The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-01-01

drifting rapidly toward the falls.
/ sprang up to seize the oars and pull t
shore. There were no oars in the beat.
glanced toward the shore. Ii
seemed the bank was lined with men,
/ women and children, who may have
called to me, but | could hear nothing.
My first impulse was to leap overheard,
+ but then [ could not swim.
! = A man on the bank threw p lasso.
waited the coming OF the loop, and reach
| ed my hand toward it, bat it fell short.
/ 1t was drawn in, aud the m an, running
| swiftly TO u point further down, tried
again. He apparently east it with greater
| force, but it fell further off than before.
L was being drawn nearer 10 the center IF
the horse shoe.
And now there came the lethargy of
dispair. | sat there without hope and
without fear. Ny doom was inevitable
The motion Of the boat grew faster and
faster, the distant banks whirled past
me. and then my spirit rose in a kind Of
eestacy. | gave Il sharp glance around
me and laughed. As the boat struck the
edge of the abyss and rose for the fiual
plunge, | caught sight of a dense mist !;
heard above the roar the rush Of a
thousand wings; L felt as though struck
with numbing blow, and breath and
consciousness left me together.
1t seemed to De dream, for when
recovered | found | was here in nv own
house. Yonder sat my wife, clad in
black. her head buried in her hands.
Yes! it seemed to be dream, for though
| tried to speak to her my lips made no
Son11s I hood / +o,obol
her, but she did not heed it, l looked
around the room bewildered.
8 1t was this library. There on a long
table, which did noe belong here, lay
something like a human form, covered
by a sheet What was it doing here
Whose body lay there? A new and
more unspeakabie terror seized me. l
would like TO have cried out. l could
not. | was dumb.
Ny wife arose and went to the table
Now [ said to myself, i shall know
all. She raised the cover from the
head, and, STOPPING down, kissed the face
of the corpse. Could it be that my faith
erin law, Col. Barnesleigh had died
while | was away? | did not walk, but
[ was moved by some unseen power until
[ stood by wire and over the dead body
and looked down. | knew it all then.
| recognized the cold, lifeless face. 1t
was my own"
Then the whisper ceased, and fell in
a deep sleep in the chair. 1t was day
light when [ awoke. | looked around
Had | dreamed it all On The table was
the fragment of newspaper. Picking
it up my glance caught the name of a
former owner of the house, and | read
as follows
g MELANCHOLY CAsUALTY.-A terri
BILE event occurred on Friday last. Rob
ert Grant, of this village, ON his return
from Toronto, where he had been on bust
ness, stopped at Niagara. He took a
walk above the falls after breakfast. He
must have got in a boat and lost or bre5j
en- the oars though it is said no oars,
were in the boat at all. He was seen
afoat by a large crowd of people just
above the fall Every attempt was made
to rescue him, but unsuccessfully and
he was carried to his death. His body
was recovered on Sunday, and Is now on
its way here. Heleaves widow"
| had certainly never seen that para
graph before | am quite sure of that.
From that time out there have been no
noises in the house, except such as could
he easily explained, and the whispered
voic yer came again. Yet, if it were
no dream, or DO imaginary whisper, why
should the ghost have told his story to
me- end why Shoul1 he tell II at all