The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-08-14

7 Is
! he saw q disting guished loo oking man,
Il who, without loss of time, ordered
| him to help in disinterringl the body
\ of Madame de Servins, he could only
think he had to do with mad
man, and endeavored to pacify him.
But George, who saw the impression
he had made, struggled to calm him
self, and ended by persuading his
astonished listener that his desire to
look once more on the face of the
dead, was the fixed purpose of reso-
lutte and desperate man in the full
possession of his senses. iJ
Convinced of this, the sexton ab-
solutely refused either to aid in or
permit of so sacrilegious an act, and
the hand-fulls of gold, which seemed
illimitable riches to him, had no
effect in changing his resolution.
George had confidently relied on his
cupidity, and finding himself mis-
taken, he gave way to such
paroxysm of grief, that by force of the
pity which he inspired, he gained
what his gold could not buy.
When all was arranged between
them, they entered the church yard,
provided with spade, crow-bar,
pick and lantern. The night was
just such another as that on which
George and Clemence had parted,
four years previously; soft wind
scarcely moved the boughs of the
shrubs and trees which grew in and
around the cemetery, and calm
and splendid moon was shining down
from O cloudless sky. Both men
worked as though their lives depend
ed on it, and not u word was spoken
by either until the coffin was raised
from the grave, and lay on the green
smooth sward.
s'Shall I break it open?" whisper
ed the sexton.
George nodded; but the first blow
of the pick on the shivering planks
made him start and shrink as though
it had fallen on his heart. More
than this-the dull heavy sound had
aroused some dogs in the neighbor-
hood, and their furious barkings
filed the air.
Trembling in every limb, George
besought his companion to separate
the boards with the least possible
noise and violence. The old man
obeyed, and very soon the body of
Clemence, clad only in her white
shroud, lay at the feet of him who
had violated the sanctity of the grave,
that he might look yet once again on
her face.
The sexton sat on the brink of the
grave, wiping the heavy drops from
his forehead, and looking at George,
who, almost as motionless as the
dead, seemed to have lost all idea of
the purpose which had brought him
there. The grave-digger spoke to
him several times, without having
received any answer.
"For the love of Heaven, sir" he
said, at last, in an agony of terror,
"look at the body, as you wished to
do. Some one may come, and as it
is, we shall have day-break on us
before we can get her put back again,
and all made right"
Still no reply from George; and
the man, more terrified every mo-
ment, stretched out his hand, and
snatched away the embroidered
kerchief which covered the dead
face. The sight of that face, 80
perfect in its marble purity and still
ness, acted like magic. George fell
on his knees, and, raising the dead
woman in his arms, supported the
icy head on his breast, and bending
over it, he poured forth in burning
words the love and despair that filled
him. Memories of their happy past
came from his trembling lips, min
gled with lamentations for the ruin
of their hopes, and his own lonely
and wretched future. His delirium,
so far from exhausting itself, seemed
to gain strength every moment, and
the solitary spectator of this strange
scene became half frantic with anx-
iety and fear.
All at once, like q lightning flash
through this storm of grief, came
the remembrance of the last words
which those cold lips had whispered
to him. And in the frantic transport
of hope still more frantic, George
pressed the dead form closer to him,
and kissed her lips again and again.
Then, with a sudden cry, he leaped
to his feet, threw one wild look
around, and fled with his prize.
He had already disappeared behind