The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1850-02-09

in order siill further 90 enrich ny unnatural
son, my heau hecaiue penetrated W paug
of lhe most Intense shame and remorsn,--
Blind and errinF mpHnls thai We are How
nheu and hoV completely should we alter
our wills. could We look forward iDr o few
days or even fof FEW hours
Cnllous indeed must be ihe heA'i 81 tile
uhre SPECTATOR whu, when the cotiln 10 low
cred, aud he hears The mould railing on ihe
lld, accompanied by the solemn words,
Earth 20 earib, nshaa 90 hshes, dust 10 dust,
Teindins unaffected hy nn audible announces
meui, telling him, nH II lt we're u Voice nom
lhe grave that follow creature las been
c0HE;gHFd ~ ttIHt fiHHi resting piHrui wiiitirrt
he himself perhaps OF no distant date, must
inevitably follow him, What then, must
hnye brap itu oiieci upon me, 10 whom that
sound WIS iiUumiiy drHih rHtIe, utterly ex-
liuguishing hope, aud inipmrinR 10 ny dark
aud disHHi HppreheUHinuH still hlHeker de-
spAir A luW stops la the oburobyard, u0u-
ally covered with slab Of stone, led down
20 the door OfOuf family vault, Down that
slope ! was carrirdi was borne into the sep'
ulchro; by the direction of tho undernkeTH
foreman ! was Deposited on the ground nopr
the enlrnneei the men withdrewi the duor
wns lockedi heard tho departing Footsteps
Of the assembled speeiaiofti oil was over J
WAS buried hliNr
Long ~ had anticipated thia irRhllul re-
suit, had hitherto been unable 10 realize
It to my mind aud even now that tho ehiaa-
fophe had actually oceurrodi my thoughts,
strange TO soy, dwcli inoro on ils Immediate
than hs ultimate effect Il had over bron
my ambition, stimulated perhaps by my dis
like Of ls proprieior, Godfrey Thorpe, 10 be-
come tho owner Of Ohkheld Hall, with itn eX-
and eonlrag.s: :as:: :..s: coveted possession with
my nreseni habiaiiou. My Elizabethan
mansion was a eoiiin-niy dcef-siockcd park
was . narrow vault occupied with fnouder-
ing corpses; four mildewed walls were ils
ring fence; and instead Of iis broad acres,
The sunny cope Of heaven, and tho living ihce
Of nhturc,l was the lord ofsopulchufHl dark
ness aud noisomo death, The miserable
bitterness OF the contrast seemed 10 possess
some unaccountnble attraction, for Il ongross-
ed my reflections during several minutes.
Anon, ~ my mind wandered back TO my
pnsi lie, 10 the fine fortune had made, aud
to the occnsiunhl mnlyerniODS 10y which
had unfairly augmented H. deep conlrillon
aud humiliation depressed my spifE nnd i
madc vow III should be restored TO life
impossible, ns such contingency np.
penred--l would make restitution, and
life IN the sight Of Cod aud man. In Ibis
iruinu Of nind prayed long aud ieryonty
Tor pardon of my misdoeds---a penilent np-
peal to Heaven which afforded mo mo-
mcnlnry solnce.
CHAPTER
Quickly, too quickly; however, did my
thoughts, recurring to my miserable plight,
-beftt,- ge- speculate e-npnn- -ihc-nhlnre pLlhe
horrors VA which 1t must inevitably iernlin'
ate. Should ], recovering my muscular
powers aud my voice, make desperate aud
frantic efforts to force up the lid ofihe coiiin;
aud, failing ~ thar struggle. mnd.y and for
lorn must be- such n hope, for tbs church was
an isolated building, aud there were neither
houses nor iOotpuths in It's immediate Vieiul-
". Even II ! succeeded IN escaping from
the coffin, should still bc prisoner IN the
vault, 20 stumble over the remains OF my
torOiaiRtrs, finally TO perish slowly aud
wrctchodiy Oimudncss and starvation. One
ulterna,.,r remained. My apparent death
might gradually be changed into real onci
life might faint away from me, and might
slide into another world without suffering,
aud almost without cOnsci0usness-nn eu'
thnnnsla tor which | Put up fresh prayers To
the Fountain OF Mercy.
a new turn was given TO my reflections by
the striking Of the church clock, whose och-
ues reyerberuled through the empty Gdihce
with a peculur solemnlty: aud ! occupied
tny-vif IT. t,ieiitally reckoning thu minutes
Ill psai-a-
tened with u uingeled feeling OF dlsmny and
consolation. True, II warned me mat
was an hour nenrer 10 death, but II proved
also that lwas not completely cut OIL rom
the upper world; nay, u seemed TO restore
mo TO the living scenes had quilted Tor my
Al l.. tFfEH d IA.
tion, dyet among all the objects aud occupn-
llous appropriate to ,hut peculiar lime. Who
can wonder that should hnd melancholy
r1truytrrr- -ttt-tl,.- -AsIuxion of this waking
dream
IL was dispelled by very different SQUAD
by the churping and twittoring OF BIRDS,
some of them singing from the distant ye"
tree, and others hopping about, as l cohJec-
tured close TO the steps oi my vault. SAD
ness there was in their mcFrimeni, Tor II
tnade my own miserable plight moro -biiier,
Hnd could ITO, help mentally calculating
..Oh, hlessed birds ye have the bright
sun aud the balmy air for your recreaiiohYs
have wings TO convey ya oveS the Whole bean-
Tifut expunrc of Bsturei ye XANe VOICES 10
give expression of your delight qua 10 con-
yerl happiness into music; "hlf-ih he soh-
trast was 100 horrible, Sad IhTrenched my
thouphts AWAY from it's contemplation.
Evening had arrived, mud all was sileEce,
when suddenly the church orgun poured
forth it's rich, swelling, souorous volume oi
sound, followed by The lnelodious VOICES oi
children singing hymn, aud blending into
harmony inctiably sweet aud solemn. For
a moment was bewiIdered, and ! should
have believed myself under the influence OF
another dream, bad not recoIteoiGH ulI' u
was Friday evening, when me cleth anu or
gunist invariably summoned tle o,'a,Ht III I'y.
dreu to the church, that they nnsn' 'enuaf'' mh
how i SenTned 10 join in their devotion :,
Oh with what complucency of soul did