The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1893-11-10

seemed TO be an hour. but rs the Train
Of Thought was interrupted by a clock |
striking the hour o. midnight, | CON
cluded it must have been much longer,
and wondered had not heard the pre-
ceding hours.
Suddenly the full horror Of my condi-
ton flashed upon me. was not only
doomed to remain where was, helpless
and alone. during the long chilly hours
Of the night, but there was no certainty
that would ever get away alive. My
friends would never dream that was
there. They had undoubtedly con.
cluded that ! had gone down and II
they missed me would search every
where but in the right place 1t might
be days before the particular spot in
which | lay would be visited. and IN
TINT case it would be too late. Starva
ton would do for me, even If the injury
! | had received did not. In my anguish
| Bhrieked aloud. but was duly con
scious Ill the time that nobody could
hear me Visitors Snd custodians alike
must have departed hours before, and
even il my cries were heard from the
streets below nobody would attribute
them to their real source.
To the feeling Of acute anguish suc.
reeded one Of blank despair ! no longer
speculated on the possibility Of being
discovered, dead or alive. There WAS a
dull leaden feeling at my chest, and |
found myself repeating mechanically
old rhymes and jingles and saying the
alphabet backward. as | once learned to
doin seeking relief from insomnia, Yet
ut the same time was conscious that
my whole life was passing in review be-
fore me, as they say il does when one is
drowning or being hanged | remem-
bered that saying, too, and without any
cessation of the review ! wondered in
my doubled consciousness if | were
undergoing the sensations OF adrowning
man. or Of one being hanged. and wished
could put them down on paper for the
benefit Of the rest of mankind.
What struck me as singular was that
the clocks kept on striking twelve The
second time they did this thought must
have lost consciousness for an entire day
and that this was the second midnight
But when the third stroke of twelve
came from half dozen clocks, knew
it could not be two days since ! had
> fallen,
thought first that | had become de-
mented; and then it occurred TO ME that
: if ! were ! could not reason about it in
that fashion, SO the clocks themselves
: must be crazy This theory satisfied me
s. until the striking began again. when
: went off in another fantastic speculation
Ny friends had discovered that was
. missing, and were having the bells rung
to keep my spirits up.
: Oh, the long, long, weary hours
! spent in waiting for glimpse Of day
light, | had no hope that daylight
would bring me any relief, but the pros
pect Of staying where it was endless md
= night seemed uncomfortable. groanec
9 and wept and dug my nails into tn,
r palms Of my hands until it seemed as il
0 the blood would come: but | did no
u even feel any sense Of pain,
9 II must have been after the clocks haC
II struck midnight dozen times or NOR
y Il kept no exact accoInt-that ! saV
in the distance at what seemed to be tn
>, farther end OF the cathedral roof tw'
u faint glimmers OF light, Presently ther
Is were two more and then two more
is until there was regular procession o
II them tried to shout, but had becoui
e so weak with cold and suffering that
could not raise my voice above whiS
u per,
The lights nevertheless approached
'f growing gradually stronger until
le could see that they were borne by seyel
At al black-robed figures who were marct
s. ing beside coffin. As the processio
le moved slowly toward me | began
SO wonder what it meant, and whetht
NJ funerals took place at midnight on th
n roof Of Milan cathedral Then specV
d. lated a moment on the propriety Of di
~ turbing the obsequies even in my e.
ts treme need. Suddenly it dawned upo
nj me that this was my own funeral, and
ve knew that was either dead or had gor
mad. In the supreme anguish Of th
N - NJ,