New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-07-12
THE DEAD ARM.
q % yor zee fhat .arn, y, ~.

socket as q traItorons member Of his body.
on 1t, and shock it fiercely. Nn
| Did what?u
Did murderl Pnt me here 10 iiye q barseaaIrs
for ten long years. Oh how long they have bSsu
have counted them, hour after hour ID my eesl,
How long can live, al the raoats,t IA
Three hours perhaps f0ar.v
" Too long to I've but sufficient time in whi&;5 10
| tell yoH my story. Il you believe it, it viii 10
more than Judge or jury hare done. World assst
| decefve when On yGHf death bed "
Ny marriage to the girl had long 15sed, ana
\ who loved me with q love far exceeding my noat
sangufns hopes, is the point, far as regards e
nice q te past events to present sef
ing from the day Of that marriage shere begins a.
succession Of misfortunes, that insignificant at
Their birth, we're gradually moulded together by
extraneons contingencies until they cszIlNfnsted n
act foul and terrible if pfemeditated or intend
| ed, that made me branded feloR. =
| My wife and never gnarelcd. We loved AMI
reyered each other too much to trespass or tram
| pie upon what the other considered sacred. To
be sure. IN mere leyy and exuitation Of spirits,
We performed actsy that to persons lunacquainted
I With us and our circumstances, might seem sea-
| soned with eagnestness.
To such misunderstanding, By third person,
may be attributed the origin of reports that we,
ny wife and l. lived an unhappy Ife-a life of tar
| mo5l--of blows. 4s q
! Many around US held To such an opinion, but
from mere ignorance Of the exact nature of our
4 lives. a
Bus I, descending speedily to tie grave, do de-
clare that we never. by word or deed transeended
/ the DcundS OF oar great love f0E each 0Tner OK
transgresaed those laws that should preserve tie
| person Of the wife from blow or contumeNy. If
were possible to exist without jarrng discord, To-
turn the sweetest sympathies info bitter hatred,
ours was that existence. Yet it aFailed me not in
| the dark day that came upon my household; but
rather offered opnor By which to strengthen
! s.Jessie,'i / said to my wife, one eyening, z do
you stand on one side Of the room, while Itasse
position on the other, Give me bali u ysfn
from the basket, and then whoever IL ht Witt The
ball the greatest number of times. shah make a
present to the other. A nice present, Of COURSE
"Tf I lose, my present shall be q dressing gown,v
said Jessie, but you kno8 you'll have 10 pay for
Il it,
at win be 5ust as acceptable, 4 I answered Bat
if lose you shall have that ring with the emerald
Then the soft bali Of yarn few quickly from hand
to hand, all the time laughing and talking with
great glee A knock at the door, and an acquxffit
ance enteted finding our faces ased With the ex-
II citement ef the contest and each uncertain who
was the vanqaished. declared that she mad won
J the ring, and promised to put it upon her finger
the next day: which day 10 her, alive never came.
II About two O'Clock that night, was awakened
to consciousness by one Of those inexpiica5le 4,
preternatural premonitions Of near danger which
are often encountered, but generally IN skepti-
8 cal spirit.
j, NV mind was clear to reason--ndt having its
J. delicate powers bfanted by sleep. Scarcely were
" my - nnelosed, before became cogpizaHt of
a the presence of a cold. elamrny natafe, by its
Il loathsome contact with my face aud y its pres.
y beating OF Ny heart. Naturally, am coward;
hut tie knowledge of the presence Of this burden
r combined with utter darkness, cresfor og fierce
fear completely annerved me, and my body shock
u The quiet condition of tliis body. spSes sas
q tanned not to myself or my wife II mysterious
J. situationand above ALL The moist. chilly coatass
with my face deprived me Tor an insta III sssaf-
possession. The clattering Of blind. or ta.ss..s
e bling of mouse, seemed like peal Of thaaesr 20
Il my ears the overstrained eye saw. on seemed
u see, ghosty shapes pendant from the chandelier
, and bed-post-
!. dared net shout aloud nor change my position
1s in bed for fear that my throat would be clutched
g by the incubus that sat like hideous nightmare
+ fully developed into reality upon my chest.
