Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-31

erect my head now struck the roof The
whole truth tl1shod nj once across my mind |
| now saw clearly the explanation ot what
had before astounded and perpleNed me-
saw why the roof did not touch the walls oi
the inClosure, why II was formed of massive
iron. 1t was descending.
Ses-descending During the hour had
remained seated the roof had sunk through |
q space of fully four inches hut this dlscov.
ery, when now l made it, so far from Caus-
ing me perple>ity, at once revealed tu me
the whole mystery OF my prison.
The distnctuess of sound with which the |
Ginning OF the bells reached my ears had al
ready told me that the beliry must be sit
uated directly above my head. | now per |
ceivcd that what | had taken for solid |
heavy roof was in fact the massive aud euor- |
nous weight of the great clock. | was inn |
prisoned in the bottom of the shaft into which |
the weight descended. The ponderuus block |
OF metal was falling at the rate OF about four
inches an hour, or rather more In less time
than 1t takes totrace these words, the conse- |
Iuence of this flashed through my mind.
In fifteen hours the weight would descend
through space ot five feet Long before l
could expect release, the enormous mass
would bo upon me, and would crust me
helpiessly against the pavement OF my
prison.
My sensations upon max ing this discovery
! Will not attempt to describe. piten-NerS
otten-iu the course of my life, nave hau
occasion to remark the truth of the saying
Tho avenues that lead TO death are uumer-
Gus and strange" Little did | think how
nearly l was myself to afford an example ot
its truth. Yet surely no mortal was ever be-
fore the victim of All accident 50 wildly sim
gulsr aud so full of horror There the great
weight WAS above me. Slowly, surely, II
was creeping downward. And slowly and
surely it would creep downward in the dark
ness aud the silence of the night.
And far up in the soft air of sunset the
bells were still ringing the evening hymn.
The suddenness, the uneXpectedness OF
what had happened, had formed no small
part OF its effect upon my mind. Yet up to
this time my adventure, though not such as
one would have chosen to undergo, had had
nothing in it portentously alarming, Ii was
disagreeable enough, undoubtedly, to be
forced against ones will to put up with such
a lodging for the night But what was the
discomfort of my situation, had that been the
worst it had in store for me- compared with
the horror of il now
For many minutes after making this dis
COvery | remained mOtionless, striving vain
ly to realize the most singular yet deadly
peril which threatened ma ! do not know
how long ii was before | so far recovered my
faculties as to become capable of thought. At
length rousing mysolfby an effort to examine
whether any way Of escape lay open To me, |
turned my attention to the iuterspace be-
tween the weight aud the wall but it was far
very far, too narrow to admit of the passage
of my body. Then-to such eNtremlties
may desperation drive Its victims-l thought
| of attempting to arrest the great weight by
supporting 1t with my stick as it descended
| / might aS well have attempted to support Il
| falling avalanche.
Then an idea occurred to my mind which
brought with it gleam of hope thought 1t
possible that by applying my strength TO the
| weight itself. ! might be able to impart To 1t
by slow degrees a swinging motion, like that
| OF pendulum and this being continued,
| might at leugth bring the ponderous mass in
contact with the door, and so burst II open.
l RAISING m elf from the floor of the cell,
| upon which had again sunk down, l aIe
| Piled my strength to the weight and by ex
| erting my energy in succession OF rnyth
| miCaI impulses | gradually succeeded in i'm
| parting to it an almost imperceptible move
| ment. Gradually this increased and bu
for an unforeseen circumstance the scheme
might have been successful. But present.!
found that the weight did not hang eNactl
| in the centre of the shaft The conse
| quence OF this was that 1t struci
| the wall opposite the door before
reached the door itself The extent o
| its swing being thus checked, my utmos
efforts failed to bring it into contact with tn
door. The attempt had therefore to he aOan
dOned, aud hope again died within me.
Hope died within me. And now my sen
sations were those OF extreme horror an'
dismay ! for the first tune ielt the certaint.
of my fate. A deadly sickness seized me
In a paroxysm of despair 1 flung mysel
again upon the floor of my prison, and la,
| there without motion.
| | will not dwell upon the long hours tina
| fullowed-thOse hours OF more than morta
agony OF mind. 1t happened that | ha
, | lately been reading an account OF a travelle
who had perishsd in a quicksaud. The tim
| OF the accident was on summer evening
, when the sun was sinking, and the lionel,
, | shore was bathed in rosy light. The spo
| where it occurred was well known to me
, | and after reading the account had endeay
| ored, in that unreasoning spirit which some
times leads the mind to dwell on horrors, I
realize in fancy the sensations OF the victim
as inch by inch and loot by foot, in full sigh
of the free ocean and the glorious sun, tn
| treacherOus uuicksand drew him dOwnwar
| downward to his doom.
What the sensations attending such
death must be could then but feebly realize
| i know them now.
know them now. The sensations q
, | those who have stood face TO face with dealt
, for hours, watching with starting eyes hi
| slow approach, are TO me no mystery. Bu
| the mind of man has mercifully been s
ordered that agony prolonged beyond Gel
tain point ends in benumbng the power q
feeling. Thus it is that criminals condemne'
| TO execution often sleep soundly and eat will
| appetite a fact which seems amazing I
those who consider how comparatively Sigh
a degree of mental distress has power to rO
the night of rest aud to turn the daintiest foo'
| to poison. They do not reflect that menta
agony in its extremity ceases to be felt Bu
thus it is-and thus 1t was with me.
| / believe also that the air oil the snatt mus
| have acted upon me with some stupefying o
bewildering influence, like that OF the vspo
which often gathers at the bottom OF ole
wells. The agitation OF my mind gradual,
! gave place to a strange feeling gofinditierence
/ The peril under which lay ceased TO trouble
me, and at least no longer occupied IN.
l thoughts
/ began instead to be curiously disturbe,
| by another circumstance, very trivial In II
self ; by a sound, which reached my sense
| from somewhere in the stiffness a sount
low, muffled, throbbing and mysterious
like the beating of myow blood. Had IN,
mind been clear | could not long have failet
| to recognize ii for what it was. The sOun,
seemed in my ears but this was merel,
owing To nv position in the shaft / mus
have PASSED into sort of stupor, which LASTED
| very long.
When l came To myself was conscious o
| a very singular sensation. The pltchy dark
| ness was about me, and OF course could se
| nothing. But in some unaccountable man
ner, of which fear 1t is impossible for me u
| convey notion, l was aware that during m.
trance the weight had descended a great way
and was now close above my body. | coulC
| feel, though nothing touched me, the hug
and threatening mass brooding over me il
the darkness. With mighty etfort-tor lik'
a person in a nightmare I seemed to hav,
lost the power OF motion-I raised my hand
My expectation was a correct one My han(
struck against the under surface of TIN
weight, at an elevation of less than three in
ches from my face At last after an eter
nifty of uuutterable suspense-at last
touched me.
Al ton. bad trat lffrht hnn Will