Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-04-23

? the cold touched me not; | had fall
8 en- too deeply in the shaft for that
J. even ii my tortured blood coult
have fell it,
Morning broke at last. ANA hope
u grew with it. Al Intervals hao
; called aloud through all the night
: but now, with scarcely any inter
mission, | raised my voice in erie:
for help. | did this till weariness
, stopped me; then l rested in agoniz-
r ed hope of Il voice in reply There
: was none. No sound reached me. /
q was in my grave. alone. / called
again, again, again! / husbanded
my voice. L drew in my breath,
. and shouted with the strength of de
/. Spair. There was no answer.
r The sun Travelled upwards, and l
knew it was high noon, though to
me the stars were visible likewise /;
{ yet the midday rays shone some
| what into the shaft, and showed me
how [ hung. The pit here was not
quite perpendicular; it sloped slight
lily from feet outwards, and / had
found rest for one foot on ledge of
; rock. Oh, the ease to my anguish
from this merciful rest! Tears
" AAtf do L OAOQ
for it.
The sun had shown me that to
climb ont of the pit unaided was
impossible, SO called for help again
and called till my voice failed me.
1 ceased to cry and night fell down
again.
AS the hours crept on, kind of
madness siezed me phantoms
sprang up from the pit, and tempt
ed me. to plunge below; horrible
eyes glared on me; voices mocked
me. But worst of all was the sound
of water-a purling rill flowing gen
tly in my very ears, trickling drop
by drop in sweetest music, horribly
distinct. Water! To reach water
would willingly die; but ] knew it
was a madness SO | resisted the fire.
ry thirst that would have me release
my hold and perish. Water! Yes,
| there was water at the bottom of |
the shaft, fathoms deep below my
feet, but l could only reach that to
die; and there was water on the fair
earth fathoms above me-Water |
should never see again.
| grew dizzy-sick-blin /
should have fainted-have fallen
died; but as 1 leaned my head
against the rock, L felt as though a
cold, refreshing hand were laid up
on it suddenly.
1t was water! 1t was no madness
it was water. A tiny stream
trickling through the bare wall of
rock, like dew from heaven. / held
forth my parched tongue and caught
the drops as they fell and as 1
drank my strength was renewed,
and hope and the desire for life
grew warm within me again. And
yet on this, the second night of my
horrible prisonment, l cared not
so passionately, l looked not so eag-
erly for succor. My limbs were
numbed, my brain deadened life
was ebbing towards death shad
ow at times fell over my eyes; and
if / held to the hilt of my sword, if
my feet sought still the ledge that
rested them they did it mechanical
ly, from habit, and not from hope.
l think sometimes l was not in
my right mind. was among green
fields and woods, / was gathering
flowers, l was climbing mountains;
and from these visions [ awoke al
ways to arkness-darkness above,
around, darkness below, hiding the
abyss that hungered greedily for
my life. And no friendly face, no
through all those slow, slow hours.
If passing peasant, through the day,
mad heard the lonely cry rising
from the depths, he had set it down
to ghost or pixy, and had passed on
his frightened way regardless.
And now the night was wearing
on, and no rescue. | could not live
till morning. knew that.
Ny mind wandered again. Ny
mother waited for me, / must hur- !
ry home; but L was bound by a
chain, in outer darkness, and was !
going to die. There was no chris !
tians in all the land to succor mel !
was forgotten and forsaken, left in
a pit-and I would unclasp my
hands, and fall and die. {
No, Iwould call again once more.
"Hel p! help! Mercy help!" {
AS my fainting voice died in the !
dark depth, and quivered up to the !
sky. / felt hope die with
it, and l gave up all thought of life. q
| turned my eyes toward my grave I
below, and murmured with parch- d
ed lips:
"Out of the depths have 1 called S
unto thee, o Lord ~ =
The little rill that had saved my [
life hitherto trickled on, and its sill L
very murmur, as it dropped on the e
rock below, was the sole sound that
broke the silence around me. y
My prayer was over, and | had !
not relinquished my hold. l was I
than | had deemed myself. I
l would cry out again, "Help! help! q
help!"
1 stopped. 1 listened. A sound
was floating on the wind. Coming p
going, joined the drip, drip, drip of u
the rill-then dying, then returning.
Listening with my whole being. 0
recognized the sound. >
Bells-church bells-chimes ring II
ing in the New Year. go God,
have mercy on me! have mercy on y
me ~ 2
Bells ringing in the New year Il
BELLS Ginning in the ears of friends,
telling of sadness and of hope-bells g
.lashing in at merry intervals, be- 0
tween music and laughter, loving
greetings, kisses and joy. 0
Will no one in my fathers house p
AXE pity on me? Am | missed s.
Nowhere ? The bells chime for II
casting and gladness; and | am u
lere hanging between life and death.
The jaws of the grave are beneath o
ne, my joints are broken-and the 81
1elis chime on. Would it not be a o
rood deed on this New Years Day O
% save me? 0 feasters and revel-
ers, hear me! "a
"Help! help! 1t is a Christmas n
ime! HelD, for Christ's sake good
1eoplev' The bells float nearer and p
lroWn the drip of the trickling wa IL
er; and l cry "Help help!" saying
Nov will / call TIL die" A film a
grows over my eyes, but my voice is u
strong and desperate, as shout,
Christmas tide! For Christ's sake, Sc
lelp, good Christians ~ a.
A great light-a flash Of fire For p
| moment | deemed it death then, p
gazing upward, | see, amid glare
IF torches, faces-oh, they were an el
gels to me !-eager faces peering :,
downward. And close by swings u
orch. let down into the depths its 81
- r, l.. Il G., !