Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-01-15
a Nav in 4 Coffin.

Miss Clara Muncc, a New York sewing
woman, recited to a Times reporter recently
the following narrative:
! After describing her period OF ill-hcalth
which preceded the trance. she continued: :
IAN unuttcrrablc horror took possession of
me as ! felt that | was in a trance. Nv
fears were we'll founded, for half an hour
later, when the nurse came to look at me-
] heard her utter 4 quick exclamation of
alarm, and huwying away, she called my
moned, and arrived when all nv relatives in
pulse, put his hand upon my forehead
| forced open one of my eyes. and examined
the pupil, little thinking that 5: him as
| plainly as nc saw me, and sorrowfully re-
| marked
= l feared it. She is going fast =
"Oh. the misery OF that day and the night
| following On the morning of June $ my
body was cold and stiff. and. while my mind
was rs active as ever knew that look cd
like II corpse. Ny friends thoughtmc 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 Il few seconds and then said rev.
crcntially:
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 pro-
| longed as TO be mistaken for death. My in
! dignation at that moment absolutely over
| powered my fear. Otherwise, 7 believe !
should have died on the spot
For more than two daysI lay motonlcss
| Oh the bed. Tubcroses were strewn over
me. Friends came to SEQ me, and reminded
each other of good qualities in me that,
neither by myself or others. had ever before
| been suspected. heard it all. Nobody
| spoke of me except rs corpse none noticed
what am surc must have been apparent,
that my face had not lost the color of life,
and on the night Of June 1 lay beside my
open coffin, On the morning of the 5th
was put into il, for | WAS to be buried that
| day.
Il had heard the inscription on the plate
read aloud. over and over again: CLARA
| 2lunce. Aged 16 years. Poor girl So
| young 10 be called away. But she was
always dclicatc!' Oh. why could | not
speak? | could not even try to speak or
move. All voition 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 flstcn down the coffin lid Kisses
innumcrable had been pressed upon my face.
and | had givcnup hope oflirc.w an old
lady. worth i'll the rest Of the visitors put to-
grthcr.chowcd the others out of the way and
stood beside the collin. She was myAunt Jane
and she had come from Albany to sec her
favoritc niece for The last time Her pres
/ Inn cd 40 nl,,,p p. IL,
other SO well that | could not think it posi-
bic that she would allow me to be buried
alive. She was STOPPING to kiss me when
sho suddenly started back with the very
simple and homey remark:
why. her nose is blccdngr'
1T was perfectly true though up to that
time nobody had noticed it. My mental ag-
ony had made my nose bleed.
Now, the doctor knew quite enough
about his business to be very much startled
at seeing lreesh blood flowing from body
that had been dead two days He examined
my face and said hastily, ms he for the first
time noticed the color Take her back to
bed
The suddenness and immensty of the re-
| lief restored allmy faculties, and as the men
took me up said, with hardly an effort.
and III perfect natural tones
hank you, doctor How are you.
Auntie?'
Il think have told you nearly the whole
story. recovered very quickly. and have
never had trance since. The doctor still
practices medicine in Greenpoint, and is
considered one of the best authorities on
diseases of children. and whenever he sees
me he tells me conlidentially that from the
first he had Il latent suspicion that the Vi
tai spark fingered somewhere, but do him
the justice to discredit his statement