Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-12-25


of the inner rooms, 1 lighted can
die, with the intention of looking
/ through them. But the instant en-
tered the bedroom the candle went
out; not suddenly, as from a current
of air, but quietly, instantaneously,
as though it had been introduced into
an atmosphere of earbOnic acid gas.
| At the same moment the sensation of
cold again came over me with ten
/ times greater intensity than before.
/ The gaslight ia the square shone
/ feebiy into the rooms, and was able
| TO find my way through them into
/ the passage, and back into the sitting
I room. My sensations appeared to me
! somewhat unaecOuntable; but attri-
| buting them to some draught, of
which 1 could ascertain the cause in
/ the morning, closed the doors and
resumed my place by the fire. After
a little while fell again into my in
terrupted train of dreamy thought,
and gradually fell asleep. Now, be-
fore proceeding further, l may state
/ that [ had never been a victim to ner-
vous fancies. Nothing had ever oc-
cured to me bearing in the remotest
way on the events | am about to re-
! late-events so utterly inexplicable by
natural causes, and yet so fantastically
real, that even after a lapse of many
years l call them to mind with
! shudder of horror.
l remember, as though it were
yesterday, the appearance of the
room as 1 mused laZily in my arm
chair before going to sleep. The
sound of an organ, which was play
ing in some neighboring street, came
to me fitfully, at times seeming to be
almost close to me, at times, again,
| seeming to proceed from some great
/ distance. The fire had burned low,
occasionally cracking and ticking;
/ the lamp, as I have mentioned, was
burning dimly, and a large portion of
the room was in deep shadow. | do
not know how long had slept, when
L became conscious of my own being.
cannot say that awakened; for
though all my mental faculties were
struggling painfully into life, my
vital action seemed suspended, and L
was unable to move hand or foot. A
cold Precipitation burst from all my
pores as l made tremendous but vain
efforts to shake off the incubus that
was upon me. My feeling was not
one of impotence; it was as though
had been frozen into a solid block of
ice. l endeavOred to call out; l had
no power over my voice, and could
not utter q sound. But as l gasped
and painted, there stole into my
| nostrils a deadly, terribly, OverpOwer-
ing stencil, unmistakable in its pene-
| trating siCklineSs to me who had
frequehted hospitals. 1t was the
dread odor of decompOsing mortality
that was sgifOcating me as l sat. l
felt that I must break the spell, or die.
With one terrific exertion that
! strained every nerve and muscle, l
burst from the chair, and fell cover
inc on my knees, before the fire. The
| lamp had gone out, faint gleam
from the ire afforded the only light
Ia the room. I Felighted the lamp,
and having swallowed a glass of
brandy, endeavOred to collect my
thoughts. Ny first idea was that a
dead body must be somewhere con-
ceaIed in the room, The hideOus Odor
still clung to my nostrils, and the ab-
surdity of such a suppOsition did not
strike me. l searched the room, but
! of course foun5 nothing; though, to
NV astOnishment, the bedroom door,
which | had carefully closed, was
wide oDen. As l advanced toward 1t
with the intention OF shutting i
again, my lamp was extinguished in
the same unaec0untahle manner as
before: l locked it, however, securely,
and again struck light.
Bv this time | had sufficiently re-
covered to endeavOr to reconcile my
: sensations TO natural causes, or at any
rate to a formidable attack Of night
mare. lighted my pipe, in the hope
of neutralizing the terrible stencil
that still pervaded the room. Lean
inc on the mantle piece, actually
, smiled at behOlding my own pale,
: scared-lOOking face in the mirror. As
[ looked, suddenly every pulse in my
, body stood still. | beheld the retiec'
: ton of the bedroom door, which
, gradually, nOiselessly, opened Of itself,
II | tried to command myself, and
turned round toward the door, The
same intense thrill of cold, but not a
soul was there. l considered for al
instant. and crOss-examined myself a
to my on condition. It was evident
that my nerves were completely IN
=, strung, and ! decided, as l saw re-
J fiected in the looking glass my OWL
! CHASTITY looking face, that l was NO
in a condition to investigate the mat
, ter anv further for that night. A
: dread was upon as that ! could no
shake off; so hastily putting on my
great coat and hat, hurried out o
the room, through the passage, founC
! | myself On tie landing with a sigh o
, relief, and locking the outer door
: walked to the rooms of a friend VIII
? lived in the neighborhood.
a s.. who was reading for tn
e Indian civil service, was Gl2d 70 Sc
: me. and offered me a shake-dOwn 10
| the night. l informed him at once
III the cause of my ignOminiOus tiigh
/, from my own rooms, My experience
; had been too unmistakably real 70
n me to dread ridicule in the relation
d them. So, cOnfeSsing unreservedl,
e that L had been almost frightened Ou
V of my wits, / sat patiently enough a
S he endeavored to prove satsiactorll
that my sensations were entirely du
V to nerves or indigestion. Before IT
n firing to rest, however, we agreed I
Il spend the following night together /
I
d each went to our respective Quite;
d with an arrangement to meet at DIR
l. ner in the evening. l did not call q
4 Gray's inn-square during the DAY
p and what with attending to lecture
< and reading tough law, had not onI
to overcome any idea OF Supernatur'
to agency in the events Of the precedin
al night, but, as the evening drew nea
entirely ceased to think OF the matte
c. 1t was about eight O'Clock as we eI
er tered the rooms together. The o!
III | laundress had evidently been at worl
" as on the preceding evening. III
as FIRE was burning brightly, the lam
t. was lighted, and tea things were ST
10 out on the table. We walked thrOug
W the rooms, and found everything
at perfect order. S. laughingly envit
" me my comfortable quarters, shoYir
as bv his manner that he was more thi
ne ever convinced l had been the victi
#. of an exceedingly bad attack Of nigh
nd mare. After a little while we agree
re 10 play at chess, and arranged a smS
as side table in front of the fire. | sat
.ct the armchair with my back to Il
he bedroom door, as the previous nigh
re s. was seated opposite to me, cons
ng quently facing the door, which l h
w closed, locked and bolted, on eompl9
id ing our tour of inspection; s., WI
ed was in high spirits, joking at me t
M while. l remembered, however, t
a uncomfortable tendency it had to op
on its own account, and determin
.er that it should be as securely tasten
n as a good lock and bolt would adm
ly Of We were both fair chess-playe
at about equally matched.
,as Two hours, perhaps, had elapst
hi when the interest OF the game C
DR. minated, and we were considering
he with an intentness known only
III at,oss-r,jsxyeVa Knowing it to be