The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-10-10
VOLUME XVI.

made his appearance; and well does he
remember the effect produced by so I'M
common a spectacle, especially when
followed by the utterance of these words
from the mouth of one long supposed
to have been dead Commodore Rod
gers, / have sent for you, sir, being
commissioned by a higher power to
address you for short time, and 70 de-
liver the message intrusted to me when
| was permitted to revisit the earth
Once trembled in your presence, and
was eager to obey your commands; but
now am your superior. being no longer
an inhabitant Of the eart1. have seen
the glories OF the world o; spirits. / am
rot permitted to make known what |
have beheld; indeed, were 1 not forbid
den, language would be inadequate ID
the task; It's enough for YOU and
the crew to know that have been sent
back 20 earth to reanlmate for a few
hours my lifeless body, commissioned
by God to perform the work / am now
engaged in. He then, in language so
chaste and Appropriate that it would
Eot have disgtaced the lips or the pen
of q divine, took hasty view of the
moral and religious duties incumbent
on the commander of ship of war.
He reviewed the vices prevalent on ship
board, pointed out the relative duties of
officers and men, and concluded by
urging the Necessity Of reformation and
repentance. He not, as was feared
by our brave commander, attempt to
prove the sinfulness ~ lighting and
wars but On the contrary, warmly
recam Intended to the men the perform
ance OF their duty to their country With
courage and fidelity, His speeches oc-
cupled about three-quarters of an hour,
and u the whole could have been taken
down at the time, they would have
made a considerable pamphlet, which
would no doubt have been in great de-
mand. DIR. Birchmore, now at Boston.
heard all the addresses, only the last.
"When he finished with the Com
modore, his head dropped Upon his
breast his eyes closed, and he appeared
to have passed through a second death.
No pulsation nor the least degree of
warmth could be perceived during the
time that he was speaking. | ordered
him to be laid aside, and left him. =
Il retired to bed. deeply rejecting
upon the past, unable to sleep, when
about nine o'clock p M, many hours
alter Kemble had been laid by. was
called out of bed to visit man taken
suddenly i'll in his hammock. hang ng
near Kemble's apartment. 1t was an
hour when all but the watch on deck
had turned in; general silence reigned,
and oil the lights below were out, with
the exception of a single lamp in the
sick apartment. where lay the remains
of Kemble. had bled the sick man
he was relieved. entered the sick
room before retired to replace some
thing, and was turning round I'd leave
it, being alone, when suddenly I was
almost petrified upon beholding KEN
Die sitting up in his berth with his eyes
(Which had regained their former bril-
liancy and intelligence) fixed intently
upon mine | became, for a moment.
speechless and motionless. Thinks
to myself, what have | done, or left
undone, in this mans case that would
cause him thus to stare at me at this
late hour, and alonep | waited a long
time in painful suspense, dreading some
horrid disclosure. when l was relieved
by his command ng me to fetch him
some water. With what alacrity
obeyed can easily be imagined. l gave
him tin mug containing water, which
he put to his mouth, drank off the con
tents. and returned to me; then laid
himself quietly down for the last time.
His situation was precisely the same in
every respect as before described. The
time was now expired which, he had
said. was given him to remain in the
body. The next day by noon, all
hands attended as usual to hear the
funeral service read, and see his re-
mains consigned to watery grave. 1t
was an unusually solemn period Sea-
men are naturally supersttious, and
on this occasion their minds had been
wrought upon in a singular manner
Decorum is always observed by sailors
at such times; but now they were all
affected to tears, and when the body
was slid from the plank into the
sea, every one rushed nstinctively to
the ships side to take last look. The
usual weights had been attached
to the feet, yet, as if in compliment to
their anxiety to see more of him, the
body rose perpendicularly from the
water breast-high two or three times.
This incident added greatly to the as
constituent already created in the minds
OF the men. beg leave to remark that
it was not proper to keep the body
longer in the warm latitude we were in.
Il have now given short and very
imperfect sketch of the important
events attending the last illness and
death of William Kemble 1t is sub
mitted to the ladies in this State, beg
ging they will excuse haste and inaccu-
racy. The change procured upon the
crew was for time remarkable. 1t
appeared as if they would never smile
or swear again. The effect wore off by
degrees. except when the subject was
renewed. wv. TURK"