Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-04-09
Gelerteo MlisfeIlanp.
THE SKELETON HAND.

YIELDING 10 miserable udDlt udu III
ined me. 1t had blasted my prospects
p destroyed my business, alienated my
friends, and brought me down to the low
est point of existence. The habit had al
together overcome me. In vain I strug
gled against it. The imploring looks and
words Of my wife; the sight of my wan.
faced and emaciated children turning
their eyes to me, the author at once OF
their being and of their misery the spec
tacle of the proud home and broad lanGs,
once mine, but now in the hands Of stran-
gers--all these, which might well have
stung to madness or driven to despair a
less degraded being, reached me not, nor
affected me in the depth of my degrade
tion. had reached a point at which no
motive that might be urged could any
longer affect me.
One evening I was sitting in my miser-
able home. The children were asleep in
bed. They had cried themselves to sleep
in hunger. My wife sat opposite to me
on the other side of the wretched fire.
place stitching some rags Of clothing. /
was sullen and silent.
At last I felt a craving for the stimulus
that now was necessary to my life. Ris-
ing, walked to the cupboard where it
was kept. My wife knew well my inten-
ton. She followed me with her eyes.
e. I went there desperate and careless
only eager for the qualification of my ap-
petite .fl.s4 y,5l Es
l reached forth my hands. tremblingly
seized the bottle, and was about raising it
to my lips. SF<,~gs
But at that very instant, just as the
bottle touched my lips, felt a terrible
sensation. 1t was as though some one had
grasped my throat.
o Wife p cried, in a deep, fierce voice.
"Hagi do you dare?" and turning, with
clenched fist, / struck at what / supposed
was my wife. For Thought that she was
trying in this violent way in desperation
to keep me from drink.
But to my surprise l saw my wife sitting
by the fireplace with her work in her
hand, looking at me IN wonder.
1t could not have been her evidently.
A terrible feeling passed through me-
Shudderingly / raised my hand to feel
what it was that was at my throat, or il
there was any thing there at all, which
seemed to be grasping me so tightly.
Horror of horrors!
eAsI raised my hand I felt the unmis-
taxable outline of bony thumb and bony
fingers pressed against my flesh. 1t was a
skeleton hand that clutched me by the
throat -e,---~
My hand fell down powerless by my
side; the bottle crashed on the floor. My
childen awoke at the noise, and wife and
children all stared at me with white faces.
There ], trembling in every limb, stood
transtixed with terror, the awful feeling of
the supernatural now fully possessing me.
Unable to speak, / gasped with fear.
drew away my body, but my head was
still held by the same dread and invisible
power. / could not move that. ,s
Unspeakable horror filed me. None
but those who have experienced some
thing like this know what it is to have
such feelings. The body seems paraly zed,
while the mind seems to be endowed with
Z extraordinary activity, and thus possesses
new capacities for suffering.
But at last I felt the grasp relax !
staggered back, the grasp ceased alto
gether, and drew off to another corner
Of the room, endeavoring TO go as far as
possible from the place where this mystic
rious thing had seized me.
Soon my wife and children turned
away, the former to work, the latter to
sleep. They knew not what it was that
had affected me, but concluded that it was
some pain arising from sickness or sudden
faintness. did not speak word, but re-
sumed my former seat. @
And now, gradually, my craving re.
turned. Yet how could l satisfy it! NY
bottle was broken. 1t lay in fragments
on the floor. All my liquor was gone.
What was to do? The craving became
irresistible. i had to yield.
So took my hat, fumbled in my pock
cts and found few cents, and taking an
old bottle that lay in a corner, wen'
forth in the darkness. 1t was not without
some feeling of trep' that entered
the dark passage.way. Fear lest the samt
Thing of Horror might return agitatet
me. But I passed on unharmed, ane
reached my old resort, where laii my
bottle on the counter. The CLERK soor
filed it. With an irresistible impulse
clutched the bottle and rushed forth tC
drink the liquor.
I hurried off for little distance ant
came to the head of wharf, Here, un
able any longer to resist my craving,
pulled out the cork SO as to drink.
It was very dark. No one was near me
In the distance arose the low hum OF I'M