Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1851-09-19

without finding srocc for Il fancied reliet III a
new chance Of position. lnmy mcntal anguish
a. tines, however, | forgot nv ,notionless bodily
suffering, INV rack OF llnmovablc agony.
How many hours lay in this state Of active
and passive torture, | cannot tell. My thurSl,
however, sonn became into!crab'c. My mouth
seemed full Of hot ashes. | heard again the
hollow sound Of clock bell, of no small mag
nitude, Judging from it, deep intonation. No
Granny which | had hitherto observed III my
prison, let in light-lhough ] well knew there
must be some tiShurc for fresh air, for the con
'%inuancc OF life 50 far. How else had cXls-
ted: 1t was night. perhaps. when | trst came
70 myself in my prison Of SIX dark bolrd>.' |
CROPPED in VAN over every part Of their wooden
%rurfacc which | coull reach, | could find NJ
chink, could see no ray. Again | heard the
hollow kncil. which tended to increase my fear
tul agony. q, what were my feelings.
For a long time after tbs, | lay stepped in
my sutierlngs--or at least for n long time as it
seemed to me. Ny head was trl scd all owe
my limbs were excessively sore-thc skin
rubbed on in many places with my struggling
my eyes aching with pain. | sought relief
by turning on nv right side had never be-
fore turned hut on my lcfl-whcn | found ua-
der me Il hard substance which had never be-
fore perceived. | grlspcd it with some diff
Gully, and suon found it was II knot from the
coffin plank which had been forced @inwarls, in
all probabI ity, after | WAS placed there. |
saw also IL din light through II hole, about as
large as Il half crown piece. Just below where
my chin came. put my hand to it, ana found
II covered with cloth, which ! easily imagined
was the lining Of my coffin. soon contrivcd
70 force my finger through the cloth, though
not without considerable difficulty. Faint
enough was The li4lt it revealed, but it was Il
MONDAY sun Of joy to me. BY an uneasy
strain o my ncct, could sac o~blIquply through
the opening, but everything was confused III
nv brain. Ny Siglt was cloudy, heavy aud
thick | at first could only perceive there was
light, bat cou.i distinguish no object, My
senses, however, seemed to sharpen rs now
h,pe> mI& . | closoI my eyes for II miuut
together, and tIrn opened them to restore then
almost woru on power of vision Al len I'll
| could distinguish that Immediately opposite
10 Inc there wds Il snail window crossed ~
massive iron bars. through which the light
saw streaHcd IN upon me like Joy in the sou
of misery. ROW cried with delight. | tho't
was among men again, for the pltchy dark
ness arounI me was dispersed. ] forgot for a
moment my suticrinas. Even the fearful qu,s.
ton, how should get free from INV duranct
before tnminc DESTROYED me. was Il long tinC
absent from my mind. and did not recur unit
] could look through the iissure no longer
from the giddincss caused by a too carnes
tXedurss of rue.
| soon concluded, from the masSv stones OF
each SIDE of the opening and the strength o.
tie bars, that | was in a church vault and thl,
was confirmed when came to distinguish the
ends Of or three collins which partly IN
tcrpnScd between me and the limit. watch
IL .I.,, tal 90. ,a,.l ,I.1 .-'. --
din, with feelings no language can describe
no tongue can tell.
As h gloom of night approached, my hear
began to beat fainter, and my former agonies
returned with tcntold weight, notwitnstandin
which | imagined | must have slept somc.
was sensible Of II noise like the grating of
heavy door upon It's hinges, when revived o
awoke-l cannot say which and | saw the ilgl
OF 4 candle stream across the tissurc in NV crt
fin | called out, For the love of your soul
release me ! am buried alive =
The ll%lt vanished III a moment. Fear seem
cd to have palsicd the hand that held it, for
heard i rough voice desiring the holder of it t
return.
If there be any one here he is soldcrcd up
Tom, hand me- the light. The dead nevc
speak. Jim, the Snatchcr, is not to be scare,
by a bit o~froltcn flesh
Again called as loud as | could-.I al
buried alive Save mey
tom the axe cried the ~undauntcd body
snatchcr. 'The voice comes from this box
he undcrtakers made too great haste, | sup
pose
In few minutes | was sitting upright in IN,
coffin.
Here, after detailing his reception at home
and the surprise of his friends, Mr.. Hodgsol
says, he had public thanks for his deliveranc,
returned in his parish church, and that ever at
forwards he cherished a strong regard for re
surrcction men, who never asked a guinea ofhiu
in vain.