The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1850-02-02
CHAPTER ~.

As Sarah had lEjven over Ia Doctor Lin.
iIcIA 10 -asceftain The day OH reInrn,- -Gil
which she wus becoming hourly more inpa-
Iient, no one entered my chaniber for more
than Two hours, an interval which gnVe me
leisure To reflect upOn my pcrilous aud un'
rprucedcnted state. In all my former attacks
the mind had rympailizGd wiIh liza s,ist-t-trd-
dod yltalliyoflhe frame, hut nowlhad vital sen.
sos 4 ShpprehensiveneEs ia dead inlegumcni
Was this dissolution of partnership Ieinpora-
~ only? How long would II lust ? Was !,
tinnl3 Whnt then was 10 he NY ultimate fate;
! had rosd of disembodicrl kpirits,nnd could
understand tho continuance of such a separ.
nte existence; bat as for me, wns entonIbed
alive in my own body destined perhapa,lo die
hideously and loalhsomcly, hs my corporoal
PARTICLES putrofcd s. decomposed. ] had read
too, of miserable victims who, being buried
IN trance, had turned round in their cotiins;
aud Of some who, having forced themselves
out OF them. hnd been discovered Ms huddled
skeletons in a corner of the vault, whittier
they had crnwled to die Of hunger aud ex.
hunsllon. Recoiling with mental shudder
from such horrible thoughts, clung to tho
hope thai,nllliongh my present fenrIul seizure
was deci dedly different from all my previous
attacks, Il might, after n little longer interval
terminate, like them, in my revival,
sured by these aniicipalions of my fate, my
daughter entered, aud nIier bursting into a
passion of tears as she kissed my insensiblo
llps, she kneeled down by my bedside, aud
prayed long and earnestly for the discontinu-
ance oi my trance; for, in spite ofthe positive
assurances OF my death, she would not nban-
don Tue nope OF my recovery. some one,
IN me house. probably the nurse, who wish
Gu me 'orionure OF tire shawls 10 tie confirm
eu, ehoso 10 consider inc uneqniVOcnlIy de-
tunc', tor heard the servants closing the
shutters IN Tho other apartments, and wns
mnue aware ofvnrious post Inoriem- proceed
lhgs''o which I listened with conflicting feel
inBs that baliie all description. The house
wns now quiet, but occasional aounds still
fell Jipon my car with an ominous md hnr-
rowing siRniiirnncy for every passing hour
announced by tho hall clock seemed TO he n
rnssincbell that rntified my deceasc, and
brought mo no much nearer TO the appalling
moment when should be buried alive. Al
intervals other sounds were dsiinguishahc;
and as ] caught the grating OF wheels on the
rond, tho whistle ofn railway train, the clam
oring and chn,tering of my servants nj their
dinner, II seemed to me both uniGcling and
unnatural thnt.on the very day Of my suppos-
cd death, the world should he pursuing its or
dinnry occupations, and my own servants re-
gniliHg themselves with their customary ap.
peiites, ms II no such catastrophe had occur
red.
Thus remained, with no other companion
than my own sad thoughts, till the evening,
when my daughters mnih and the house
mnjd, having snlcmnly pledged themselves
10 stand hy each other. whatever might hap
pen, and grhsping encl others hand to en-
sure the performance oftho contract stole on
liptoe into the chamber 10 have peep nr
me, neither Of them having ever aeen n dead
Inan. PeepinG nt me fiIrtively ami nsknnce,
ns if afraid ofbeng scared hy my ghost, they.
ngsosd, wliisporingly, that looked for all
he world az IL were asleep, Although nurse,
had maintained that ] was dead as door