Kanawha Valley star. [volume] (Charleston, Va. [W. Va.]) 1856-1861, 1856-12-02

ca ready to sink, llteless into the
tomb he had been opening foranother.
Never shalt forget the scene!5
Suggesting to the assembly the
propfiety of preserving silence upon
the occurrence, at present, as being
likely to create the most unhappy
feelings, and to awaken the most IN
happy feelings, and to awaken the
most poignant and unavailing re-
grets, in the bosoms of the numer,
| Gus su rviving relatives of the unfpr-
tunate deceased a suggestion which
| hav Q the happiness Of believing
was So far followed as to prevent the
unfortunate. consequences | appre-
hcnl j n making-l advised the sen
ton to restore the remains with de-
cency to the to lnb, and to leave all
as it was, apparently, TO the eye Of
those who were unacquaintcd with
the terrible truth. This was done :
the new tenant, for whom this fearful
opening had been made, was deposi-
ted in that sad receptacle on the
same day; and the seal of that tomb
has nc yer since been broken
As | walked out of the church
yard, how full W rs nay mind of co N
lectures and ,inlaginings as to the
fate Of the unfortunate person, whose
remains, after fifteen years. confine-
ment i'm the COLI anil dismal tomb,
had Just fallen, as if ssupplicating for
relase ut my feet !. The sexton had
Inform cd me that the last person bur
led tho lie was lady, of about TWEEN
ty-two years oil age, who was mar
ried a year prior to her dcccasc, ana
whose death was thought, at the
time, to have been occasioncd by
some disease of the heart, supcrin-
duced by imprudencc in: the manner
Of dre4 sing. 4 nd thither she had
been q rricd, during a temporary
suspension of animation from all the
Cheerful lness of her happy honr,
where She was surrounded by smiling
faces, and every charm that could
render domestic life a, continuous
scene Of joy al a sunshine--tp the
cold, dfeart vaults Of q charncl house.
iOh! What wakinE must have been
! hers! Confined within the narrow
limits OF a coffin-arrayed i'll the
robes Of the dead the companion Of
the mo uldcring dust of the departed
doomed to Il slow, lingering, misera-
Ibic-re rhaps a Inaddened and des-
jpcratc death. NJ ethought, as went
on my musing way, mctEought /
could see her, with almost supcrhu-
man en ergy, bursting open her hor-
I riblc prison, and tearing off the re-
voting ccrcments in which she had
been wr appel and applying .herSeli
to the iron door Of her living tomb,
attempting to bre ak itfrom its hing
es, scrca ming the while, in agony, for
.Succor- alas! alas how vatnly.
Those crowded streets, full of gay
and laughing beings, many Of whom
had been her once familiar friends ;
the costly dwelling IS standing around,
even vi hin sight Of her wretched
dungeon, and resopnding with all the
varied ones that Detoken happiness
andsgood cheer ; could not her voice,
once 50 welcome in those streets and
in those halls, now penetrate them
and-bring relief to her, whose light
est wish once all flew with alacrity to
gratifyI Oh, no J. The sun shonc
brightly upon all the day scene a.
round, yet shed u ray to cnliven
that dark prison-house. The flow
yers were springing over her very
head, and the, summer breezes were
flowing balmily among the waving
/ trees whose bra inches kissed the very
sod that covered i er dreary abode
Yet not q scent Of the violet, nor a
breath of the zephyr could reach her,
pacing in bitter agony the narrow
floor of her living tomb. Friends
were mourning her intheir sad home,
made desolate by her departure. MI
sic had lost for/them all charms, be
cause her voice, which had alone to
them seemed music, was mute. The
blue sky, the warm sun, the balm
'Ebreathing air, the pale stars, the sill;
I yer moon, the song OF birds-all, all
had lost their brightness, their soft,
ness. and their bea uty now for them
for she was not there to share and tG
;. embrace those once cherished delights
Bat where was she the while-and
on what were all her thoughts intent
this soft and delicate one-thc chosen
and the cherished. thelost and lament
cd, of SO many fond and faitldn
hearts? Separated from them and
, from life, and from happiness, only by
few feet of earth struggling totre(
I herself from tn confinement OF s
l4premature grave and to rush int
\ their bereaved and dcspairing DO
SONS, passed by, daily, without con
/ Germ, by hundrcd DIS who once loved
and who still mourned her! The liz
fling fsing down with the dead! Ian
! gaishing, starving, Sliding, anon!
tEthe noisome yapors ola charnel house
! THE buried, yet the quick!
JULo+ a lesson written on TIL