St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-08-14
Lost in the Catacombs.
GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF \ TERRIBLE EN-
rERIENIE.

recently. fell behind his companions.
WAS lost. and spent twenty hours in the
dreadful place. He gives the following
description of his experience The
stairway, on which we were descend
ing, was winding and damp, and at
each step the air grew colder and the
gloom more imprnctrahlc and the
lights flarcd and famed upward. as if
striving To escape from the awful dark
ness that their rays 81 poorly diSpcllcd.
Once ut the bottom, II Shuddcr shook
my frame ;lS darkness closed in about
us, and the damp wind rushing past
tuggcd at my garments aS II, fearing
tor my welfare, il were prr>Iadn% me
To rrlurn to the life and sunshine of the
upper world. Our course lay t" the
right. for We were to make oIIr exit 10y
Il stairway leading ont ON to the Ruc
Darcau. our party strung out behind
the guide, and with their lights borne
alofl. looked like Il glittrrin" monster
creeping among the caNcrn> and under
the arches. At first there was Il forced
gaNrtv. but the laughter rung out upon
he terrible silence and echoed and
Jumped from rIrNicc to cavern. until II
sounded like Il vail of the dead, OF the
mirlh of ticudS. and the gaHcty that
had entered with us soon died out. and
we were lis sober rs the place and as
sober as those who follow the dead in
silence I'm occasional pause cnSncd
Ia afford opportunity Ia inspect the i'll
ScriptinIlS on the walls al to examine
the sun findings.
/ Entering Il marrow passage some rude
| tIaciugS on the rock attracted my ut
| tcntioi. and fingered tocNaninr them.
/ It seemed to me hut il moment that
/ ta,rird. and when sought the party
with IN ra"ti search of the gloom. their
| lights had disappeared. WAS not
alarmed. for knew they could not he
tar of FASTENED in the direction in
which SIM them last. following with
nasty step. but failed to discover
them. Now it began T." occur to me
/ that WAS lost and | cried with lu>tN
voice and long. hut it came back To me
in Il thousand airs and echoes. :IS if ]
had been ANSWERED 10y the skulls that
we've 50 numerous not far oil. My APP
prcI"uSi"t gave double vi"nr t" my
limbs aud | dashed onward with Il de
sIraru" energy. not knowing whittier
ran. bu! running hccausc | found com
with hungry eyes int" the ptchN dark
ness of the passages. vanity striving I"
discern The presence of some li\in" soul
beside myself. but SAN nothing. Again
| cried out uutiI il seemed my very
lungs must burst with the effort. and
again aud again. and all the answer
tllt came WAS the >hrickin% OF Il mil
lion echoes that were full of horror
and Scpulchral groamimgS. Th" light
burned low and added not u little to
my anxiety. rs ii must soon burn ont
and leave me in utter darkness. Again
lurIi cd on. amd after twisting every
way entered wider passage than
had Yet passed through, when, horror of
horrors ! stood face to face with
grinning skulls, whose empty sockets
y;Izcd ut me from rows of homes that
ranged above my head.
Never had seen such Il terrible spec
iHclc. All the tcrrorS had experienced
III my life combined could not equal
The agony of that one moment. Alone
with thIcc millions of dead, The awful
reality oi my situation came upon me
with u rush, hciIiu" with it the a""miI
inc possibilities of death and the >uIitrr-
ing that would cnSuc III such Il place.
My heart stood still. the cold sweat
nozcd from my pores III great drops. the
clammv wind famed me in Stllcn gusts.
lis if the black wing of death had
brushed my brow. The silence was OPP
preS>iVc. The darkness IL weight. liut
III Il moment recovered myself and
hurried forward, while the bones and
skulls seemed Ia clutch and mock al
me as | passed. aS il they rnNicd me
he light had. On. on went. hut
there seemed no end. and suddenly tine
light tlarrd up, trcmhlcd and flashed
0ut ami darkness settled over me like Il
pail. stood Il while in ImaZcmcnt.
LOST in Il dull >tupor. WAS lrwildcIcd
and could scarce think. The sudden
transition from life. with all lis posi-
Utilities and hopes, to another region.
! that was not of life or death. but led
down tn the latter with no opcnin" to
til" former, WAS :" quick and unlocked
for, that the change robbed me of my
Thought and feeling. and | CROPPED in
mental blindness. liv degrees my mind
struggled INTO its normal condition. and
/ | began to weigh the chances of life
and death. and calculate them lS c"ollN
/ H. ihc interest on an investment.
For while | wandered in the dark
ness until fired nature could no more.
and Shramk away into Il passage. lead
| ing from, the horrible array of bones.
and sank down beside II pillar to Il
troubled rest and dlcamS. My life was
traced step by step, aIong the line of
Years that seemed 50 long in living and
;" short when looked ut now day all
sunshine, another all cloud now wall
q,
| Cling up Il rugged path until the present
WAS reached and seemed t" stand up
on an cmimcurr and. bidding adicu to
all behind. | struck out on Il narrow
| foot bridge that led over IN unfathoma-
bile chasm and whose farther end WAS
| lost i'll darkness. When had walked
far ont. the bridge melted away, and
felt myself falling, falling like II star
through space that had no limit, and
around IN" on every side were Il thou
sand %ihhcrn@, laughing licnds. who
were Wild with glcc over my presence.
At length alightcd gently on il solid
surface and was instantly surrounded
10y millions of skeletons. who danced
and glimaccd about me III IL pale. phoS-
phorcsccnt light that made the darkness
beyond them hlacker. The air WAS
uproarinuS with the rattling of bones,
hut pushed away amidst the CHASTITY
mob and hurried forward toward il lu-
min"uS light in the distance. As APP
proarhed it, it grew brighter, and my
gh"stly attendants fell brhind At
length stood before II gigantic gate
whose top was lost in the gloom above,
and which was us immovabc us noun
tain. Before il stood two beings unlike
any that had ever seen. One was
clad i'll shining garments, and IL bright