The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-01-16

sa 80 ss
"A terrible pafn Ii my head, r said,
| Putting my hand 10 my brow
instantly oil was activity eisch ,ne'nr
Der 0f the family We'd It'll Tho other a,
ministering TO me, even CarteT pressed
forward anxiouslyi but Il was q nc. USE z !.
s * XIII Rit's, ~ aate. the' Did Mofdscai be.
Ing Mr.. Lee. whose soft tones Of regret
at my indisposition aggravated my
misery, So the evening passed drearily
enough. The head which in the first
| instance had stood for the aching heart,
now revenged Itself, and throbbed dis
trnctingly, aggravated by the sound Of
familiar rippllng laughter In the dis
tancc, mingled with the tonesof o mans
voice. 8a
| At last my father was called out, aud
WIS left alone with my mother. who
sat beside me bathing my brow but not
suspccting the cause OF my indisposil
ton. she said no word either OF en-
| lightmcnt or comfort. In one OF my
intervals Of pain ] asked "Who Is Lee.
mother?" III
"A young lawyer from Richmond 2
was the reply "He IL down here very
often" ~ .4.
"What Is he doing here Z" asked,
or rather Raspod, for the effort OF talk.
Ing increased this strange pain In my
| head 8s =.
II don't know, but suspect Carter 10
tho loadstone. She met him in Rich
mond last winter"
"Does she encourage him ~
Don't talk about it," said my
mother, ut only makes your head
worse. II will come all right, hope"
construed her hesitation rs mn eva
sion OF the subject, and this conviction
and the consequent distress acting upon
my already suffering system, really rem
dcrcd mo incapable OF speech. A
strange feeling, too, began to creep
over me; my limbs felt heavy and
cd dying away. Alarmed at my appear.
ance, my mother hastoned me to bed .
but 30 helpless was / from this numb
ness that had to DO undrcsscd by tho
servants, and fell heavily upon the bed.
My~hother said IL was from fatigue and
excitement, had no fever, / would be
well In the morning. 80 she left me.
Should l live to be thousand years
old shall never forget that night.
Gradually my system yielded to the
torpor which had seized upon 1t, and as
clearer, more capable OF thought, and
more intensely susceptible Of feeling.
All the events Of the day seemed to
strike and vibrate upon the fibrcs Of my
brain. IL would have been u relief to
groan but my voice refused to obey my
will, and / was silent. Growing alarm
cd, determined TO resist the lotliargy,
TO rise apd call for help; but 1t was us II
invisible hands held me down could
not move. The horrible thought Of
catalespy occurred. TO me. In my medi-
a. 4 s,f In
strangc suspension Of the functions OF
life In the body, whilo u conscious exist
ence still remain In the immoyable
frame; and persons to oil appearance
dead had often been buried deep down
In the earth while still alive. A mortal
terror seized me, but still was silent
as tho grave. felt the cold creeping
up my body, though the weather was
uncomfortably warm. SO 1t Is with tho
dead, l thought; they grow colder and
colder. thought OF all the dead had
ever seen, and a pang OF disgust seized
me. Could IL be, / asked myself, that
the body would decay and leave the life
still conscious within2 even wonder
cd to myself II | was experiencing any
new sensations. What If / BIO really
deadg what II all the dead were thus
possessed OF u living consciousness
within which lnsted while the body de-
caycd and even fingered In tho CHASTITY
bones Of the skeleton? Dead?--was I
not dead? What Is death? Certainly
to spectator IL consists In this notion
less apathy Of the body. / tried to
reason.-1 said tried but reason was no
stood beside this thing upon the bed,
or another thing like it'll would say,
I" it is u dead body" ] would feel It's
wrist is there any pulse there? No! !
fclt there was not. ] would put my
hnnd upon the breast--locs the heart
bent? No! ! know It did not. / was
but mass or feeling within dead
body, and as u dead body they would
find me. afs
What would they all think TO find me
In the morning dead? II Is not often
a. man has. the opportunity
Of knowing how much he is
keenly the grief Of all / sympathized
with my father, my mother, and Carter,
us II ] had boon myself u mourner.
Carter-my thoughts rested on her.
Would she SORROW, and how? AS for "a
brother? or did she know what / was to
her? i would know now, probably; but
what good would my knowledge dome,
even surprising she loved me2 / must
leave har and she would marry Lee.
All now torturlnR was tho thought.
No language can convey an idea OF the
horrors Of this invinciblc tread Of
thought, tramping, tramping through
my brain with footsteps OF fire, leaving
thoir scared impress wherever they
touched, while q cold immovable shell
hold in this fierce energy OF feeling.
At last day dawned. l knew it, though
my eyes were closed. i heard the move
ment In the house, and waited for the
next event. At length / heard % soft
step In the hall approaching my door;
there was u knock, and then second,
and tho handle was softly turned. /
knew my mother was BY my bedside,
Why, how the child sleepsl Worn out.
poor fellow. won't wake him. She
put her hand upon my head; its iciness
against her warm flesh startled her, as
knew from Its quick withdrawal. /
felt that she was looking In my face.
She seized my hands, and then shrek
after shrek broke the silence, and she
fell prone upon tho floor, Why did not
the agony OF the moment wake me?
Must lie speechless there, when by
one word ! could raise her up to life and
happiness! e .
The household was now fully aroused,
and crowded into the room. Hobs and
cries rent the air. My father-poor old |
man how he loved me / heard Carriers |
voice, Its usual gentle. subdued tones |