The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-09-02

| My first impression was one OF
strange pressure and confinemant
~ fRncied, as in o dream. thas + had
been seized for a. maniac, 8 straight-
jacket put upon me, and then forced
| into q marrow cell. This ID lea did not
long hold its place. AS my mind
grew clearer, q bsgal1 20 recall what
had happsnea the past week-leay-
ing home, going to Boston, transact
Ing my business, and SO on j, re-
membered being at my friends
house, and fof deciding to- retnaiu
longer than I frat. intended, hoping
for his return before my. departure.
ALI thi5f gradually became clear,
along twithithe last pleasant, ,evening
| e had spent with his family. But
then came a blank. !. What had hap
pened since? And where was I nowp
attempted to rise and found myself
shut up in some marrow place, that
lscarcely allowed any. movement what
ever How did I get there? What
did it mean?iFs tafsJ sHt ,. go
snddea!=y;.1ny ny ,ifs-lohg fear retnrn-
ed upon me with new terror thai, no
language can express. Perhaps the
dread horror had come, and 1 had
been buried alive at lastig The
thought was so appalling, that for
some moments I remained paralyzed.
Then 7 seemed gathered into one
great agony, which sent forth the
most wild, piercing shrieks ofdespair
that ever issued from mortal lips.
y Yes, it was truth My forebod-
ing had ended in a.reality, and I was
now the tenant of coffin, if not q
grave! With another shrek, L turn
ed in my narrow house, gathered in
my strength as it were, and threw it
out from me with what seemed the
bursting power of giant. There
came sharp crack; my prison seem
ed slightly to expand, and I fancied
1 felt change of air. I rested q
moment, prayed God to help me,
and repeated the effort with even
greater power. There was no resist
ing this. The coffin lid was burst
asunder with q crash, and my limbs
and body were free in the awful dark
ness which enveloped me-the ray
less darkness of tomb!
In considering this wonderful feat,
it should be borne in mind that none
of my strength had been exhausted
by sickness, and that besides being
naturally very strong, powerful
man. my physical powers were per-
haps doubled by my fear and despair.
l was free now to breathe the
damp, delicious air of what L believed
to be vault or a tomb; but I confess
my terror was scarcely lessened at
the thought of having extended the
limits of my prison; for after all I
might not be able to escape from this
horrible place, and if not, would it
not be prolongation of the agonies
of life and death? Fortunately, I
had been confined in my own gar
ments, and it was season of the
year when I could not suffer from
cold, SO that question of life without
escape was reduced to two points
suffocation from foul air, or starva-
ton. If L could escape the first, 1
knew there were several days of ifo
yet before me, and perhaps the time
would be long enough, with unremit-
ting toll, for me to dig my way out,
like convict from his prison.
LhO hAoo oh1hto AOA AO W uoSC1 Oulu
was the dimensions of my sepulchre.
Whether it was day or night I could
not tell, for I could see nothing what
ever-not even my hand, when I held
it close up before my eyes. Every
thing must be done by feeling and
thought-shuddering with horror at
the thought of what might discover,
I knew that delay could avail me
nothing, and resolved to set about
the work before me. I rose up in
my coffin, and stretched my hands
above my head, but they came in
contact with nothing. I felt on
either side, but felt no object. I
put them down below the coffin, and
found it rested on q slab that was
supported some distance above the
ground, I could not tell how much.
I got out of the coffin carefully,
stretched down my feet till they
touched a solid basis. and then
slowly anu cautiously began to grope
around the vault. I soon touched
the wall on one side, and carefully
felt of the stones. I found them, as
I feared L should, large, solid and
evidently put together with cement.
There seemed little hope of my ever
finding ny way through them. I
followed the wall along, till I came
fo n Milo af ooff3po ona ,,oon Tho