Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1863-07-17

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You shall not II is horrid--dread.
full! ~ was echoed on on every side.
"Cowards, all p retorted Frank, re.
filling his pipe, aud watching US with his
cold iron-gray eyes.
You might call me a coward till
doomsday," 1 replied, before Id co.
1t is simply fool-hardy. devilish under.
taking"
q All afraid Of ghosts, as I live !"
again taunted Frank. Albert is =
medical student, l believe, and therefore
ought to be familiar with the dead"
"You shall not go, Albert" came
| from kalf-a-dozen pair Of lips, and as
many hands were laid upon him to detain
him.
"Lct me go, gentlemen. I am no
coward, and yet l will not foolishly deny
that the first thought struck me with the
utter desolateness of the undertaking."
and he put aside our hands and departed.
For moment all stood still, unknow-
ing what to do; and then, as if by intu.
iton, we followed him, waiting to listen
to the mocking words and laughter of
the cold.blooded son Of the Granite State.
We saw Albert leap the high fence;
we heard him creeping down the slimy
messy steps and then, even as we, too.
had clambered over the enclosure and
were letting ourselves down into the tang
led grass, we heard a rat,ling sound, q
heavy fall, and such shrck as 6ends
might utter at the moment of their deep.
est torture
Not another sound i; and while one,
more collected than the rest, hurried back
to the room for a light, we stood there
with great sweat-drops upon our ioreheads
and hurriedly breathing hearts, but other
wise as motionless as the long mouldered
dead beneath our feet.
The light was brought, and. rendered
desperate by our feelings, we rushed down
the slippery stairs in body, and saw
great Heaven will any of US ever for
get it we saw the senseless form Of our
friend stretched upon the stone pavement,
half covered by decayed bones and the
wrecks of rotten collins! We tore him
from his fearful surroundings, raised him
in our arms and bore him from that
CHASTITY charnel-house, and saw as we
laid him on couch that he had the
watch and chan-the fatal test--grasped
firmly in one hand, while secured to a
buttonhole of his coat hung fragment
of coffin by the rusty screw.
OF that night, of the days that follow
ed, will not write. They were fraught
with agony to all but amid the whirl of
his delirium we learned, in disjointed
sentences, the history of the scene in tho
vault He had safely reached the watch,
taken it from the pile of coftins, and
turned to 60, when he found his coat held
as it by invisible hands. What was he
to think Had not the outraged spirits
of the dead clutched him for thus sacri-
legiously invading their home? What
would they do with him ?-how long hold
him? The thought was madness, and
he struggled to break away, when the pile
of rotten shells fell bursting around him.
and the CHASTITY, rafting bones struck him
on every side! A shrek of horror
the rest to him was chaos.
With the dawn of the morrow Frank
L-lisappeared, and l never saw him
again. Months after. Albert c. was
taken home to- recover amid the orange
groves Of his sunny home. They were
in their sweet summer bloom when he
reached them, and the autumn winds
whirled their leaves over his grave. A
brave, generous heart ceased to beat, and
a gcnius-lighted mind was lost to earth,
by vain, foolish test; and now that
more than score of years have passed
| write the tale Of horror as warning.