Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-03-04

Another instance is that of spy, who, /
seeing preparations making for his exeeu-
ton. endeavored to esclpc it by feigning /
death. He held his breath and suspended
all voluntary motion for twelve hours.
and endured all the tests applied to him to |
put the reality of his death beyond a |
doubt it .-r-ls tfe
1t cannot be denied that, in former
times, seeming death was quite often mis- |
taken for true death. The annals of science
have recorded certain number of errors |
of this kind, many of which have resulted
in the interment Of unfortunate wretches
who were not dead And for one of these
mistakes that chance has brought to light
either too late. or in time for the rescue,
even then, of the victim. how many are
there, particularly in times of Ignorance
and carelessness, that no one has ever
known! How many times men have only
given up their last breath after vain
struggle to break out of their coffin?
The facts; collected by Bruhier and Yal-
lemand in two works that have become
classic, compose a most mournful and
dramatic history. These are some OF Its
episodes, marked by the strange part that
chance plays in them:
A raral guard. having no family, dies In
smallvillage of Lower Charente. Hard
ly grown cold. his body is taken out OF
bed, and laid on straw ticking covered
with coarse cloth An old hired woman
is charged with the watch over the bed OF
death. At the foot of the corpse was
branch of box, put into vessel filled with
holy water, and lighted taper. Toward
midnight the old watcher, yielding to the
invincible need of sleep, fell into deep
slumber. Two hours later she awoke sur
rounded nv flames from a fire that had
cauoht her clothes. She rushed out, cry
ing with all her might for help, and the
neiphbors, running together at her screams.
saw in moment a naked specter issue
from the hut, limping and hobbling on
limbs covered with burns. While the old
woman slept, spark had probably dropp-
ed on the straw bed, and the fire 1t had
kindled had aroused both the watcher from
her sleep and the guard from his seeming
, death. With timely assistance he recover
ed from his burns, and grew sound and
well again.
, On the 10th of October, 1912, 4 farmer,
in the neighborhood of Nenfichatel, III the
Lower Seine. climed into a loft over his
, barn to sleep, as he usually did, among the
hav. Early the next day, his customary
t hour of rising being past, his wife, wish
> inc to know the cause of his delay. went
: to look for him, and found him dead. AT
, the time of interment. more than "A hours
after, the bearers placed the body IN cot
e fin. which was closed, and carried 1t slow
= ly down the ladder by which they had
e gained the loft Suddenly one of the
A rounds of the ladder snapped. and the
e bearers fell. together with the cofhn
+ which burst open with the shock. The ac
n cident, which might have been fatal to
e live man, was very servi- elble to tie dea'
# one, who was reused from his lethargy b,
e the conclusion, returned to lite, ana mas
fl tened to get ont of his shroud with the as
n sistance of those of the bystanders who hat
d not been frightened away by his suddel
! resurrection An hour later he could rec
e ocnize his friends and felt no uneaslness
IS EXCEPT slight confusion in his head AM
,r the next dav was able to work again
d At about the same time resident
" Nantes gave up life after Il long illness
t. His heirs made arrangements for gran
N funeral, and, while the performance OF
i requiem was going on, the dead man re
b. turned to life, and stirred in the coffin ths
al stood in the middle of the church. Nhe
,d carried home, he soon regained his health
to Some time afterward. the sexton, nc
- caring to be to the trouble of the burr;
- ceremonies for nothing. sent a bill to tn
be ex-corlse, who declined to pay it. and r.
We ferred the sexton to the heirs who Ia
ed viven orders for the funeral. A lawsu
Id followed with which the papers of the di
ON kept the public greatly amused. fe
nc wears a. 70. Cardinal Donnet, in the Senat
ith told his own story of the circumstance
nd under which he narrowly escaped bein
to buried alive.
Thirty years ago. resident of the villas
rs of Emes, in Dordogne. had been sufferir
le for a long time from chronic disorder
n little consequence in itself, but marked
,lv a distressing symptom of constant wax
nd fllness, which forbade the man any XII
tie of rest Worn out with this condition,
| consulted physician, who prescribed OF
W. um, advising great caution IN It's us
RS The invalid, possessed with that comm
.ad enough notion that the efficacy of the dr.
er: is proportional to it's quantity. took at o
nv time Il dose for several days. He soon ft
the into deep sleep, which continued unbl
lie. ken for more than twenty-four hours. /
os. village doctor, being summoned, finds
nix body without warmth, the pulse dead, n
ilv. on opening the veins of both arms IN $!
his cession. obtains hut few drops of thi
ard blood. The day after they prepared
, | his burial. But. Il few days later. clos
ere inquiry revealed the imprudence the pc
ON. wretch had committed in taking an exc
ion sive quantity of the prescribed marco,
The report spreading among the village
he they insist on his disinterment. which
,stv allowed Gathering in Il crowd at
nan cemetery. they take up the coffin, open
ned and are met by a horrible sight. The II
oar erable man had turned over in his cof
be- the blood gushing from the open We
NOT had soaked the shroud; his features W
and frightfully contorted, and his convul
rity limbs bore witness 10 the cruei "hS'
,bly that had preceded death.