant vision the assassination of my Sovereign in the interior of his palace.

“On the following Tuesday, March 24th, I made it my business to call at Mowbray House in order to ascertain from Mr. Stead his version of what had happened.... On returning home I made an entry in my journal, of which the following is an exact copy:

“‘LONDON (51, PALACE GARDENS TERRACE), “‘March 24, 1903.

“‘This afternoon I went to Mowbray House, Norfolk Street, Victoria Embankment, to see Mr. William Stead (the editor of _Review of Reviews_), and to ask him what it was that his clairvoyant of last Friday (March 20th) said of King Alexander. Mr. Stead told me.

“‘Mr. L—— gave her into her hand a small paper. She held it for a moment and then said: “This is the signature of a young man in a very high position! Yes, it is the signature of a King!” (She then proceeded to describe King Alexander’s appearance). “He has his Queen at his side; she is a brunette, older than he. But, O God! What do I see? Oh, it is too terrible....” And then, Mr. Stead said, she suddenly fell on her knees, clasping excitedly her hands, and with closed eyes and uplifted head she prayed to the Great Spirit to—save them, if possible! “I see them both, the King and Queen; and there is a dark man with the dagger in hand. He tries to kill them; it is a terrible struggle; the Queen escapes unhurt, but the King is assassinated!” Stead said Mrs. Bourcher (sic), the clairvoyant, was terribly agitated. She described what she saw in the presence of several ladies and gentlemen, who were deeply impressed with it.’

“Four days later, on March 28th, I wrote a letter to King Alexander, in the course of which I felt it my duty to warn him as to impending danger. I did not keep a copy of my letter, but I perfectly well remember the passage in question.... I wrote as follows:

“‘I know your Majesty will laugh, as you usually laughed when I spoke to you about clairvoyance, so I am not going to give you all particulars about the latest experience which I have had, but I implore your Majesty to take all possible measures for your personal safety, not only when you drive about or when you go to the church or the theatre or to the park, but when in your palace especially, because I have reason to believe that an attempt will be made to assassinate you in your own palace.’

“My wife read my letter before it was sent off and she confirms the accuracy of this account of its contents. I may say that I had often talked to King Alexander about psychic experiences, but he always mocked me and would not take them seriously. I never before sent him any warning as to an attempt on his person.

“I was myself so deeply impressed by the importance of the clairvoyant’s vision that I half expected that the King, despite his skepticism, would summon me to Belgrade in order to hear more details. This expectation was not realized. He neither sent for me nor took any notice of my warning.

“When the news arrived of his tragic end, my thoughts instantly recurred to the warning which I had sent him, and I stated to several representatives of the press the fact, which was duly published in the London evening newspapers of June 11th.”

_What Actually Took Place at the Seance_

“It was after ten o’clock at the restaurant when Mr. L—— thrust an envelope into Mr. Stead’s hand, saying, ‘Try her with that!’ Mr. Stead took the envelope, not knowing what it contained, and waited till the good lady had finished a description to the last of the sitters. She was getting tired and wished to go home. Mr. Stead put the envelope in her hands and asked her to try once more and see if she could get anything with it.

“Mrs. Burchell took the envelope in her two hands and sat for a moment, still. She turned the envelope round and round once or twice and then said, in a loud, clear voice, ‘Royalty! An important person—a King!’

“The announcement riveted attention and we listened eagerly for what was to follow. Mrs. Burchell spoke with extreme rapidity and in breathless excitement. There was nothing to indicate that the medium was in a trance. She had been talking quite normally just before Mr. Stead gave her the envelope. Her eyes were closed, but this might have been done to aid in abstracting her from her surroundings. She spoke exactly as if she were looking through a window into an interior and describing what she saw to us who were beside her. Near to her were two other clairvoyants, Mrs. Brenchley and Mrs. Manks.

“Mrs. Burchell began by saying, ‘Royalty! An important person—a King! He is standing in a room in his palace. He is dark; stout body and long neck. With him is a lady, the Queen—brunette. And there,’ pointing to a corner of the room, ‘I see a child.’ Then, becoming very excited, the medium exclaimed, ‘Terrible! Terrible! It is all bloody. I cannot bear to look. Oh, it is terrible! I cannot bear it. I see a very dark man rushing into the chamber. He tries to kill the King. The lady implores them to spare him. Oh—’and with a cry of horror Mrs. Burchell suddenly flung herself upon her knees in such a way that Mr. Stead thought she would fall and stretched out his hand to save her. She did not fall, however, but with clasped hands the medium continued in a voice of agonized entreaty:

“‘They are killing him. Oh, save him, save him! The Queen falls on her knees and implores them to save her life—they will not listen. Oh, what tumult! what bloodshed! How terrible—they kill him; she pleads in vain. Now they fling her on one side and stab her with a dagger, and—Oh, oh!’—and then Mrs. Burchell, exhausted with emotion, was falling over on her side on the floor when Mr. Stead got her up and put her on her seat.

“When Mrs. Burchell fell on her knees, Mrs. Brenchley sprang up, saying, ‘Yes, yes, I get it in the air. They are killing him; I see it.’

“‘And I also,’ said Mrs. Manks clasping hands with Mrs. Brenchley, and both following her (probably Mrs. Burchell’s) distracted cries and utterances with cries of, ‘Yes, yes! We see it; she is quite right.’

“Mrs. Burchell, in her agitation, dropped the envelope on the floor. Mrs. Brenchley picked it up and, holding it, continued to describe the scene in an agitation only a little less than Mrs. Burchell’s, exclaiming, ‘Oh, the blood—how horrible! Look, how dark it becomes; see—the soldiers are coming upon us—shooting down all they meet—’

“‘What are they like?’ asked someone.

“‘They seem to me like Russian uniforms; but it is dark and I cannot see clearly....’

“‘Now the King is dead!’ she (Mrs. Brenchley) cried. ‘But, oh, what confusion! What bloodshed!’

“All these ejaculatory comments were rapidly uttered as Mrs. Burchell was being helped to her seat and not much notice was taken of them at the time. Mrs. Brenchley, however, declares that she has a lively recollection of what she saw and what she said.

“Mr. Stead turned an inquiring gaze to Mr. L——, who had given him the envelope....

“‘What was in the envelope?’ Mr. Stead asked.

“‘Look!’said Mr. L——. Opening the envelope he took out a sheet of note-paper on which was the signature, ‘Alexander.’

“‘It is the King,’ he exclaimed.

“‘But,’ said Mr. Stead, ‘her description—was it correct?’

“‘It was exact,’ replied Mr. L——. ‘The palace, the King, the Queen. Her description is exact.’

“And then the medium, who had been silent as if recovering from the emotion through which she had just passed, said:

“‘Depend upon it, it will all happen as I have seen it, if nothing is done to prevent it, and that ere long!’

“Mrs. Burchell’s own version is that she added, ‘Even then, although they may postpone it, it will certainly come to pass.’”