The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1880-09-23

| OI NE. oEAluIHS III Tue uSute0 ual
were three indoor servants and the ole
nurse; and the faces of all were absolute
| i blanched with terror. One of the
girls, in an agony of fright, caught hold
of my sleeve and pointed out: o, sir, dc
comet
''I shook her off somewhat roughly,
and, addressing the nurse, said: What's
the meaning of thisl'
.'She was clearly as frightened as the
others, but more self possessed, and-she
replied: "If you please, sir, Jane and
Margaret say that their mistress is stand.
ing at the side door, tapping on the glass;
and that they will leave the house if you
do not come and see.
81 called them fools and bade them go
to bed; but they crowded behind me as
| hastily crossed the hall and strobe
down the short corridor to the side door.
l approached the door; and must con-
fess that my blood ran cold as | distinct
ly heard the well known tap, and thought
| saw something white behind the glass
panels. turned my eyes to the bolt,
which l drew back and flung the door
wide open. If l were to live for mil
leuuium, I could never forget the sight
l saw then. There stood my wife, with
bright open eyes, flushed face, dishev-
elled hair, and her night dress stained
with large patches of blood!
"James, she said, don't be frighten-
ed; it is T. She may have said more;
but this was all I heard. They told me
that I gasped, Kate, my Katel' and fell
down senseless.
"When | recovered consciousness l
found mysolf IN bed. My wife, dressed
as she used to be dressed, was sitting by
my side; and l looked around and Won
dered whether l had been awakened from
some horrible nightmare. At last the
reality of the events of the past few days
came back to me-my wife's illness, her
death, her strange return from the world
Of spirits. When / summoned strength
for the task, 1 asked what it all meant,
and though she could tell but little, that
little was enough to solve the mystery
She said she had feltas if she were being
rather roughly awakened from sleep;
and that when she became thoroughly
ha for,nl fhot oh oIttrnp
up in an open coffin at the bottom of
grave, with the blood running quickly
from deep cut in her ring Hnger. The
grave was shallow, and she had managed
to climb out, when she discovered that
she was not twenty yards from the door
by which she was accustomed to enter
the house. She made her way to it; and
we knew the rest.
''It had been curious case of trance,
catalepsy, or whatever name men of sci
ence may give to those inexplicable simu-
lations of death in which all the functions
seem to be arrested, while the vital prin-
ciple remains intact. She had been
restored to constant animation by the cut
given to her finger by the ruffian whose
cupidity had tempted him to deed from
which many hardy scoundrel would
have shrunk. The perpetrator was of
course one of the undertakers men, who
had been struck by the glitter of the
gems in the diamond ring; and who, to
obtain it, did not hesitate to violate the
sanctity of the grave, and even to mutil-
ate corpse"
''Good heavens!" / exclaimed, "what
an overpowering story. Was the rascal
ever caught
''No; he disappeared, and nothing was
heard of him."
"And your wife? What affect had it on
herr"
"Curiously enough, her general health
became better from that dreadful day;
but think her nervous system must have
received permanent strain, for she en-
tirely lost the physical courage which
she had possessed in an extraordinary
degree for woman; and about two years
afterward she became subject to attacks
of asthma, which is, / believe. COM
plant that often has its origin in some
nervous shock. She lived, however, to
be over so, and was bright and cheerful
to the last, though she had been con-
firmed invalid for five years before her
| DEATH.