The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-12-02

Inc Two oenehes suPPerlng the feet oi
Andrew Allen, were fovnd thown some dis
lance froih w6ese they originally stood, as If
they had been kicked with some violence.
The dead body was consequently in hall
sitting posture. The eyes were again open'
this time getting at something nearer than
what they had then stared ut on the previous
night. The hands were unlocked and thrust
forward, as il to implore or resist the ply
siognomy, without any change in the facial
lines, betokened the most agoni4ing alarm
while the general attitude inclined the te'
holder to the belief that the body had been
stifened in an attempt to rise up and make
its escape. H 90 q 'va a.taa
Some OF the persons who had fed from the
house, had Aliens death struggle so forcibly
recalled by these appearances, that they de.
clared his voice was issuing from the corpse,
and then repeating his dying words, "Back
back AVA wi ye |! it is nea sac written ="
Under the encouragement and direction Of
the citrate, the body WIS rs.adjusted. He
PROPOSED to the people that they should bury
it at once, but they would not violate the old
Highland custom, especially since it was but
one night more. a.
The news had BY this time spread In every
direction. People came from Edinburg and
Glasgow. Crowds poured ia from the little
neighboring towns and hamlets, until, at
twelve O'Clock, the streets of Haddinston
could not hold thetr. No doubt more than
thousand persons visited the rooms up.
stairs in the blacksmith's house, and hun.
dreds offered to witch with Mr.. Hyndside,
and accompany him into tho dead mah's
chamber at the first UNUSUAL sound, (for such
was the curute's purpose, frequently avowed
in the course Of the day. but when that good
mani few hours after nightfal, mounted
the stairs with his candles and his Bible, on.
ly four men followed bin. Seated at ia
BILE, he calmed the fears of his companions,
by Oddly investigating the ewfulfuct sub
jected to their consideration. He acknow.
lodged his belief to be, that supernatural
agency was ut work, and insisted that the
citizens Of Haddington should treasure up
the circumstance as warning against dis
Soluteness.
"Perh'ps," said he, with hesitation, as if
the idea he wished 10 advance was incom.
prehensible even to himself. "Perhaps. in
this case, death has been too eager, SO that
disease could not mplete iss office of bodi-
ly punishment, and there is yet in the dis
turbed corpse q sensiblity over which Con.
ctitnce and Satan have control-not that I
wish 10 Judge Andrew Allen-God forbid !"
He read such passages from his Bible as
had bearing upon the personality of the
Internal beiHg, and impressed them upon the
minds of his hearers, by repeating with a
happy emphasis the following sublime par
aphrase OF Milton: ..... .....
"ForLhwith upright HI, rears ffom OF tho pool,
His mighty stature; each hand the flames
Driven backward slope their pointing spires, and
rolled
In bilows, louve In the midst horrid vale:
Then with expanded wings he steers his aish:
| Alot, incumbent on tho dusky air.
MIR. Hyndsde thought it was in the adjoin-
ing room, his friends that it was perhaps, in
the street among the crowd, but there was q
wail-a subdued sound like ventrloquial
shriek-a voice pronouncing the Words
"Back back ava wi ye! I'm not to
be bruised-I'm the seed o. the woman !'
Almost simultaneously with this, there
was q crash. The benches were all dashed
away from under the boords, and the body
rolled upon the floor. The curate started to
his feet, but his companions held him back
Clinging to one another they listened in a
sort Of asphyxia for what was to follow
They heard step, as OF being barefooted,
and heavy. The house shook, and the sound
would have been much louder, if the foot
steps had hot been cautious and stealthy.-
But coon they heard another noise, like the
dragging OF human body over the floor.
The four men cried in loud voice-but
such q cry In its spasmodic quivering it
sounded like laughter, and from the street q
yell Of horror rose Upon the midnight air,
such as never yet had been heard for the
doomed corpse was dashed against the par
tition, separting the two rooms with q force
above human. When il fell it was dragged
away, and hurled against the wall, at each
repetition the conclusion produced sound
more and more dull. The eurate looked
every moment for the wall TO be broken
down. He had now no one to restr ain him;
be took his candle and rushed into the room
exclaiming as he did SO:
"lt is my duty" .r.. .-
The noises continued some time after Mr..
Hyndside entered the chamber, but at length
they ceased.
The people became alarmed for their pas.
tor, and several of them went in to his Os.
sistance. They found him in swoon, from
which they soon resuscitated him. But they
gazed around, and-what could they expect
to see F.! There lay the body of Andrew AL.
len, bruised and beaten into quivering, ge
latinous clot of gore, while upon the floor,
printed In bleod were footprints Of gigantic
dimen nsions Gg.za (.
Mr.. Hyndside has never told what he saw
His only answer to the opportunities Of bis
l. = p