New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-01-02

: Ia. 4 "a.
possibility Of the clapper being shot out in somt
lsweep, and dashing Through my body. as hat
seen ramrod glide through a door, fitted across
| ny MUD The dread also, as have already men
TONED, of the crazy floor tormented me- but tlest
soon gave way to fears not more unfounded, but
more visionary, and of course more tremendous
The roaring of the bell confused my Intellect, and
my fancy soon began TO TEEN with all sorts Of
Strange and terrifying ideas The bell pealing
above, and opening i'll jaws with hideous cIamor
seemed to me at ono time raving monster, raging
to devour me; at another. a whirlpool, ready to
suck me into its believing abyss AS gazed on
it, it assumed all shapes it was flying eagle,
ra;her d roc OF the Arabian story teers, clapping
IFS wings and screaming over me. AS looked mp
i ward into it twould appear sometimes to lengthen
into indefinite extent, OF to be twisted Az the end
into the spiral folds Of the tail Of a flying dragon.
Nor was the flaming breath or fiery glance Of that
ffabied animal wanting to complete tho picture.
! Ny eyes, infamea, hloodshot and glazing Invested
the supposed monster with full proportion OF un-
| holy light
| 1t would be endless were to merely hint at all
the fances that possessed my mind. Every object
that was hideous and roaring presented itself to my
ina gaation. often thought thatI was in hurri-
cane at sea- and that the vessel in which was
harked tossed me under with the most furious We
henlence. The air, ct in motion by the swinging
of the hell, blew ms, nearly with the violence
and more than the thunder of a tempest; and the
/ Hopr seemed to reel under me, under drunken
man. But the most awful OF all the ideas that seized
on me were drawn from the supernatural. In the
vast cavern Of the bell hideous faces appeared and
glared down on me with terrifying frowns. OF with
gfinning ln0ckery still more appalling AT last,
the devil himself, accoutred as in the common de
serption of the evispirit with hoof horn and tail
and eyes of Internal luster, made his appearance,
! and called on iaesto curse God, and worship him
who was powerful to save me. This dread sugges-
ton he uttered with the fnlItoned clangor OF the
he'll. Ihad him within an inch of me, and thought
on the fate of Santon Barsisa. Strenuously and
desperately defed him, and babe him begone.
Reason, then, fora moment resumed her sway,
hut ii was only to ell me with fresh terror Just
the lightning dispels the gloom that surrounds the
bcnghted mariner, bat to show him that his vessel
is driving on rock where she must inevitably be
dashed to pieces. found was becoming deiirions
and trembled lest reason should utterly desert me-
This is at all times agOnizing thought, but it
smote me then with tenfold agony, feared lest
when utterly deprived of my senses should rise
to do which was every moment tempted by that
strange feeling which calls on man, whose head
is dizzy from standing on the battiement of lofty
CASTLE toprccipitate himself from il and then death
would be instant and tremendous. When thought
grasp which drove the blood from my nails and
yelled with the cry Of despair. called for help,
prayed shouted, but all the efforts of my voice
were of course drowned in the bell. As it passed
over my mouth it occasionally echoed my cries,
which mixed not with its own sound, but preserved
their distinct character. Perhaps this was but
fancy. To me know, they then sounded as if
they were the shouting, bowling or laughing of the
gloomy cave which swung over me.
You may accuse me of exaggerating my feelings,
but am not. Many a scene Of dread have since
passed through, but they are nothing to the self
inflicted terrors of this half hour. The ancicnts
have doomed one of the damned, in their TartarIs
to lie under rock, which every moment seems to
be descending TO annihilate him-and an awful
punishment It would be-. But If to this you add a
ciamor as loud II ten Thousand furies were howl
ing about you--a deafening uproar, banishing rea-
son aud driving you to madness--you must allow
that the bitterness of the pang was rendered more
terrible. There Is no man, firm as his nerves may
be, who could retain his courage in this stuation
In twenty minutes the ringing was done. Half
Of that time passed over me without power Of COM
pntation-the other half appeared an age. When
it ceased became gradually more qniet, but new
fear retained me. knew that five minutes would
elapse without ringing but at the end of that short
time the hell would be rung second time, for five
minutes more. could not calculate time. A min
ute and an hour were of equal duration feared
to rise lest the five minutes should have elapsed
and the ringing be again commenced, in which
case ! should be crushed before / could escape
against the walls or frame work of the bell. !
therefore still continued to lie down, cautiously
shifting myself, however, with a careful gliding,
so that my eye no longer looked into the hollow.
