Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1857-02-26

II should not be content unless l could
explain them, as well as become Indifferent
to them," l replied.
This opened the way to long conver-
sation, during which l probed the patients
mind to the bottom, but without detecting
a shadow of belief. Speaking of bis wife
he said:
"You heard Ellen promise to warn me
of nv time to die?"
81 did-but do you believe her?"
mo. If it is possible, she will keep
her word in spite of heaven and hell. But
it simply impossible. She promised tc
com in the body and speak to me. 1 shall
accept no other warning from her save the
literal meaning of her words"
"And what then p
allow much of her body is there left
even now, Doctor? and she is not YET
come. She promised to come from the
grave. Can she do it? No, no-it's all
a humug-a delusion. Poor Elem
Thank God, Doctor, the devil which SC
haunted her life, and stood between hel
soul and mine, cannot reach her now."
"But if she should come; you may be
deceived.
~ cannot. Others may see her, too
and hear her. l shall believe no spectre,
if there are such things. Her body as ii
is, or will be-let that speak if it camp
From that day up to the hour of his
death, I was with him almost constantly
and was daily introduced to some new and
startling phenomenon. The neighbors had
learned to shun the house and even the VI
cinity, as they would the plague, and
strange stories travelled from gossip to gos-
sip, acquiring more of the marvellous al
every repetition. Nevertheless my prae-
tice increased.
On the morning of the November 30th
I called earlier than usual. During this
visit, the manifestations of supernatural
presence were more frequent, wild and vio-
lent, than ever before. l was informed
that they had been exceedingly violent du-
ring the preceding night. Their charac-
ter, too, had greatly changed. Besides the
moyeing of all movable articles, the tink-
ling of glasses, and the rattling of tin-ware,
there were frequent and startling sounds,
as of whispered conversation, singing and
subdued laughter-all perfect limitations Of
the human voice, but too low to enable me
to detect the words used, if words they
were. Still, however, none of these unu-
sual sounds had entered the sick ROOM
They followed the footsteps of Mrs. Green,
like demon echo; but paused upon the
threshold of that room as if debarred, by a
superior power, from entering there.
l found Mr.. Hayden much worse, and
sinking very fast. He had passed bad
night. Doubtful whether he would sur
vive 70 see another morning. / left him,
promising to call at evening, and spend
the night with him, resolved in my secret
thoughts, to be sin at the DEATH" meant
to hear it, and, if possible, solve the strange
enigma.
The day had been exceedingly cold and
stormy, and the night had already set in,
dark and dismal with fierce gale and a
driving storm of rain and hail, when I
again stood beside my patient. The mo-
ment l looked at him, perceived unmista-
kable indications of the near approach of
death upon his features. He was free
from pain; his mind perfectly clear; but
his life was ebbing away, with every breath,
like the slow burning out of an exhausted
lamp.
Meanwhile the storm rose to tempest
and the gloom grew black as death in the
wild night without. The wind swept in
tremendous gusts through the adjoining
forests, rattling the icy branches of the
trees, and came wailing and shrieking
through every crack and crany of the build
ing.
Within, there was yet wilder commotion.
All that had been said or sung, written Of
ghostly visitat;ons was then and there en-
acted. There was the ringing of bells, mo-
wing of furniture, crash of dishes, whispers,
howls, crying, laughter, whistling, groan-
ing, heavy and light footsteps, and wild
music, as if in very mockery of the internal
regions. All these sounds grew wilder
with the rising gale, until toward mid
night, they were almost insuferable.
As for us tbree-the patient, Mrs Green
and myseE-we were as silent as death it
SELF Not word passed our lips after 8
o'clock. As for the state of our minds,
God only knows. Mine, in the wild whirl
Of thought and event, which followed, for
got all the past save what have recalled
and penned, bit by bit, above. l remem-
Der only looking for the inal catastrophe,
which grew rapidly nearer, with a constant
endeavor to concentrate all my faculties of
mind and sense upon the phenomenon
which 1, at least, had begun to believe
would herald the loss of my patient.
AS grew it closer upon IL o'clock (for up
on the striking of that hour had my thoughts
fixed themselves for the expected demon
stration,) my agitation became so great
that it was with extreme difficulty could
control myself.
Nearer and nearer grew the fatal mo-
mentor fatal l perceived it would be, to
the patient at least; and, at last, the sec
onds trembled on the brink of midnight !;
the clock began to strike. One-two-
three! counted the strokes of the ham,
mer, which seemed as though they never
would have Observation-Disclosures /!
I drew my breath again. The last inger-
ing echo of the last stroke had died fairly
away; and, as yet, there was no token of
any presence save our own.
All was silent. The wind had lulled for
a moment, and not sound stirred the air
within the house. The ghost had surely