Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1885-01-17

4 -
cred each moment, when again l
was annoyed by a distinct sound
from the corner. CHANGING in that
direction, and it must be confessed
was not little surprised to see
one Of the skulls moving slowly to-
ward me along the tagging of the
floor. / rubbed my eyes and looked
,galn. There it was, the fleshless
sockets Of the eyes gazing at me, the
uneven, jagged teeth giving a ghast-
" grin to the mouth.
st is a little difficult for me to
sell exactly what were my feelings.
That they were peculiar l frankly
ael;alt. l fell to studying about the
cause OF this motion ontfe part of
the skull. and examined closely to
see whether or not there was string
attached and a student playing cne
of his FRANKS. But Ho. In the light
| could plainly discern that there
was nothing attached to this relic Of
humanity. Then what moved it'll
"Still engrossed with my endeay-
ors to solve this mystery, did not
take my eyes off the skull. Slowly,
lstealthily and steadily it came on
directly towards where l was sitting
on high stool. The motion pro.
duced a dull, grating sound, as some
sharp protuberances of bone scratch
ed on the marble slabs. Afterit had
advanced about three feet it stopped.
laid down my pipe, still keep.
ing my eye on the unpleasant object,
and tried to laugh away the morbid
sentiments that had now begun to
rise within the. whispered to my
self how much would have rallied
any other brother physician should
he have told me Of nervousness
under similar circumstances. Even
the students would have retailed the
affair AS an indication of my effem-
macy had they known it. Surely
there were mechanical causes to
produce these. results. knew that
the unsubstantial could not give mo-
tion to the substantial. My "Nat-
ural Philosophy told me that there
must be q force at work to impel
that grim fragment ola human frame
towards me. Yet what force was it I
81 determined not to leave my
seat to attempt closer inspection,
Gearing to be rewarded by the laugh
tier OF those who were e1d1EvUring
to astonish me. The dreary mono
tone OF the rain and the moan
OF the wind turned my reflections to
more sombre color, and some things
came back to me | had read in Rob-
ert Dale Owens Footprints on the
Boundaries OF Another Wolld'-curi-
GUS things, authenticated by affida.
Wits and all the solemnity of oatlls of
remarkable revisitants from the
grave. While dwelling on these
subjects l recalled the many CONVEX
sations l had had with my patient,
now dead and buried some three
weeks, Sailor John, and his persis-
tent observations Of the possibilities
of the intellectual spirit returning to
this world cf the flesh.
There The skull moved again.
On it came, still sliding along in a
direct line toward me. Do what
would conld not shake off feeling
of uneasiness and disquiet. | did
not like the situation--that about
expressed it.
"E-e-e-ekep grated the
skulls bony points on the floor. the
sound tingling my nerves as when
one scratches the finger-nail on
brick or rough surface.
any pulse grew more frequent.
Experienced a chilly sensation down
my back, and cold perspiration
dampened my forehead. Around
me the eorpses lay, the gaslight
making them saffron yellow. They
at least did not move.
~ could stand this strain no Ion
ger. 1t was unbearable. | was be-
coming the victim of d weakness
for which would have
reprimanded u child. l felt
pale, ii that is possible, for it
seemed as If all my blood had rushed
to my heart. With a bound / sprang
toward the skull, and, STOPPING,
grasped 1t with my two hands. l
lifted it from the floor Ont jumped
a rat and ran scampering away. /
cainot describe my feelings when |
saw the cause of my discontinue.
AT first | laughed, and then became
angry with myself for, even for a
moment, allowing such an incident
to disturb my equilibrium.
Examining the skull saw how
it had occurred. The rat had enter.
ed the cavity in which the brain had
been through the foramen megnnm
or aperture through which the nerve
matter of the spinal column comm
nicatps with the brain. The skull
49, II