Morris tribune., 1883-01-27
A DAY In A COFFIN.

Burial.
New York Sun.
'Here is young woman who has had
as curious an experience, | think, as
any you ever heard Of" said q Green
point lady to the reporter, Clara. show
him the plate"
Miss Clara Munce, who was sewing
upon dress for the lady who spoke,
laid aside her work, and, going to
drawer in the sideboard, took out sill
yer coffin plate, which she offered for
INSPECTION. 1t bore the inscription:
CLARA MUNCE,
Died June 3, 1864,
Aged 16 years.
"Why, to whom does this refer?" ask
ed the reporter.
at refers to me-" replied Miss Munce
quietly. at was on my coffin-at least
[ suppose may call it my coffin, though
l was not buried in it. l occupied 1t,
however, for some hours, and had 1t not
been for the intelligence of a lady who
came to attend my funeral | should have
been in it now. Ny uncle took it to his
home in Chicago, where he is fond of
showing it to his friends and telling my
story. | kept the plate, which | seldom
allow any one to see, for the rccollectlonS
it awakens are not pleasant.
when | was ayounggirl was in very
delicate health. used to fall i'll frances,
in which | knew all that was going on
around me and heard every word said
in the room where / lay, but | could not
speak or make the slightest sign of life
My body grew gradually colder, but or
dinarily j aroused myself with start
within ten or fifteen minutes. The doc
tor saiu it was 81 form of epilepsy, and
warned me that some day or another an
attack might be prolonged and mistaken
for death. 1t always affected me under
the same conditions. After sleeping as
consciousness slowly returned, found
myself wide awake, but unable to speak
or move"
after the doctors caution, began
to grow afraid Of myself. it was a hor-
rible sensation. dreaded to &C to
sleep at night, and through drOwsiness
OverpoWered me at last, | aWOke I'M
refreshed. During the day J. was Ian
guild and tired, but dared not lie down,
for | knew by experience that If l
slept by daylight | was almost certain
to fall into trance on aWaklng. AS
consequence of all this mental disturb
ance / became seriously i'll, ana | Was
ordered to the country; but before ar
engagements could be made for me TO 90
| was stricken down with brain fever,
and my life was despaired of
CHOW, before the fever attacked me,
and while [ was confined to my bed by
the sickness brought OH by anxiety
about my condition, the frances seemed
to disappear. When | slept | was re-
freshed, and awoke at once to full Vlgor,
not. as formerly, by slow degrees, to
Wretched helplessness and immobllity.
| think should have escaped the Drain
fever he'd it not been for the doctor.
He told me that the epilepsy was only
mastering its forces for an attack more
vigorous than any had yet experienced
as a storm sometimes lulls before it
sweeps everything before it. He fright
ened me terribly: and my brain gave
way"
THE brain fever was conquered; bht
was very weak-so weak that l 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 60 out like the snuff of car
die at any minute" said the doctor IN
my hearing, and | nearly verified his
prediction by going otit at once"
zone day it was June 2, 1864-I felt
that ] WIS really improving. Life
seemed to be comitig back to me. The
doctor had noticed it, but knew by the
unWonted distinctnes5 with which the
rumble of the Green Point wagons struck
upon my ear that was gathering new
I
the first time in several weeks, slept
soundly and healthily."
IL aw0ke slowly, and with the rlgor
of limb that | knew so we'll. An unut-
terable horror took possession of me as
| felt that I was, in a trance and re-
membered the good doctor capacity. for
laundering. NY fears were we'll found
ed, for half an hour later, when the
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 arrived when all my
relatives in tile house were around my
he'd. He felt my pulse, put bis t1and mp
O.. my forehead, and forced open one
of my eyes, and examined the pupil, lit
tie thinking that | saw him as plainly as
he saw me, and sorroWfully remarked:
II feared it. She is going FAST"
ooh. the misery of that day and the
night following! On the morning ofJune
3 nv body was cold and stiff, and while
nv mind was rs active as ever, knew
that looked like a corpse. My friends
thought me dead and when the doctor
came they stood aside, silent and weep
ing, and mdde way for him to approach
the bed. He looked at ing, steadily ior a
few seconds, and then said feverential-
Eyes, 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 prolonged as to be mistaken for death.
NV indignation at that momef1t aDso-
lutely oVerpowered my fear. Otherwise,
| believe should have died on the spot.
"For more than two days lay mo-
tionless 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 myself or
others had ever before been suspected.
I heard it all, Nobody spoke of me ex-
cent as a corpse; none noticed what L
am sure must have been apparent, THAI
INV face had not lost its color OF life,
and on the night of June lay beside
nv open coffin! On the morning OF the
9Th was put into it, for | was to De bur
led that day"
al had heard the inscription on the
plate read aloud, over and over again:
Clara Munce. Aged Is years. Poor
pirl. So young to be called away, But
She was always delicate! Oh, why should
| not speak? l could not even try to
speak or move. All volition seemed to
have died in me, and could only pray
silently that might die too before the
last rites were performed, but felt that
there was little chance of that, because
/ 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 have given
IN all hopes of life, when an old lady,
worth all the rest Of the visitors put to
gether, elbowed the others out of her
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 SCENE d
to calm me, for we loved each other so
well that 1 could not think it possible
4 l.. L k,,rt Il