Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1828-05-17

m,rk.t Mace. and, when he least expected such
a thing. found himself in The from; of the cathe-
dral. The great clock chimrd three quarters
il wanted then quarter Of twelve. W"ere
was ne to look For assistance al such an houi,
or. indeed, a, any hour? He had already APP
Piled to the rich prela,es, and got from inc"
all thar their charity was likely to give. o"u-
denly thought struck him like lightn'hs' ns
saw his little Maria crying Tor the 1000 ne eou'a
not give her; his sick wife, lying IN pea, WIZ"
the infant on her exhausted BOSOM; anu 'h'n
Adelaide, in her splendid coffin, and her manu-
elit,erinr with Jewels that it could not grasp;
"Of what use are diamonds 10 her now" SAID
he 10 himself as there any sin in robbing me
dead 10 give to the living? | would not DO
such a thing for myself if were starving no.
Heaven forbid! But for my wife and child,-oi'
that's quite another matter. :,
Quieting his conscience, as we'll as he cou'u'
with this opiate, he hurried home, TO get Inc
necessary implements, but, by The time he
reached mis- own door, his resolution began 70
waver. The sight, however. OF his wite's d's'
tress wrought him up again 10 the sucking
place; and having provided himself with dark
lantern, the church keys, and crow TO break
open the coffin, he Sc, out for the cathedral -
On the way, all manner of strange fsncics
crossed him; the earth seemed to shake from
under him, il was the tot,ering OF his own
limbs: figure seemed TO sign him back; II was
the shade thrown from some column, that
waved to and fro as the lamp light Hckered in
the night wind. But still the thought OF home
drove him on, and even the badness OF the wea-
Their Carried this consolation with it, he was
the more likely to find the streets clear, and es>
Cape detection.
He had now reached the cathedral. For a
moment he paused on the steps, and theu, taxi
inr heart, put the huge key into The lock-. l o
his fancy, i, had never o2eoed with such readl-
ness before The bolt sho, back a, the light touch
of the KEY s. he stood alone in the church, trem-
bling from head to foot. Still it was requisite
10 close the door behind him, lest its being open
should be seen BY any one passing by, anC give
rise to suspicion; aud, as he urh 50, the story
came across his mind Of the man who had vi
sted church az midnigh, to snow his cour-
age For sign that he had really been there,
h. was To stick his knife into a coffin; but, in
his hurry and trcpida,iou. he struck II through
the skirt Of his Goa, without being aware of II,
and, supposlng himself held back by some SUI
pernatural agency, dropt down dead from Ter
ror.
Full Of lhrse unpleasant recollections, be
lot,ercd up the nave; and as the light success
sivrly flashed upon the sculpt"rcd marbles, II
seemed 10 MIN as ii me pd'c Inquiries ito"I'a
ominously upon him But desperation supplied
the place Of courage. He kept on his way to
the CHOIR desc ended the strpS,-pass"d 'h""'
the long, narrow passage, with the dta" heaP
ed I'M on either sidr,-opened Adelaide cha
MI ...h - -.,~.'U' urIorf her cothn. mere
she lay, stiff and pale,--the wreath in her hair,
and the Jewels or her fingers, cleaning strange.
ly in the dim light of the lantern. lie even
fanced that he already smelt the peslIential
breath of decay, though it was full early for
corruption 10 have begun its work. A sicknes SIS
seized him at the thought; and he leaned FOR
support agans, one of the columns, with his
eyes fixed on the coffin; -whcn--was il real. or
was It illusion?-a change Came over the face
Of the dead! lie started back; and that change,
so indescribable, had passed away in an instarl,
leaving a darker shadow on The features
"If | had only tme," he said 10 himself, -
"if had only time, would rather break open
one of the other coffias, and leave the lady
Adelaide in quiet. Age has destroyed all tina,
is human in these mummies; they have los,
that resemblance to lie, which makes the dead
so terrible, and should no more mind handling
them than so many dry bones. It's ali mons
nense, though; one is as harmless as the other,
and since the lady Adelaide's house is the ca
sic st for my work, mus, EN- ST about it,
But the coffiu did not Offer The facilities he
reckoned upon with so much certainty. The
glass windows were secured inwardy With iron
wire, leaving no space Tor the admission of the
hand, so that he found himse II Obliged 10 break
the lid 10 pieces task that, with his imperfsl t
implements, cost both lime and labour. AS
the wood spIinrered and cracked under the hea-
Wy blows IF the iron, the cold Precipitation
poured in streams down his face, the sound as
Surfing him more than all tne res, that he IVES
committing sacriege. Before, il was only the
place, with its dark associations, tina, had ter>
rifrd him; now hr began to be afraid of km>
self, and would, without doubt. have given up
the business altogether, if the I'D had not sud J.
denly flown TO pieces Alarmed at his very
success, he started round, as if expecting to see
some one behind, watching his s,crilt ge and
ready to clutch him; and so strong had been
the illusion, al when he found this was no,
the Case, he fell upon his knees before The cor,>
I'm, exclaiming, "Forglve me, dear lady; if
take from you what is Of no use 10 yourself,
while single diamond will maxi poor family
so happy 1t is no, for myself Oh, mott is
for my wife and children"
III