This was of itself considerable relief The cessa-
ton Of the noise had in great measure the effect
of SIMPLIFYING me, fer my attention, being no
longer occupied by the chimeras | had coniured
mp began to flag. All that now distressed me was
the constant expectation Of the second ringing, for
which, however, | settled myself with kind of
stupid resolution. / closed my eyes and elenched
my teeth as if they were screwed in vice. At
last the dreadful moment came, and the first swing
of the gun extorted groan from me, as they say
the most resolute victim at the sight Of the
rack, to which he is a second time destined. After
this, however lay silent and lethargic, without
thought. Wrapt in the defensive armor of stupid
ity, deied the bell and its intonations. When it
ceased was reused a little by the hope of escape.
did not however, decide on this step hastily, but
t
touched the rim. Though the ringing had ceased,
it still was tremulons from the sound and shook I'M
der my hand, which instantly recoiled as from an
electric jar.
A quarter Of an honr probably elapsed before
again dared to make the experiment and then
fonnd it at rest. | determined TO lose no time,
fearing might have lain there already too long,
and that the bell for evening service would catch
me. This dread stimulated me, and slipped out
with the utmost rapidity and arose. stood. /
suppose, for minute, looking with silly wonder at
The place Of my imprisonment, penetrated with JOY
at escaping. but then rushed down the stony and
irregular stairs with the velocity Of lightning, and
arrived in the bell ringers room. This was the
asst act had power to accomplish. Ileant against
he wall motionless and deprived of thought, in |
which posture my companions found me, when in |
he course Of o couple Of hours they returned to
heir occupation.
They were shocked, as well they might be, at /
he figure there. The wind Of the bell had exec /
lated my face, and my dim and stupetied eyes |
we're nked with q lack-iuStre gaze in my raw eye
Ids. My hands were torn and bleeding, my hair
ishevelied, and my clothes tattered. They spoke
me, but gave no answer. They shook me, but |
remained insensible. They then became alarmed,
nd fastened to remove me. He who had first
one up with me in the forenoon, met them as they
arried me through the ehnrchyard, and, through +
i'm, who was shocked at having in some measure,
ccasioned the accident, the cause of my misfor
lne was Dissolved. ! was put to bed at home, and
emained for three days delirious, but gradually
my senses. You may be sure the bell
,rmed prominent topic in my rawlings, and il L
card a peal they were instantly increased to the
tmost violence. Even when the delirum abated,
~ sleep was constantly disturbed by imagined
ngings and my cams were haunted by the
lnces which almost maddened me while in the
Eeeple. My friends removed me to house in the
onntry, which was sufficiently distant from any
lace of worship to save me from the apprehen
ens Of hearing the ehurch-going bell; for what
iexander Seikirk in Cowpsr's poem, complained
{ as a misfortune was then to me blessing
Iere recovered; but, even long after recovery,
gale waited the notes of a peal toward me,
Larted with nervous apprehension.
felt Mohammedan hatred to all the bell tribe,
I'D ensied the subjects Of the Commander Of the
aithful the sonorous voice of their Muezzin. Time
nred this, it does the most of follies: but,
ven at the present day. if, by chance, my nerves
unstrung, some particular tones Of the cathedral
ell have power to surprise me into mementary
art.
The FEMALE AMERICAN NosE.--The female nose
America is now the subject of philosophical dis.
1ssion. A German traveller says of our ladies
They cannot he called In general beautiful be-