Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-06-11
An Old MANS Loyes

slsrk IN the bus.ness ef1ce Of q lesdlpg
lucai paper IN Bradford, Penna, refused
70 receive the following advertisement,
which was offered at the counter
WAMrD-Secopd hand collins Highes,
prices paid. All sizes and kinds pur-
chased. Address.
The person ~ho desired to insert the
above novel and peculiar advertisement
was an old man bent IN form and wrinkled
in face. HIS dress was shabby enough to
denote either the presence OF poverty OF
genius, and his determined and persistent
but useless efforts to get the sdverns ament
into the paper conclusively proved tnst he
was really ANXIOUS to procure second
hand cofins-'
A reporter obtained his address. He
was discovered to be like thousands OF
other people outside Of the domain OF
lunstic asylum are-sane on all subjects
but one, and on that one Le was decidedly
Is crazy a. Ophelis was when her love
affairs did not 90 right in her own estims-
tiou. This old mans mind was lar on IN
! reference to burisls, grsveyards. cofius.
etc And like Shskspesres heroine JUST
mentioned, the sublime passion OF love Is
st the bottom OF all his madness. When
be was young in years he fell desperately
In love. Delighted concord and sweet
peace calmly rested then upoa his lie
t3orts. ard the beautiful feminine Object
of his alteration fell 10 bis eager, out.
stretched arms and softly and coyly mur
INJURED the very important and eIhilars-
ting Yes which has been said SO many
million times under similar circumstances.
The day Of the marriage was all fixed In
the bright calendar Of their youthful
hearts and all was pare. unadulierated
toyousness In their lives, when suddenly
the Young lady died. That is, to all ap-
pesrances, ~ all intents and purposes vi
course the young lover was heartbrHken
by this appalling and unexpected sorrow.
In due and proper course OF time the iun-
ersI took place, with the customary cere-
MONIES As the young lady's parents did
not at that time possess burial lot, the
body was temporarily placed IN receiv-
inc vault. For three days after the fun-
er al the young man, whose course OF ex-
,stepoe had been go suddenly changed
from eladness TO anguish, spent all the
ce,ving ysult which held the body OF The
beng he once so Dass,oDaiely loved The
th,rd dsy be wert TO the OLD man who hal
charge OF the cemetery and begged him 10
, allow hun to 20 IN the vsnlt, open The
c. fia of his beloved and for once more
rare upon the festures of-as far ss mis-
world Is concerred-tbe forever lost ynuug
lsdy within It's awful and hideous enclos-
ures- The result vas that the two one
night, by the aid OF q lantern, vault keys
and q screw driver, backed up by ener-
eetic and willing hearts and hands, en-
tered the vault and opened the CONN con-
tanning the fast decomposlng body uf the
the young lady. When the decaying lace
and form OF the young lady was exposed
to the view OF her lover he, by the dim,
fickerlng lIsh of the lantern, thought or
imagined th. certain portions OF her body
had moved, especially her hands, from the
position they were in when he had looked
81 them before the coffin was closed dur
ing funeral services- Tneu nothing could
remove the impression from his mind that
! the young lady had been buried alive. In
vain the sffrghted old man trled to con-
vince hIm that this could not be so; that
she was certaialy dead when buried; that
often, from a variety of causes, dead
bodies changed positions after death. All
wss In vain. and from that day to this
over forty-fve years-thls now hsrmle'
monomanac has firmly believed that his
darling WAS thus entunbed alive and actu-
slIy met a terrible tate, and perlshed in
an awful manner. The ultimate and l.
eyitable result of his broodIng over this
matter, especially as he took such per-
slstenI horrible view of II, has heen, as
stated, ne Is crazy OF this one subject, Tut
| hsrmlessly so, or he would long ago have
been confined IN lunatic asylum Tho
old man s room is filed with large and
suggestive variety Of the emblems OF NOR
tslIty. Miniature gravestones and monu-
nents, samples of coffins Of all sizes and
kinds, chromos and steel engrayings Of
cemeteries, large scrap books filed with
samples of OBITUARY poetry, which daily
appears IN certain staid and classical papers
In the UuIted States huge volumes trest-
ing Of Cesth IN various forms and stages,
and slso describing premature burials and
| sad cases OF persons who have been en-.
tombed alive, all heavily enshrouded L
Grape black merIno and other fabrics oi
scrrow, enbelIish every available spot II
the room. Tne old man is good carpen'
ter, and having no one TO support but him.
self, spends all the money he can scrapt
together from his bare, chesp living ex
penses to buy articles OF the kind enum
Grated above
| Yes, slr,' the poor fellow exclaimed tc
your representative, as the CLEANS of In.
sanity flashed from his eyes YES, sir,
my darling, the only being ever loved,
was hurried alive. Horrible, horrible
wasn't III Yes. Sir, l am as positive OF
this awful fact as | am that l at tins mo
ment live and bresthe. She was all tnt
world to me; in fact my only world, anc
il knew that she had naturally died spc
not met such terrible fate, then | would
long ago have become reconciled to it.
The world says am crazy; that | must bt
mistaken; that she died before she wa.
uured. And the people for years have
told me of sll kinds OF cases where bodies
from many causes have moved after deaif
from what they Call the action Of nstu
raj gases, Or muscular expansion or con
traction. But | know why they talk thi
wsy-lt is only out Of great kindness tor
me. But while l respect their motive.
and appreciate their sympathy, | d. not
do not believe them. Heavens, think o.
that lovely girls feelings when she became
conscious and found herse buried alive
She was during life so gentle. sensitive
tender and LOVING. and had such an awfu
shrinking from sll thst peIttins TO ceath
5ne never spoke CT the subject to me bu
what she would shudder and exclsim-sL
with 30 much disgust and boiror In he
dear, sweet Vocabulary, [ won't dI,
young, will II DO you think SCI an
z log to be an old woman before 1 die
don't you think sos' And ii er iuasin'
this youog girls utter despair aud intx
pressible horror aud anguish when sn'
woke up and found herself actually ar
rayed in q shroud and In her c.o>ei cofi
sut in her grave. as far as she hersel
could then tell. heavens, how aw u
The thought drives me rsving crazy.
AMI the speaker found the only poor sub
stitute tor earthly relief to The awful pic
ture which b. had 50 elCqIenlly portrayed
In loud sobs and a tempest OF tears