The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1844-07-05
VOL. V.-NO. 5.

oDJecl III the room. ne sun shone upon
the window curtains, which were half
closed. was sensible that it was. ewes /.
ming ] saw nobndy in the room, and
when | endeavored TO comprehend who |
was, and why tlcre, a lain,ncss camo
over me; ! shut my eyes and tried to
sleep, when some one enteringahe room
awakened tue; it was my friend Doctor
G., who approached the bed, and a,ten-
lively examined me for The space of few
moments. Whilst he thus looked al me
| perceived that he changed color, his
hand trembled whilst feeling my pulse,
and in low and melancholy whisper he
said, My God, how lie is changed" /
then heard 4 voice at the door say, MAY
| come ln!' The doctor did not answer,
and my wife came gently into the room.
She looked pale and sorrcwlul her eyes
were wet, and, US she bent anxious!y
over me, burning tears fell upon my face.
She took my hands in both hers, bent her
lips close TO my car, and said, William,
do you know me- A long silence fol-
lowed this question. l tried to answer,
but was incapable Of pronouncing one
word. | wished TO show by some sign
that was sensible of her presence.
fixed my eyes upon her; but hear her
say, amid deep sobs and tears ALAS, he
does not know me' And thus perceiv-
ed that my efforts had been in vain The
doctor now took my wife by the hand to
lead her from the room. Not yet, not
yet she said, Withdrawing her hand,
and | relapscd into delirium.
When again became sensible, felt as
if had awakened from long and deep
sleep, still suffered, bu. less severely
extreme weakness had succeeded to fever;
my eyes were painful, and mist was
over them at first ] was not sensible
that any one was in the room, bit gralu-
ally objects became more distinct, and
saw the doctor seated by my bed. He
said, Are you better, William? p IIlhcr-
to my Intellectual attempts TO make myself
understood had not given me pain; but
now the impossibilly Of doing so was
martyrdom. | soon became aware that
my strength of mind was leaving me, and
that death approached. The efforts that
| made to rouse myself from this sort Of
death-like slumber must have been very
violent, for a cold sweat came all over
me: | heard a rushing as if my ears were
full of water and my limbs were convuls-
ed. | seized the doctors hand, which
pressed with all my strength. rose in
my bed and looked wildly at him. This
did not last long; | soon fell again into
weakness Fdropped the hand which l
had grasped, my eyes closed, and fell
back on my bed. All tina, remember at
that moment were the words Of poor doc
tor c., who, thinking me dead, en-
claimed, AT last his sul1erngs are ovef =
Many hours passed before recovered
my senses. The first sensation of which
became sensible was the GOODNESS of the
air, which felt like ice upon my face; it
seemed as if an enormous weight was on
it; my arms were stretched against nv
body, and though | was lying in a most
inconvcnicnt position, yet ii was impossi-
bic to change it; | tried to speak, but had
not the power. Some time afterwards |
heard the steps of many people walking in
the room, something heavy was set down,
and hoarse voice pronounced these
| words: "WilIiam Il, aged thirty
; eight: thought him older !" These
, words recalled to my mind all the circum-
J stances Of my illness understood that
} had ceased 10 lire, and that preparations
were making for my nterment. Was |
then dead The body was indeed cold
; and inanimate; but thought was not ex-
+ tinc,. How could il b. tina, all traces of
life had disappeared exieriorly, and that
still existed in the chilly frame that was
5 now going to be conveyed to the grave T!
, What horrible idea! My God! is this
: a dream No; all was real recalled
: TO my mind the last words of the doctor /;
= he knew TOO well the signs Of death to al
. low himself 10 be deceived by false ap-
: pearances. No hope None l felt
: myself being placed IN the coffin. What
, language can describe all the horrors of
that moment
: knew not how long remained in this
: situation. The silence that reigned in
5 the room was again broken, aud was
Z sensible tina, many of my friends came TO
/ look al me for the last time.
: My mind was awake to all the horrors
of my situation; in moment my heart
! became sensible TO acute suffering. But
: wha, ! thought to myself is everything
] Yithin me dead : Is the soul, as well US
+. NE body inanimate My thought never.
iheless was proof to the contrary.