The Petroleum Centre daily record. [volume] (Petroleum Center, Pa.) 1868-1873, 1869-06-17
REMARKABLE CAsE'
A woman supposed 10 be Dead Cre-
aIes u Midnight Panic

restored ANIMATION, says Tue l>e" AoN W."
of the I'd inst, which has ever taken place
in that city, occurred on Sunday night IN
varick street, ne,r McDougal the particu-
lars OF which are as follows
An aged lady named Rebecca Townsend
who had been ailhg for several weeks, ex'1
pired, as was supposed, on Sunday morn
ing. That she rally was dead no one who
saw her for q moment hesitated TO believe.
The set eyeballs, the rigid limbs and the
apparent cessation of respiration, all point
ed to the supposed fact that death had come
to the relief Of tie invalid.
Accordingly, on Sunday the sorrowing
household, acting on this belief, commenc-
ed making preparations for the burial of
the body. A burial permit was obtained,
coffin ordered, and the remains were tenn
porarily laid ouiupon the bed in which the
old lady was supposed to have died, and
the services of watcher Ga young female
residing in a ueghboring bouse) were Sc
cured to attend the body during Sunday
night
About II o'c.ocS on Sunday evening, the
members of the household retired, leaving
the watcher alone to her disagreeable task.
As the young lady states, she became drow-
sy about O'Clock in the morning, arc en-
seoncing herself in an arm chair, short
distance from the corpse, soon fell into
dcz,. She had not slept above an hour,
when she was awakened by low, moaning
sound, which apparently issued from the
couch Rpou which lay the supposed corpse.
Startled by the strange noise. the watcher
Immediately sprang from her chair, and Az
preached the bed for the purpose Of ascet-
tanning the cause Of the mysterious sounds.
At this momen! the moi Sc suddenly ceased.
There lay The corpse just as the watcher
death the limits still risi l, and not sign
of life visible.
Believing the sounds which she fancied
she had heard were but fanccs coHjured up
by the uncomfortable position in which she
was placed, the watcher returned to her
seat and resumed her nap. She had not
remained in this position more than half an
hour when she was again aroused by n
sound similar 10 those which bad previous
" alarmed her. Again she sprang from her
chair and approached the bedside, when,
OH horror of horrors! her eyes met the wan
derlng gaze oftbe supposed corpse Could
it be possible that she was dreaming? She
passed her hands to her eyes to convince
herself that she did not sleep. Slowly the
eyes of the eOrpse commenced rolling in
their sockets, the muscles OF the face relax
ed, the jaws contracted, aud as the tilmI
eyeballs rested upon the countenance of th'
appalled, watcher, they appeared to entrea
the woman to come 10 her relief.
Horror riveted the watcher TO the spot
| She attempted to scream for assistance, bu
her tongue refused her utterance. AS sh
continued TO gaze upon the living corpse
the arms began to move and the right han'
was slowly lifted to the mouth Jas if th
corpse implored drink. The corpse mex
commenced assuming an upright position
and, finally, after an effort of several min
ntes. sat bolted upright in bed.
This last movement proved too much 70
the nerves of the fright-srcken watcher
and staggering from the bedside, she fel
fainting on the floor.
The noise occasioned by the fall awok
the inmates of the house who FASTENED t
the room. There sat the woman still UP
right in he'd, at the foot of which lay tn
convulsed form Of the terror-stricke
watcher.
Discovering tee state Of affairs, the hoas'
hold Immediately dispatched servant 10
the nearest physician, who shortly aitt
arrived upon the scene, and by due dpplic'
ton of restoratives, succeeded in revivin
the supposed corpse sufficiently to enabl
her to respire freely. The watcher, by th
administration of the proper restorative
was after much difficulty, also restored
consciousness, but her nerves received
shock which will probably tell upon h'
constitute, until her dying day. 81
avows she will never again serve as
watcher of corpse, and no wonder at 1t.
Y