The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-06-04

into the tumbler OF claret that stood be-
side him.
The more I SOW, the more felt con-
WINGED that it was the nervous system of
my patient which required my atten-
ton; and it was with sincere satisfac-
ton saw him drink. the wine, and
\ then stretch himself on the luxurious
bed.
"Ha," thought I as the clock struck
10, and, instead Of groan, the deep
breathing of the sleeper sounded through
the room; "you won't receive any sum-
mons tonight. and may make myself
comfortable. +"
Noiselessly, therefore, I replenished
the fire, poured myself out a glass Of
wine, and, drawing the curtain so that
the freight should not disturb the
sleeper. put myself in position to
follow his example.
How long slept I know not, but sud-
denly / aroused with start and as
ghostly thrill Of horror as | ever re-
membered to have felt in my life. Some
tbi11g-what, I knew not-seemed near !;
something nameless, but unutterably
awful.
[ gazed round. The fire emitted a
faint blue glow, just sufficient to enable
me to see that the room was exactly the
same as when fell asleep, but that the
long hand of the clock wanted but five
minutes of the mysterious hour which
was to be the death-moment of the
summoned" man!
Was there anything in it, then ?-any
truth in the strange story he had told?
The silence was intense. [ could not
even hear a breath from the bed; and [
was about to rise and approach, when
again that awful horror seized me, and
at the same moment my eye fell upon
the mirror opposite the door, and I
saw
Great Heaven! that awful Shape
that CHASTITY mockery Of what had been
humanity-was it really q messenger
from the buried, quiet dead? It stood
there in visible death-clothes but the
awful face was CHASTITY with corruption,
and the sunken eyes cleaned forth
green, CLASSY glare, which seemed a YER
table blast from the Internal fires be-
low. TO move Or utter sound in that
hideous presence was impossible; and
like statue [ sat and saw that horrid
Shape move slowly toward the bed
What was the awful scene enacted
there [ know not. I heard nothing, ex-
cept a low, stifed, agonized groan, and I
saw the shadow of that CHASTITY messen-
ger bending over the bed. Whether it
was some dreadful but wordless sentence
its breathless lips conveyed, as it stood
there, [ know not; but for an instant
the shadow of a claw-like hand, from
which the third finger was missing, APP
peared extended over the doomed mans
head; and then, as the clock struck one
clear silvery stroke, it fell, and wild
shrek rang through the room-a death.
am not given to fainting, but GER
tainly confess that the next ten minutes
Of my existence was a cold blank; and,
when [ did manage to stagger to my
feet l gazed round, vainly endeavoring
to understand the chilly horror which
still possessed me.
Thank God! the room was rid of that
awful presence saw that; so, gulping
down some wine, I lighted a wax-taper
and staggered toward the bed. All,
how | prayed that, after all, I might
have been dreaming, and that my own
excited imagination had but coniured
up some hideous memory Of the dissect-
ing-room!
But one glance was sufficient to answer
that. No! The summons had indeed
been given and answered,
I flashed the light over the dead face,
swollen, convulsed still with the death
agony but suddenly [ shrank back.
Even as I gazed, the expression of the
face seemed to change; the blackness
faded into deathly whiteness the con-
Vulsed features relaxed, and. even as if
the victim of that dread apparition still
lived, q sad, solemn smile stole over the
pale lips.
| was intensely Mortified, but still I
retained sufficient self-consciousness to
be struck professionally by such
phenomenon. Surely there was some
thing more than supernatural agency in
all this +?
Again scrutinized the dead face, and
even the throat and chest; but, with the
exception of a tiny pimple on one temple
beneath a cluster of hair, not mark APP
peared. To look at the corpse, one
would have believed that this man had,
indeed, died by the visitation Of God,
peacefully, while sleeping. How long I
stood there [ know not, but time enough
to gather my scattered senses and to re-
fleet that, all things considered, my own
position would be very unpleasant if I
was found thus unexpectedly in the room
of the mysteriously-dead man. So, noise
lessly as could, I made my way out of
the house. No one met me on the pri-
vate staircase the little door opening
into the road was easily unfastened; and
thankful, indeed, was [ to feel again
the fresh wintry air as I hurried along
the road by the church-yard.
There was a magnificent funeral soon
In that church and it was said that the
young widow Of the buried man was in
consolable; and then rumors got abroad
of horrible apparition which had been
seen on the night of the death and it
VI xrvh1f,