Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-10-24
Incident of Cholera Times
The Dead Come to Life.
A FRIGHTENED HUSBAND

From the st. Louis Tmes.l
During the prevalence Of the epedemie.
from which, happily, we are nov entirely
Tree, many brave hearts were struck with
terror lest it should enter their own domes-
tic circle. A little incident has Just reached
our ears, possessing sufficient Of the strange
and sartling 10 make il worthy Of note.
though both time and space admonish us
that brevity must be observed in It's re-
cital.
Or one Of the streets running parallel
with, and not far from Broadway, lived a
married couple who had not travelled To-
gether very smoothly since they had been
made one flesh. The husband, though not
a bad man, occasionally took a drop tso
much, and on such occasions happiness
was the exception in the household. The
wife had a thousand dollars in greenbacks,
which she had saved and always carried
with her, and being master-spirit Of the firm,
she would not allow it TO be encroached up
on, but, on the contrary, endeayored to aug
ment it.
The wife took the cholera, and the hus-
band, obtaining permit, had her sent TO
the City Hospital. It is not known that he
accompanied her thither, though he must
have visited her. One morning, the nurse
being out Of the room for some time, re-
turned 10 the bedside Of the poor woman,
and discovered her, TO all appearance, dead.
The Doctor was notified and made his OBJ
seryation. No pulsation Of the heart, no
breathing, nothing 10 dissipate the allusion
and assertion that the patient was dead, was
discovered, and the learned disciple of
EscULAPIUs pronounced her-dead. She
was forthwith disrobed, placed in the rough
coffin furnished by the city, and conveyed
to the dead-house, CT rather dead-room.
For hours she lay, apparently, a corpse,
with all the surroundings Of death. After
the shadows Of night had closed in, the
watchman took look into the room to see
that all was right From the inside Of one
Of the collins a perceptible knocking was
heard. Superstition seized him; he slammed
the door after him and went to notify other
parties Of the mysterious rapping, and
several accompanied the man TO the tempo
rary receptacle Of the dead.
When the door was opened, sight met
the gaze Of the party which made the roots
Of their hair Jingle and caused them to feel
a weakness about the knees. The corpse"
had raised the lid Of the coffin and was sit
ting bolt upright in it. Where am -"
saws she. The matter was explained to her
briefly Filled with anger, all illness having
seemingly departed, she let loose the food
gates Of her passion at the idea Of being en-
closed in such a contemplate receptacle
She had thousand dollars when she went
% the hospital, she said, and she demanded
10 know where II had gone-the amount
would have given her decent sepulture. The
attendants were unable TO explain the where
abouts Of The missingmoney, and the woman
demanded to be restored 70 herself once more,
that she might pursue the thief who had
robbed her, and secure 20 her body, if she
were to die, decent burial. The resur-
rected F" one was helped out Of her narrow
prison-house and taken 10 a more genial
chamber. But here another difficulty arose
her clothes had been destroyed. Suitable
apparel, however, was furnished and on
finding herself once more of the flesh flesh,
and the blood blood, she insisted on starting
At once in search Of her husband, who, she
thought-and perhaps correctly-was COM
selling himself with her thousand dollars,
and the idea that some other daughter Of
EVE would console his lonely hours.
The Surgeon, observing that madam was
comparatively well, and thinking it might
do her more harm to retain her than permit
her departure, had the iron gate opened for
her exit.
Darkness had set in ere she reached her
husbands place Of rehabilitation. She
knocked at the door, and her husband opened
it. With eyes fairly starting from their
sockets he gazed-words failed him-he was
paralyzed with fear at the supposed appari
ton. At length the wife demanded why he
had robbed her, insisting as the same time
that she was not dead as he no doubt hoped
she was and she had come home-he would
find it harder than that TO get rid of her.
The husband was too astonished, Mortified,
TO believe his eyes, and he begged the
"ghost" to leave-she might have the money,
bus for Cons sake 20 60 away and not de-
stroy him. At this the man, with fear and
trembling, handed her the missing money,
which she took; but she wasnot to be driven
from her home, and with push she opened
the door and entered the house. She had
no sooner done so than her husband, minus
coat and hat rushed out Of the back door,
into the yard, aud over the fence, and that
is the last that either his wife OF his friends
have seen Of him.