Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-05-20

month or two subsequently had been rendered
cripple for life by the Same means.
. All this was explained to ME by a party of
six or eight who accompanied me to my room
which was in building belonging to the COL
lege, and rented by apartments to such of the
students as preferred a bachelors to regular
boarding and they took care to add several
terrifying stories OF ghosts and hobgoblins by
way of calming my excited nerves; just as |
have before now observed old women stand
around weak, feverish patient and croak out
their experience in seeing awful suffcrings and
fatal Examinations of Just such maladies as the
one with which their helpless victim was then
afflicted
Is it expected that shall 60 alone ?' in
quired, in tone that trembled in spite of me,
while my knees almost knocked together and |
felt as if my very lips were white.
"Well, no." replied Benson, my most dreaded
tormentor; 1T would be hardly fair to send
you alone, for one individual could not succeed
in getting the body from the grave quick
enough and You, mere youth without expe-
rience, would fail altogether. No, we will go
with you, some three or four of us, and help
you dig the corpse; but then you must take it
on your back and bring it up to your room
here and spend the night alone with it,
1t was some relief to me to find / was to
have company during the first part Of my awful
undertaking; but still felt far from agreeable,
| assure you; and CHANGING to look into the
mirror, as the time drew near for setting out,
fairly started at beholding the ghastly object
saw reflected therein.
Come, boys" said Benson, who was always
by general consent the leader of whatever frol-
ol- bo ha,n
hand in: Come, boys, its time to he on the
throwing up the window and letting in fierce
gust Of wind and rain; the very d himself
would hardly venture out in such storm y
lie lit dark lantern, threw on his long, hca-
w cloak, took up spade and led the way
down stairs and the rest of U.s. three in num-
Der, threw on our cloaks alsn and took spade
and followed him.
We took roundabout course to avoid being
seen by any citizen that might chance to be
stirring, and in something less than half an hour
we reached the cemetery, scaled the wall with
out difficulty, and stealtlily searched for the
grave till We found it in the pilchy darkness.
the wind and rail- sweeping past lis with dis
NAL howlS and moanS, that 10 me, trembling
with terror, seemed to be the unearthly wailng of
tue spirits of the damned.
Here we are" whispered Benson to me as
we at length stopped at mound Of fresh earth
over which one Of the party hal stumbled.
Come, feel around Morris and strike in your
spade, and let lis see if you will make as good
"a hand at exlrlming dead body as you will
some day at killing live one with plysic."
did aS directed, trembling in every limb,
but the first spade full threw up l started
back with yell of horror, that: on any other
but howling, stormy night, would nave be-
traycd us. 1t appeared to me as if had
thrust my spade into buried lake Of iire-ior
the soft dirt was all aglow like living Goals, and
as had iuncicd the meanings Of the storms,
the wailnss Of the tolmented spirits, now
fanced had uncovered small portion Of the
bottomlcss pit itself
Fool = Kissed Benson, grasping my arlu
with the grip of a vice, as stood leaning on
my spade for support, my very teeth chattering
with terror, "anotller yell like that and I'll
make subject Of you! Are you not ashamed
of yourself, to he scared out OF your wits, if
you ever had any, by a little phosphorcsccnt
carth2 Don't you know it is often found in
gravcyardS ?"
His explanation rc-aSSureG me, though was
now too weak from my fright to be Of any as
siStance to the party, who all fell to work With
a will, secretly laughing at Inc, and soon reached
the coffin. Splitting the lid with a hatchet,
which Lad been brought for the purpose, they
quickly lifted out the corpse, and then Benson
and another Of the party taking hold Of it, one
ut the head and the other at the feet, they hur-
ried it away, bidding me follow, and leaving
the others to fill up the grave, that it might
not be suspected the body had been eXhumcd.
Having got the corpse safely over the wall Of
the cemetery, Benson now called upon me to
perform my part of the horrible business.
"Hcre, you quaking simplcton," he said, ~
want you to take this on your back and make
the best OF your way to your room, and remain
alone with It all night. If you do this bravcly,
we will claim YOU as one Of us to morrow, and
the first man that dares to say word against
Your courage after that, shall find a foe in Inc.
But bark yon If you make any blunder on the
way and lose our prize, it will be better for You
to quit this town before set eyes on you again !!
Do von understand NE
"'Y-ye-yc-yc:E' stanmered, with chatter
ing teeth.
"Arc you ready 2"
"Y-ye-ye-yes," gasped.
"Well, come here, where are you {"
All this time il was so dark that could see
nothing but faint line of white, which knew
to bc the shroudcd corpse but felt carefully
round till I got hold Of Benson, who told me
to take off my cloak; and then rearing the cold
dead body against my back, he began fixing its
cold arms about my neck. bidding mo take hold
of them, and draw them well over and keep
concealed, and be sure and not let go Of them
on any consideration whatever, as valued my
life.
"Oh! what torturing horror experienced as
mechanically followed his directions Tongue
could not describe it !"
AT length having adjusted the corpse So
that might bear it off with comparative case,
he threw my long black cloak. over it and over
my arms, AMI fastened it with cord about my
neck, and then inquired:
"Now, Morris, do you think you can find the
way to your room?"
"T-I do-do-don't know" I gasped, feeling
as if should sink to the earth at the first step
"Well, you cannot lose your way if yon go
straight ahead' he replied. "Keep in the mid
die Of this street or road, and it will take you
! to College Green, and then you arc all right
Come push on before your burden grows too
heavy; the distance is only good half mile r'
81 set forward, with trembling nerves, ex-
pecting to sink to the ground at every step but
rro duollv ,nU farror instead of wea kann1 .o,oyo