The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-06-03

! ls'h vi Hcssuge' Win SnlVer OF
alarm, l turned quickly to the instrument
but soon perceived that that bell had been
rung by no earthly power, for the vibra.
ting needles made no Ineligible sign, and
knew that the sound had been produced
by a current of atmospheric electricity
acting upon the wires.
Smiling Ntthe nervousness which caused
me to start at SO ordinary an occurrence,
! turned from my desk, and again sat
down by the fire. But smile rs ] wOnld,
aud reason as 1 might, | felt that was
fast succumbing to vague fOundationlCss
fears, Thinking that the atmosphere OF
the room, which | felt close aud hot, might
have something to do with my peculiar
condition Of mind, ] flung open the door,
and stepped outside, in tho hope that the
cool Dir might scare away the phantoms
ofmy brain. As i crossed the threshold,
the midnight express crashed past with a
speed aud force which shook every tim.
Dor of the building, and utterng loud
shrek, disappeared into the tunnel at the
end of the steep gradient, on the summit
of which my station was placed. When
II had gone, there was stiffness, stiffness
broken-it can call 1t broken-only by
the peculiar signing of the air passing
across the wires, which ia heard even In
the calmest of nights ! stood and lis
tened to the strange, melancholy, Eolian-
harp like sound, now SO faint as to be
almost inaudible, and anon swelling into
u wild low waiting. Hooked up and saw
Orion and the Pleiades, and thought how
often On nights, not long ago, when ] had
watched for Maggie in the wood, ] had
gazed up through the tail sombre pines
and watched their trembling fires. From
that my mind reverted to the earnestness
with which my wife had asked me to
remain at home that night, and the un-
usual pensiveness of her manner when she
bade me goodbye. What could be the
meaning OF 1t all9 AS a general rule,
had a mos profound disbelief in omens,
presenjiments, and all sorts Of snpersti
tion but in spite of 1t, ! felt that would
have given good deal ut that time, to he
transported just for one minute to my
home, to see whether all was well there.
! might have called up my assistant, who
lodged in farmhouse not tar distant, and
gone home; but as could give no good
reason for going away, resolved to stay
where was, and get through the night
as best j could. "If this goes on" said |
to myself as | turned inside again, and
poked up the Goals with rather more noise
and vigor than was absolutely necessary
-"i this goes on much longer, shall
have to consult doctor, that's plain. "
For | knew that the causeless Apprehen.
sions which | experienced were often only
the symptoms Of an unusual state OF bodily
health. [ filled my pipe and lit It, but
the weed had lost Its usual trAnquilizing
power As the wreaths curled slowly
upwards, saw my wiie's face looking at
me tearfully rs when | had left her, Again
the bell rang sharply; but, as before, no
ineligible sign was made by the needles.
| leaned my elbows on the desk, and
with my head between my hands, watched
their unenling motions. An hour might
have passed thus, when once more I was
startled by the clang Of the bell. This
timo II was louder and more urgent, aud,
it seemed to me, though perhaps may
err here, with peculiar tnearthly sound,
such as | had never heard before. ] nm
utterly unable to tell in what manner the
impression was produced, but II seemed
as II there mingled with the metallic ring
the tone of n human yoice-and 1t was
the voice Of one | knew. The needles, ]
now observed, began to make signs which
! understood; and slowly, as ifsome novice
we're working the instrument, the letters
"C-O.m.e" were signqled. No sooner had
read off the final Sc" than, to my
amazelnent and terror, distinctly saw
the handle Of my instrument, although ]
was not tonclling 1t at the time, as Il
grasped by some invisible hand, move
rapidly, and make the signal "Under-
stoOd,n which the receiver of u message
transmits at the end of every word.
A cold thrill ran through me, and felt
as Il every drop of blood were leaving my
heart. O uld have been the subject of
an optical delusionH knew that such
was not the case, for | had plninly heard
the click of the handle as Il turned, and
now | could perceive that another word
was being slowly spelt out. But SO be-
wilderel and terrified was |, that | failed
to catch the signs. Again my handle
moved, and this time male the signal
"Not understood" With an overwhelm-
ing feeling of awe, ] watched the dials
inteutly while the letters were again sig
nailed, and this time l read Come"
Then there was cessationiof all motion
for A seoond or two, and once more the
needles resumed their incoherent yibra-
tions. stood petrified with fear and
amazement. half.belieying that | was in n
, - - =. 2 -. A. Al