Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-08-17

medical service, tells OF drummer who was
suddenly aroused from his sleep by some-
thing crawling over his naked legs. He i'm
agined it was COBRA and his friends
collected by the outcry, thought so to, and he
was treated accordingly. Incantations, such
as are customary with the natives on these
occasions, were resorted to, and
the poor fellow was flagellatcd with
twisted cloths. on the arms and legs in
view partly to arouse him, but principally to
to drive out the evil influence tspiriD that for
the time being had taken possession OF him,
With the first dawn of light the cause OF the
fright was discovered in the shape OF harm.
less lizard, which was lying crushed and
na,f killed by the side of the poor drummer,
but it was too late. From the moment wien
he believed that poisonous snake had bitten
him he passed into an increasing collapse
until he died. The drummer was not q
strong lad, and the shock was too much for
him.
The most remarkable death from the acci-
dent OF fright was that of the Dutch painter,
Penteman, in the seventeenth century. He
was to work on picture, on which was rep
resented several death-heads, grinning
skeletons, and other objects calculated to
inspire the beholder with contempt for the
vanites and follits Of the day. In order to
do his work better he went an anatomical
room and used it for q studio. One sultry
day, as he was drawing these melancholy
relics of mortality by which he was
surrounded he fell off into quiet sleep, from
which he was suddenly aroused. Imagine
his horror at beloldng the skulls and bones
danding around him like mad, aud the
skeletons which hung from the ceiling dash
ing themselves together. Panic-s.ricken, he
rushed from the room and threw himself
headlong from window on TO the pavement
below. He sufficiently recovered to learn
that the cause Of his fear was a slight earth
quake, but his nervous system received such
severe shock that he died in few days.
Frederick |. of Prussia was killed by an
accident of fear. He was one day sleeping
in an arm chair, when his wife, Louise OF
Meckl.nberg, who had for sometime been
hopelessly insane, espaped from her keepers
and made her way to the Kings private
apartments. Breaking through a glass door,
she dabbed herself in blood, and. in raging
fit Of deirium, cast herself upon the King,
The latter, who was not aware of the hope
lessness lunacy of her lunacy, was so horri-
fled at the appearance of woman clad only
IN linen, and covered with blod, that he
imagined with superstition characteristic
of the age, that it was the White Lady,
whose ghost, according to uMe-honored
tradition, invariably appeared when death
was around the house o Brandcnburg. He
was seized with a fever and died in SIX
weeks.
More ridiculous was the death of the
French marshal. De Montrevel, whose
whole SOUL" says St. Simon, "was but am
btion and lucre. without ever having been
able to distinguish his right hand from his
left, but concealing his universal ignorance
with an audacty which favor, fashion and
birth protected He was very super
stitious man, and one day a slltcellcr was
upset at public dinner in his lap, and SO
frightened was he that he arose and an
nounced that he was dead man. He reached
home, and died in few days, in 17lG,
literally scared to death by the absurd casual
ty OF saltcelar turning over.