Morning journal and courier., 1883-01-12

ton, the frances seemed to disappear. When I slept was refreshed, and awoke at once to full viqor, and not, as formerly, by slow degrees to wretched helplessness and im- mobility. think should have escaped the brain fever had it not been for the doctor. He told me that the epilepsy was only mus terinE it's forces for an attack more vigorous than any had yet experienced-as storm sometimes lulls before it sweeps everything before it. He frightened me terribly, and my brain gave way.
 soThe brain fever was conquered, but I was very weak-so weak that did not rally. The doctor, always cheerful, said never would lay for days neither asleep nor awake, but not in trance, for could move and speak feebly. She may go out like the snuff of candle at any minute, said the doc tor in nay hearing, and nearly verified his prediction by going out at once.
 "One day-it was June 2, 1S64-I felt that was really improving. Life seemed to be conaing back to me. The doctor had not noticed it, but I knew by the unwonted distinctness with which the rumble of the Greenpoint wagons struck upon my ear that I was gathering new strength. At last grew tired, and, for the first time in several weeks, I slept soundly and healthily.
 s'I awoke slowly, and with the rigor of limb that knew so we'll An unutterable horror took possession of me as I felt that was in trance and remembered the good
 
 were well founded, for half an hour later, when the nurse came to look at me, heard her utter quick exclamation of alarm, and hurrying away, she called my mother and sisters. The doctor was summoned, and ar rived when all my relatives in the house were around my bed. He felt my pulse, put his hand upon my forehead, forced open one of my eyes, and examined the pupil, little think ing that I saw him as plainly as he saw me, and sorrowfully remarked:
 '' T feared 1t. She is going fast ? "Oh, the misery of that day and the night l following On the morning of June my body was cold and stiff, and, while my mind | was as active as ever knew that looked ! like corpse. My friends thought me dead, | and when the doctor came they stood aside, | silent and weeping, and made way for him to l approach the bed. He looked at me steadi- ly for few seconds and then said reverenti- | ally:
 | S Yes, poor creature, she is gone,' and he covered my face with the sheet. "And this was the man who had first told me that an epileptic fit might be so prolong- | ed as to be mistaken for death. My indigna- | tion at that moment absolutely overpowered 1 my fear. Otherwise I believe I should have died on the spot.
 ! 'tFor more than two days I lay nnotionless on the bed. Tuberoses were strewn over me. Friends came to see me, and reminded each other of good qualities in me that neither by l myself or others had ever before been sus- pected. I heard it all. Nobody spoke of me ! except as corpse; none noticed, what l am sure must have been apparent, that my face had not lost the color of life, and on the night of June lay beside my open coffin On the ! morning of the 5th I was put into 1t, for l
 was to be buried that day.
 q had heard the inscription on the plate read aloud, over and over again: Clara Munce. Aged 16 years. Poor girl. So young to be called away. But she was al
 ways delicate r Oh, why could not speak | could not even try to speak or move. All | volitien seemed to have died in me, and could only pray silently that might die toe
 before the last rites were performed, but felt that there WAS little chance of that, be- | cause was full of life.
 ''The undertaker's men were in the room,
 waiting to fasten down the coffin lid. Kisses ' innumerable had been pressed upon my face,
 and had given up all hope of life, when an
 old lady, worth all the rest of the visit DTS ! put together, elboYed the others out of hel
 way and stood beside the coffin. She was
 my Aunt Jane and she had come from Albany
 to see her favorite niece for the last time ! Her presence seemed to calm me- for we l loved each other SO well that I could not
 think it possible that she would allow me te
 be buried alive. She was stepping to kiss me 1 when she suddenly started back with the very
 simple and homely remark.
 "sWhy, her nose is bleedingl'
 "It was perfectly true though up to tha
 time nobody had noticed it. My menta
 agony had made my nose bleed. "Now, the doctor knew quite enough abou
 his business to be very much startled at see
 ing fresh blood flowing from body that ha6
 been dead two days. He examined my fact and said hastily, as he for the first time no ! ticed the color, Take her back to bed.' ''The suddenness and immensity of the re
 lief restored all my faculties, and as the mel l took me up said, with hardly an effort, ant in perfectly natural tones:
 Thank you, doctor. How are you
 Auntie?'
 , 'T think have told you nearly the who'll story. recovered very quickly, and hav 1 never had trance since. The doctor stil : practises medicine in Greenpoint, and Is con
 sidered one of it's best authorities on disease of children, and whenever he sees me he tell . me confdentially that from the first he had . latent suspicion that the vital spark fingered , somewhere but do him the justice to dis
 credit the statement"