Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1828-12-16

ouoo " my aDooe. 1 Immediately
conJectured the cause namely. that !.
shell had fallen upon the house and ev-
ploded on or broken through the arcbed
passage at the entrance of the cellar nal
ing me prisoner.
When | had little recovered from NV
surprise, found the entrance hermeticai
ly sealed against ingress or egress and
what was, in my circumstances. eouallv
dreadful, Undertook, candles and = ~
tie store of provisions, which were met
without the cellar door, in an excavation
in the wall Of the passage, were lost to
me. l might have crawled thither from
my mattress and secured them. but the
masses OF stone piled on each other for
babe the most distant prospect of hone
from any exertion of my own. I threw
myself back in an agony of desna;r. Tn
the confusion winch reigned without
must remain forgotten All the horror
OF my situation came upon me at once.
and my heart died within me. To add
to my misfortune my candle was nearly
burnt out with what feelings did /
watch its glimmering in the socket Its
last flash was like the arrow of death
passing through my heart. | now wept
like woman amid the darkness of nv
unseen abode, that was, as far as | could
Judge, to be my charnel-vault. Death
from hunger was before me, with all its
keenness from suffering. The dull and
as it were remote sound of the guns from
without. so different in intensity from
what it had lately been, told me that the
mass interposed between myself and the
upper world must be very considerable.
l felt my heart shrink up at the discovery
of my situation. The hours fingered into
ages but it was long before the telling
of hunger affected me-so much was nv
mind occupied with apprehensions for the
future, and filled with hopes and fears in
continual ebb and flow. In groping
around me l found two stale crusts Of
bread, and some water yet remained in
vessel by the side of my mattress. Both
used avariciously, yet at every mouthful
my apprehension for the future increased,
and hundred times did / in vain feel
around carefully for some other reflex of
food; | had, then thought, no alterna-
tive but to die. Why should 1 fear to do
SO ?-hundreds, perhaps thousands, were
at the same moment dying above. but
snort distance from me, IN the violence OF
angry passions, and with horrible lacera-
tons. | should go out from life like a
taper; and most probably the pains of
such death had been greatly exaggerat-
ed. Such were my selfcomforts-refuges
from despair.
L soon found sensation of emptiness
come over me, bordering upon faintness,
similar to what many people feel who de-
lay meal to very late hour. 1t appear
ed to me that my eyes were weak, and /
fancied if had had light near me that
still l could have seen nothing distinctly.
This sensation was accompanied by a
tremor of the eyelids and swimming in
the head. | tried to relieve myself by
giving way to sleep, the inclination for
which came at times very strongly over
me, but could not gain more refresh
ment than restless doze imparts, and
this was always cut short by some horrible
vision that prevented its affording me the
least benefit. Now thought | was
seated at splendid feast, where all that
could attract the palate and delight the
senses was before me. was touching
the richest viands-nay, actually lifting
the envied morsel till it touched my
mouth, and its favour was in my nostrils,
when | was awoke by some hideous phan-
tom snatching the untasted morsel from
my shriveIIed lips and dashing it away.
Sometimes found myself in delicious
island, where the finest fruits grew in
natures utmost prodigality but, on tast-
ing them, they were nauseous and sicken-
ing, mere SCOT and ashes and if sought
to relieve my thirst from the pure limpid
streams that ran in crystal among the
luxurious scenery, I found them changed
into bitter blood. Every thing seemed to
combine to mock my sufferings and edge
my tortures. | was much afflicted by
spasms and twitching sensations Internal
lly, as if the viscera were drawn together
and expanded too suddenly. Hollow,
aching, knawing pains, as if my vitals
were torn with pincers, frequently assail-
ed me, but seemed to diminish in force
from REPETITION. / strove with all my
might to bear up with patience and resig-
nation; and at times subdued my bodily
pain with my minds energy, but alas
such periods were only of momentary
duration. Drowsiness generally accom-
panied the cessation of pain, but it was