Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-08-01
THE DEAD ALIVE.

among them all none is more remarkable
and soukharrowing than the one Just 10
be narrated. TThe facts {wcffe given to the
aaa az tSs fst ,l 6nst
In the town of KiInsre, in the north of
Ireland, resides many families Of distinc-
ton! The head Of one oftheses wasa Mr..
Bell a. young gen leman Of twenty five.
He inherited large estate from his I'M
Gle, and soon after removed from his for
mer abode to take possession of the family
mansion in Kiimare..,s. He married the On.
~ child ola wealthy East Indian mer-
chant.residing in liverpool, by whom he
had two children. In the fbhrth wear of
their wedded life MRS. Belli aWasa taken
suddenly i'll, and expired the next day
The SYMPTOMS were of a peculiar nature,
and the limbs so increaseu0 in size i'm
mediatelyI after death that magnificent
diamond ring of great value could not be
removed from the lady's finger, and was
buried with her.. or course this fact was
we'll known to the Inhabitants of Kilmare,
as Mrs. Bell was the wife of, the most con-
siderable man thersabouts, and naturally,
therefore, all concerning her was a matter
Of conversation and rumor. - Y ,.. u
The old !churchyard- of Kilmare stood
on the side of the hill, and immediately
in the rear and adjoining the chancel was
the tomb of the Bell family. Here, in
accordance with immemorial usage, the
body of the deceased lady was to repose,
and there it was deposited OH the third
day afr her demise. After the ceremony
the key OF the vault was put in the usual
place. by the sexton in the vestry of the
The day had been gloomy, and, as
night drew on a thin rain fell, which in
creased, at about midnight to smart
shower Mr.. Bell, who was about retir-
ing went to an open window, and as he
did SO fancied he saw a white figure
crossing the lawn in front of the house.
The next moment it disappeared, and,
satisfying himself that he was the SUBJ
ject of a delusion, he commenced to un-
dress. Suddenly the clear tones of the
door-bell rang through the building
Mr.. Bell paused and moved toward the
door OF the apartment to listen. In a1few
seconds the sound again reverberated
throug n the house, and Mr.. Bell stepped
out into the corridor. At that moment,
the housekeeper moving toward the front
door. Then he heard her set the small
la mp she carried on the table and open
the locks and bolts of the massive door.
Then. dreadful and prolonged shrek
followed, and at the same moment Mr.
Bells butler ran along the hall to the front
door. Mr.. Bell had reached the head of
the stairs and was in the act Of descend
ing when the butler reached the spot
where the housekeeper lay on the floor
apparently in swoon. What was Mr..
Bells surprise to see the Butler raise his
hands, Fix his gaze upon the door, and
then sink to the floor as though struck
dead
Utterly bewildered and COMPOUNDED,
Mr.. Bell fastened down stairs. The sight
that met his gaze when he reached the
center of the hail almost froze his blood,
There stood the figure of his wife in her
grave clothes, leaning against the pillar
Of the door, with one hand thrown across
her breast. For moment Mr.. Bell was
overcome. Then he remembered the
white figure which he saw crossing the
lawn few seconds before the bell rang,
and another glance showed him that the
garments of the figure before him were
dripping with rain.
"Julia, my darling, my wifew Mr..
Bell exclaimed, and stepped toward the
figure.
It made movment toward him and
the next instant it was embodied in his
arms. The scene that eusued battles ali
desert ption. 1t was indeed the wife but
that day buried, who was restored to the
arms of the bereaved husband and child
rem. The explanation which she offered
was very imperfect and unsatisfactory.
Fort sholt time after her supposed death
she was aware of all that went on around
her. but before she was placed in the
coffin she lost all CONSCIOUSNESS. She
said that the first sensation of conscious
ness she had was one of pain. Then she
saw an indistinct glimmer, and finally
severe pang shot through her frame.
With powerful effort she rose and saw
woman standing by Der SIDE. The wo-
man shrieked and fled, and then Mrs.
Bell discovered that she was lying in a
coffin in the family vault. Fresh strength
came to her every moment and releasing
herself from the shroud,, She stepped to
ground ana passed out Of the vault, the
door of which was wide open. Down
the churchyard path she passed to the
main street, along which she walked for
half mile until she reached her late
home. Fortunately the large gate to the
park was unfastened, and she fastened
up the roadway to the dwel]ing.1 The
rest the reader knows. She rapidly re-
gained her health, and lived to a good
old age. : :..."
But who was the woman who stood by
the side OF the coffin, when the corpse sud-
denly arose and started her, into sudden
aights :' -. - h. -'- r"
Next day the lamp was found ex-
tinguished on the floor Of the vault. 1t
wa" identified as one which unusually
stood in the vestry, and was used by the
sextons Ithad doubtless BEEN removed
at the'same time when the kew ofathe
vault was taken. Beyond that all was
mys:"ry.
The object Of the woman, however, was
easily discovered, As already stated,
Mrs. Bell was, buried with a valuable
diamond ring on her niger The de-
sign of the woman was to steal this
from the supposed corpse. Finding it
impossible TO- remove it.; the daring: thief
had raised the hand Of the lead woman
up to her mouth, and, in her~attenpt to
withdraw the ring with her teeth, caused
the pang which went through the frame
of the evident victim off, trance,s and
aroused her to-. Consciousness On the
finger, just below the ring, the marks Of
teeth were distinctly visible for several
days after. Mrs. Bell 3 resuscitation.a6a
Evnru offnrt yDoo m do RI kooy> This
markable circumstance q secret to the
neighborhoodi nevertheless, every exer
ton was used quietly to ascertain who
the robber Of the tomb was. The gener-
al impression was that the garb Of a
female was assumed as disguise, and
the depredator in reality q man, probably
professional ody-snatcher. IL
1t was thought that the remarkable cir