Weekly Trinity journal., 1879-02-08
THE DEAD ALIVE.

THE DEAD ALIVE.
In the town of Klmare, in the north
of Ireland, reside many families OF dis.
tinction. The head Of one of these was a
Mr.. Bell, n young gentleman of twenty
five. He inherited large estate from
his uncle, and soon after removed irem
his former abode to take possession of his
! family mansion in Kilmare. He mar
ried the only child of a wealthy East In
dia merchant residing 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 werc of q
peculiar nature, and the limbs so increas-
ed in size Immediately after death ;hat
magn ilicent diamond ring of great value
could not be removed from the lAdy's
finger, and was buried with her. OF
course this fact was we'll known to tho
inhabitants of Kilmare, ms Mrs. Bell
was the wife of the most considerable
man thereabout, and naturally, therefore,
all concerning her was matter Of conver-
sation and rumor.
The old churchyard of Kilmare stood
on tho side Of II hill, and Immediately in
the rear of the church and adjoining the
chance was the tomb OF the Bell family.
Here, in accordance with immemoral
usage, the body of the deceased lady was
to repose, and there it was dcpos tied the
third day after her demise. After the
ceremony, the key Of the vault was
pat in its usual place by the sexton,
in the vcstry of the church.
The day had been gloomy, and osnight
drew on thin rain fell, which increased
at about midnight to n smart shower
Mr.. Bell, who was about retiring, went
to an open window, and as he did so fam
cied he saw II white figure crossing the
lawn in front of the house. Tho next
moment it Disappeared md satisfying
himself that he was the subject of dc
lusion, he commenced to undress. Sud -
denly the clear tones oftho door bell rang
through the building. Mr. Bell paused,
and moved toward the door Of the apart
ment to listen. In n few seconds the
sound again reverberated through the
house, and Mr.. Bell opened the door and
stepped out into the corrider. A that
moment, as he glanced down the stair
/ uo Ia ca tha h,hsal lrant,ts rnntitrr -,
ward the front door, Then he heard her
set the small lamp sho carried on the Ia
BILE, and open the lock and bolta Of the
massive door. Thon a dreadful and pro-
Ionged shrek followed, and At the same
moment Mr.. Bells butler ran along the
hall to tho front door. Mr.. Bell had
reached the head OF the stairs, and was
in the net Of descending when the butler
reached the spot where tho housekecper
lay on the floor apparently in Il swoon.
What was Mr.. Bells surprise to see the
butler raise his hands, Ak his goze upon
the door, and then sink to the floor MS
though struck dead.
Utterly bewildered and dumb founded,
Mr.. Bell hastened down s.aIrs. The ight
that met hi. 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
almost overcome. Then he remembered
the white figure he saw crossing tho lawn
only few seconds before the bell rang.
and another glance showed him that the
garments Of the figure before him were
dripped with rain.
"Julia, my darling, my wife !" Mr..
Bell exclaimed, and stepped toward the
figure.
1t made movement toward him, and
the next instant it was embodied in his
arms. The scene that ensued battles all
description. II was indeed the wife but
that day buried, who was restored to the
arms Of the bereaved husband and chill
dren. The explanation which she offered
was very imperfect and unsatislactory.-
For a short time after her supposed death
she was aware OF all that went on around
her, but before she was placed in the cof
fin she lost all consciousness. She said
the first sensation OF Consciousness she
had was Of pain. Then she saw an in
distinct glimmer, and finally severe
paRg shot through her frame. W ilh
powerful effort she rose, and saw n WON
an standing by her side. The woman
shrieked aud fled, ard then Mrs. Bell
discovered that sho was lying in coffin
in the family vault. Fresh strength
came to her every moment, and recas
ing herself from :he shroud, she stepped
to the groand and passed out Of the vault,
the door Of which was wide open. Down
the churcbyard she passed to tho main
street, along which sho walked FOR hnlf
a mile, until she reached her hto homo
Fortunately the large gate to the park