q Inexperienced such sensations a. does the strong
Is swimmer or the venturoHs diver. when coming in
e to bodily contact, unforewarned, with a corpse
e beneath the surface Of the watermelon natnre
Y acts like an electric battery, and discharges vol
10 umes of fear at the slightest movement ser Like
10 one in the dark who encounters a skeleton.
g Twas peculiarly situated surrounded by an Inn
~ mensity of terror expansive, inasmuch ID It
ID draped thoughts and motions in habiliments that
le gave them gigantic appearance immersed In a
ID sea Of dread and doubt, and finally completely
cowed by fear. S
OF Now reason made its appeal to the frightened
ae soul. The mere consciousness of bodily contact
a with his inyisbility suggested its snbstantiablity
but hesitated to make the first movement hostile
or otherwise There was half-formed supposi-
tion in my mind, that if stirred there would come
"A upon ouset, by the incubus that could not
~ ~ withhold; this hestancy to action partly
re came by the creumspect rising Of my left
"a "a was free. ] moved my right instantly, and con-
III III temporaneousy with that movement, the weight
Z, - upon my face was removed to my neck. A little
more steathy investigation, still fearful Of an At
i, tack by insidious enemy, and found that my
y y right hand and the far as the elbow, was
n temporarily paralyzed in that condition called
m .h 'asieep ;t that the hand was cold and without
m gs sensibty, and that il was the object that had
r. rested upon my face.
~ OF course, Twas much elated at the discovery,
= - and ashamed that had been easily alarmed 81
81 accident that susceptible Of so easy an
he PLANTATION. In order to give my wife an aecoun
A. of the absurd occurrence, turned over, my pre-
= sent position being reclamation upon my back
r; In my relief consequent upon what ] considered
al correct explanation of my fright, the weigh
upon my chest had been forgotten; no, the change
- of my position recalled it very unpieasantly anl
"a inopporunely, even before had touched my wife
IN Imagine,if you can, the result Of this suddel
AZ, planned away Think how quickly all the reason
y which had been carefully, revotved from the men
! ~ tai peTplexites in which had been cntangled
ts were eiactuay controperted, and how absolutely
as' mystery and frantic horror again swayed til
III sceptre. 5sa NJ
aar 10. There was then, being or thing in the roor
.h that did not belong there, never had been ther
~ ~ prexios N that night, and my deductions wer
II. faulty 9se result that iost all control owe
ay ns Dasaians that was iashad INTO fury of dis
pair 6y ii rss Of the presence of sapernatura
tue Ciaapng the object npon d with my lei
rn hand, with my right neIyed with Il aWng z 2
nars reason of its paralysis, slFnok hfhe 18th az
pns pSss GUS blows. It had soft hair, and
,an,, and tngged, in this paroxysm of hog sOIIT
saag great agony OF mind shrieked for OREGON
gh standing my efforts encountered no resis AND v
10, sas called TO Jessie to awaken. There W.Is An
,g;th sponse. The passive submission to bio AZ M
a object grasped by my left hand was extr he Iai
h;.e the silence of my wife unaceountable.
XIV Then, for the first time during the strngG N.
I'M; think of Jessies remarkably sound slumbG lAu
hes, at .h ssn.s, W LILY .s a oouie not sth
.sa ~ of my Eengenee. a.
,lisb Pushing the weight aside leaped from the'.
s;ns,i s,,sn and lighted the gas. u
= -; z; My wife was dead.
Il II os 1t was her head-that had so often fondle
ra playing with its siiken tresses-kssing those de
So lps-looking into these lustrons eyes-that had
~ confidently reposed upon my breast. Yet n
more than five minutes had elapsed since my ava
] Ill ening.
i @ ns / can't believe that am her murderer, eV,
80 :. "a though the law so seals me with the crime.
';n, But that arm, now so shrivelled and Wither,
sais into its present FORM came not SO by punishme
;nt from heaven. After my condemnation, doubtil
as as did my agency in her DEATH yet hating the
aa' ,' strnment that had kneWn no pity gentleness
eIa, its blows, held it, that arm, sacrifice to
-. n