Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1879-03-19

the wardrobe, aud even under The bed
There was nothing there, save that em
blem Of death which had set IN motion
,he traln OF underlined aud terrible
thoughts which troubled my excited
brain.
This would never do | must either
90 to bed at once, or else 90 downstairs
aud announce TO the landlord aud his
guests that my courage had oil evap'
Grated, and that was In fact, an aV'
rant coward. But by this time the
house was silent, the inmaleS had all
retired TO rest all, save lhe landlord
innocent Of the presence Of that lcHl'
bic object which slept itS long 'leep
beneath the samo roof, The candle
too, had now burned down 10 the
socket. aud ielt that ! must decade
quickly. For u moment or two
pacedl,hc room ! | poured out aud
swallowed a tumblcr OF lcC'water, aud
then threw open The window and
then I felt q little revived. No! 1t
would never do TO 90 down stairs aud
confess my icars-how l should he
laughed att | should never get over
the ridculc--I would make the last
effort to play man, So | threw oil
my coat and boots, aud just MS was
with all Of my other garments On
got into bed and drew the clothes up
over me. For q few mGmcuts ages
they seemed to me-thc excitement
under which / labored kept me awake,
bat presently more peaceful feelings
stole over me, and utterly worn on,
with tolls OF the day at last ] SLEPT
How long | slept | do not know,
but my rest was troubled, 1t seemed
to me as if some invisible spell united
all my faculties myslenouoly with the
coffin beneath me. In my dream
saw it in thousand shapes and posi-
tions, all horrible and shastly. /
fancied that fearful creatures, such as
only dreams can picture, were lurking
in the corners OF the room they
thronged around the bed, and some OF
them with fiendlike glcc raped upon
the coffin lid and reviled the poor
remnants of mortality which 1t con
cealed. At last they dragged il from
its hiding-place, and tearing open the
lid, propped up the corpse, all bloody
and wrapped in its winding'sheet, and
began to gibber and gibe at 1t in
mockery. The face of the murdered
man was awful to behold; the eyes,
deep sunken in their sockets, were
half.open, glazed and fixed like the
eyes of a sleep,walker; aud the lower
jaw unbandaged, dropped upon the
unnoving bosom. The sight was 50
horrible that l endeavored to turn my
face to the wall, but the ghastly phan-
toms left their devilish sport and
turned menacingly toward the bed.
1 strove to put out my hands to repel
them, but they came nearer and near
er; and Just as one touched my tor
head with his cold clammy fingers,
started from the hideous dream and
found myself sitting bolt upright in
bed.
soon, however, realized my situa-
ton. True:it was only dream
but what a dream! And in what a
frighttul position was | placed! The
candle had now burned quite out, and
drops of rain were pattering against
the window, No other sound-not
even the ticking of clock-disturbed
the gravelike silence. The house was
wrapped in slumber. All was still as
death. tried to compose myself to
sleep again but that was utterly i'm
possible. My very breathing seemed
so loud that was Mortified at the
sound. knew now that the horrible
scene through which | had just
passed was all dream, but in the SOL
itude of the night, and with that fear
full thing so near me, there was too
much OF reality in it. a terror OF the
darkness had seized upon my mind,
and I almost expected with my wax
ing eyes to see some awful phantom
rise up beside me. A cold perspira
ton covered my whole body, and The
room seem peopled with underlined
but terrible forms Surely, thought,
it is the unquiet spirit of the murdered
man, unsatisied and unavenged.
How long 1 lay in this condition
do not know. Daylight, | felt would
never come, and reason itself seemed
to be leaving me. Suddenly heard
Il was certain that l heard low
muffled sound. A hand seemed to be