The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-10-25
BLOOMSBURY, PA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 1878.

"istaken some nocturnal cry Tor human
voice, replaced the light, and was abont to
resume my seat, when my movements we're
arrested by a very singular voice.
There it is again 7 mutfered the doctor,
agitatedly.
"A low confused murmur resembling
nothing that had ever heard before, arose
in the room, and seemed to circulate in the
air for an instant and died away. Again it
arose, coming from point directly over our
heads and gradually descending, until it
seemed to emanate from some invisible source
Immediately beside us. know of nothing
with which to compare the intonation, ex-
cept it may be the articulation of the tele-
phone, or that of a ventriloquist.
The first words we caught were, 'Oh, my
poor wife =
1T would be impossible to describe the
effect that these words produced upon us. 1t
was not so much the tone, weird and un-
canny as it was, as the startling significance
of the words that amazed us.
Who could have spoken them but the
husband of the woman lying stupefied upon
the couch Yet he had been dead for many
hours. Full of repugnance of the horror of
the idea,.we started up and again examined
not only every nook and Granny of the hut,
but even the space outside for many Yards
around. There was no human being besides
ourselves in the vicinity.
We again scrutinized the corpse. 1t had
neither changed its position nor its appear.
ance. The flesh had grown perfectly cold
and the muscles rigid there was not drop
of vitality in it Now said the professor,
wipng his forehead nervously. i have ar
rived at what imagine will be the limit of
your credulity. do not expect you to cred
1t what followed but swear TO you, on the
word OF an honest man, that do not devil
ate from the truth as much ~ a syllable
when say that while we bent over the body
we again heard the voice proceeding from
distant part of the room, saying audibly
In the name OF Col, assist ME back to
lifeu
with hearts beating thick and fast, we
stood gazing at each other absolutely thun-
derstruck. An experience so terrifying, 30
utterly without precedent, completely un-
swerved us. While we remained stupefed
with horror, the vol ce was again audible:
oh, have pity it said, aid me to return
to life.'
1T was some minutes before either of us
could recover from our amazemcnt sufficient
ly to make any reply.
''Who is it that speaks to us p asked the
doctor, in low tone.
The soul of the man who lies dead be-
fore you " it replied.
1T is impossible that the dead can speak, ,
answered the DOCTOR
No, tor.the intelligence never dies re-
piled the voice. My body is indeed dead,
but that with which lived and thought and
loved is still in this room
What is it that you desire p asked the
doctor, carrying on this strange coloquy
with increasing wonder.
10 be aided to resume my former exis.
tence,' was the rejonder Il dare not leave
my poor wife unprotected in this wilderness.
] cannot see her suffer. love her beyond
all my hopes of future life, and by the
power cf my love l have remained near her,
and have been able to communicate with
you. ! cannot, will not be separated from
her. l must return to her in my human
shape
Whether the doctors courage deserted
him at this point or not cannot say but
he spoke no more, and, as the voice was no
longer audible, we remained silent in state
of mind that battles all description.
4 am morally certain that both of us
would have fled instantly from the place
had it not been for the poor creature sleep.
ing upon the bed. We could not leave her
to face alone a mystery that shook even
nerves as toughened as ours After hasty
consultation as to what course we ought tc
follow, we resumed our seats and waited i1
breath less expectation for what was next tc
occur
Some hours had passed in this way, and
the first dim traces of dawn were beginning
to shine upon the Eastern horizon, when
with o simultaneous start, we sprang to oul
feet. The voice had sgain spoken. Thi.
time it had proceeded, not from some indefi.
mite point in the atmosphere, but from be.
meath the sheet enveloping the corpse.
Help it cried, in faint, but distinct ac.
cents; 'for Ch rists sake, help
For an instant we hesitated-and who
would not?-then hastened to the body and
removed the covering. There was no alter
alton in its pallor and rigidity, but we per.
ceived that the lips, from which faint mur.
mur was issuing, trembled slightly. Here
our instincts conquered our weakness What
ever the mystery involved in the matter, a
human being was struggling to regain exis
tence, and our impulse was to aid without
question. A powerful res torative was ad-
ministered, and, before many moments had
passed, we saw the color coming back to the
wan cheeks and the sunken muscles reshap-
ing themselves with the current of warm
blood. Then, with a faint sigh, the eyes
opened and gazed at us inquiringly. In a
word, gentlemen, the dead was restored to
life.
1T is needless to detail what followed. In
the meeting which occurred between these
two poor young creatures, we felt ourselves
more than repaid for the startling experien-
ces of the previous night, 1t can do no harm
to add that We claimed and exercised the
right of securing their future prosperity out
lpf our ample means. We learned no more
of their former history than that the perse-
cution of those whose wishes their marriage
had opposed, had driven them to hide their
poverty and misfortune in the wilderness.
We have heard Of them since.
The young man, as we discovered on
questioning him, remembered nothing of his
sensations while unconscious, except vague
dreamlike, and yet intense sorrow for his