The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-04-25


And the gold that wears
Now eOOthes my cares.
philadelphia Times.
THE DEAD ALIVE.
The Midnight visit to q Family Vault
The Body .Snatcher,s Secret.
HUNDREDS of stories are related of
the horrible deeds of the body-snatch-
er; but among them all none is more
more remarkable and soul-harrowing
than the one Just about to be mar
rated. The facts were given to the
writer recently, and it is believed that
they are now published for the first
time.
In the Town of Kilmare, in the north
of ireland. reside many families of dis
tinction. The head of one of these
was Mr.. Bell, a young gentleman of
twenty-five. He inherited large es-
tate from his uncle. and soon afterward
removed from his former abode to take
possession of the family mansion in
Kilmare. He married the only child
of a wealthy East India merchant re-
siding in Liverpool, by whom he had
two children. In the fourth year Of
their welded life Mrs. Bell was taken
suddenly i'll, and expired the next day,
The symptoms were of u peculiar ma
ture, and the limbs SO increased in size
Immediately after death that a magnifi-
cent diamond ring of great value could
not be removed from the lady's finger,
and was buried with her. OF course,
this fact was well known to the inhab-
itants of Kilmare, as Mrs. Bell was the
wife of the most considerable man
thereabout, and naturally, therefore,
all concerning her was matter of con-
versation and rumor.
The old churchyardo of Kilmare stood
on the side of hill, and Immediate
~ in the rear of the church and adj
joining the chancel was the tomb of the
Bell family. Here, in accordance with
immemorial usage, the body of the de-
ceased lady was to repose, and there
it was deposited on the third day after
her demise. After the ceremony the
key of the vault was put in its usual
place by the sexton in the vestry of the
church.
The day had been gloomy, and as
night drew on q thin rain fell, which
increased at about midnight to smart
shower. Mr.. Bell, who was about re-
firing, went to an open window, and as
he did SO fancied he saw 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 delusion, he commenced to UNI
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 a
few seconds the sound again reverber-
ated through the house, and Mr.. Bell
opened the door and stepped out into
the corridor. At that moment, as he
glanced down the stairway, he saw the
housekeeper moving toward the front
door. Then he heard her set the small
lamp she carried on the table, and open
the lock and bolts of the massive door.
Then dreadful and prolonged shrek
followed, and at the same moment Mr..
Bells butler ran along the hall toward
the front door. Mr.. Bell had reached
the head of the stairs. and was in the
act of descending when the butler
reached the spot where the housekeep-
er 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 hall 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 almost overcome.
Then he remembered the white figure
which he saw crossing the lawn few
seconds before the bell rang, and an
other glance showed him that the gar
ments of the figure before him were
dripping with rain.
Julia, my darling, my wifer' Mr..
Bell exclaimed, and stepped toward the
figure.
It made movement toward him, and
the next instant it was embodied in his
arms.
The scene that ensued battles all de-
scription. 1t was indeed the wife, but
that day buried, who was restored to
the arms of the bereaved husband and
children. The explanation which she
offered was very imperfect and unsatis-
factory. For q short 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 consciousness she had was
one of pain. Then she saw an indis-
tinct glimmer and finally severe pang
shot through her frame. With q pow
erful effort she rose and saw woman
standing by her side. The woman
shrieked and fed. and then Mrs. Bell
discovered that she was lying in acofin
in the family vault.
Fresh strength came to her every
moment, and, releasing herself from
the shroad. she stepped to the ground
and 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
q mile, until she reached her late home.
Fortunately the large gate to the park
was unfastened, and she fastened up
the roadway to the dwelling. The rest
the reader knows. She rapidly re-
gained her health, and lived to q rood
old age.
But who was the woman who stood
by the aide Of the coffin when the corpse
suddenly arose and startled her into
sudden nightp
Next day the lamp was found extin-
tinguished ON the floor of the vault, Il
was identified - one which USUALLY
stood in thervestsy, and was used by
the sexton. It had doubtless been re-
moved Ut the same time when the kew
Of the vault was taken. Beyond that
all was mystery.
was easily discovered. As already
stated, Mrs. Bell was buried with .
valuable diamond ring on her finger.
The design of the woman was to steal
this from the supposed corpse. Find
inO r. imnossihIo n remove r.. the dar