Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-01-16
Attending ones own Funeral.

0 CIle very pOlnt OF deaun. al a.
0 once l felt something giving way
0 and / was lost in perfect uncon.
= sciousness.
Q Q How long / remained in that
state | cannot tell; but think il
: must have been about two hours.
; When I regained my power of
} mind, l could distinctly hear the
sobbing of my friends around me,
} and perceived that / had been
'laid out" and my limbs were
} fastened to the board that was
used for that purpose. / had
been arrayed in a neat white
shroud, and was at that moment
entirely oyerspread with q wind
ing-sheet.
AS have sale, I had entirely re-
glined my powers of mind, and ]
tried to move, to speak, but it was
quite in vain; l could not move
SO much as finger. My tongue
cleaved to the roof Of my mouth,
and could not be made to pro-
duce the slightest sound. / was
able to understand everything
around me; the whispered words,
the sob, the soft footstep, and
even the ticking Of the clock on
the mantel.
Presently the door opened and
shut; some one had entered.
"Did you see the doctor, TomT"
eyes; / met him at his own
door, and told him that he need
not come again, as the patient
was no more"
"What did he say, then p
"Well, he appeared to be very
much surprised at first, and said
he had no idea that the poor man
would drop off so soon, but that
he was glad that | had saved
him a journey out here, as he Was
very busy" I
This vac very unwelcome
news to me, for l felt sure that |
if the doctor could only see me
he would understand how mat
ters really were, and would give
me something to restore my leth- |
argic system to its wonted ami
nation.
1 was lying in 9 small bed
room adjoining the principal a
partment Of the house; and as
the door was left continually a.
jar, l could hear everything that
transpired. | soon heard theI
tramping of several persons in
my room, and understood that
they were approaching my bed
side. From the voices, I'recog-
nized Mrs. Jameson, a neighbor
whose services were usually in
great demand at time of death.
I also recognized the voice of
Ralph Stetson, the undertaken,
and knew that l was to be meas
ured for coffin.
AS the sheet was turned down
and the cloth removed from my
face, / felt that the golden op-
portunity had arrived, and made
a desperate attempt to move
something, an eyelid, finger, or
a toe, but all In vain. Still, /
had strong hope that those two
characters, so much accustomed
to death in all its forms and
phases, would detect something
unusual in my appearance which
might lead to a deliverance.
"Oh, how natural ! Did you
ever see corpse look 30 natu-
raj z" exclaimed Mrs. Jameson,
in loud whisper.
"HuInl he does look natural;
the expression is happy, tool /
trust he is better off than wei"
said the hypocritical undertaken.
"He was such good, kind
man, tool" unused Mrs. Jameson;
"always ready to accommodate
every one. It's really too bad
he should have left his business
insolyent.n
The undertaken paused.
sInsolventl How ?"
"WhS haven't you heard that
Thomas Hawkins, the grocer,
has trumped up notes and one
thing and another, to the amount
of over two thousand dollars, to
be brought against the estate,
when none of us supposed that
the poor man owed Eve hundred
dollars, all told. 1t will leave
Mrs. Stebbins quito destitute,
Indeed y