Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-02-23

CLARA MUNCE,
Died June 3, 1864,
Aged lG wears.

why, to whom does this refer
asked the reporter.
1t refers to me-" replied Miss
Munce quietly. 1T was on my cof-
fin at least suppose L may call it
my coffin, though | was not buried in
it. l occupied it, however, for some
hours, and had it not been for the
intelligence Of a lady who came to
attend my funeral | should have been
i'll it now. My uncle took it to his
homo i'll Chicago, whore he is fond
of showing it to his friends and tell
my story. | kept the plate, which
seldom allow anyone To see, for the
recollections it awakcns are not pleas
ant
when l was a young girl l was
in very delicate health. fused to fall
into frances. in which l knew all
that was going ON around me and
heard every word said in the room
where l lay, but l could not speak or
make the slightest sign of life. My
body grew gradually colder, but or
dinarily 1 aroused myself with a
start within ten or fifteen minutes.
The doctor said it was a 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 con-
sclousness slowl y returned, | found
myself wide awake, but unable to
speak or move.
After the doctors caution. / be
gan to grow afraid of myself 1t was
Il horrible sensation. l dreaded to go
to sleep at night, and, though drowsi-
ness overpowered me at last. awoke
unrefreshed. During the day | was
!anguid and tired, but l dared not lie
down, for | knew by experience that
if l slept by daylight [ was almost
certain to fall into trance on awak
ing. As Il consequence Of all this
mental disturbance / became serious
| ly i'll, and | WAS ordered to the coun-
| try; but before arrangements could
he made for me to &C was stricken
down with brain fever, and my life
was despaired Of
Now, before the fever attacked
me, and while | was confined to my
bed by the sickness brought on by
anxiety about my condition. the
frances seemed to disappear When
| slept l was refreshed, and awoke at
once to full vigor, and not, as former
ly, by slow degrees, to wretchcd help
lessness and immobility I think
should have escaped the brain fever
had it not been for the doctor. He
told me that the epilepsy was
only mastering its forces for an at
tack more vigorous than any l had
yet experienced-as storm some
times lulls before it sweeps every
thing before it. He frightened me
terribly, and my brain gave way.
THE brain fever was conquered.
but was very weak--s so weak that |
did not rally. The doctor. always
cheerful, said 1 never would. 1 lay
for days neither asleep nor awake,
but not in a trance, for | could move
and speak feebly. She may go out
like the snuff of a candle at any min
ute,' said the doctor in my hearing,
and l nearly verified his prediction
by going out at once
-"One day--it was June 2. 1864 1
felt that was really improving. Life
seemed to be coming back to me.
The doctor had not noticed it, but l
knew by the unwonted distinctness
with which the rumble of the Green
point wagons struck upon my ear
that l was gathering new strength.
AT last l grew tired, and, for the first
time in several weeks, l slept soundly
and healthily.
81 awoke slowly, and with the rigor
OF limb that / knew SO we'll. An un-
utterable horror took possession of
mo as l felt that / was in n trance
and remembered tho good doctors
capacity for laundering. My fears
were well founded, for half an hour
later, when the nurse came to look at
me, l heard her utter quick ex-
clamation of alarm, and hurrying
away, she called my mother and sis
ters. The doctor was summoned, and
arrived when all my relatives in the
house were around my bed. He felt
my pulse, put his hand upon my fore
head, forced open one Of my eyes and
examined the pupil, little thinking
that 1 saw him as plainly as he saw
me, and sorrowfully remarked:
"'I feared it. She is going fastw
"Oh, the misery of that day and
the night following! On the morn
ing of June 3 my body was cold and
stiff, and, while my mind was as ac-
tive As ever, l knew that looked like
a corpse. My friends thought me
dead. and when the doctor came they
stood aside. silent and weeping, and
made way for him to approach the
bed. He looked at me steadily for n
few seconds, and then said reveren-
italy:
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 50 prolonged as to be mis-
taken for death. My indignation at
that moment absolutely overpowered
my fear. Otherwise, 1 believe l
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
nor others had ever before been sus
pected. l heard it all. Nobody
spoke of me except as corpse; none