The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-07-18
TIE CORPSE sAT UP.

A Wssshsr,s 0rswsoms uxpsrisnes In she
Room Of DEED Trisna.
"I am not believer In tho supeEnatu-
tal," said Q young man TO wrsex Ios
Tho Courier Journal, "but every time
Gee a ooyx Of Wilkie Collins novel, 'Ine
Woman IN White I gst the crssps Sor 10
recalls one of the most awful oypcriencos
in my life. I boarded in the southern por'
ton Of the city, at tho homo Of . widow,
In whose family was On Interesting youtn
about 10 years old. He and wero exceed
Ingiy fond Of one another, perhaps from
the fact that he was af1ictsd with epilepsy,
and was the only pcrson about the house
who understood how TO relieve hfm ana
was able to handle him without his hurt
Ing himself while In oonvulsionA He dio
not live long after know him ana DIED IN
my arms In one Of his attacks. The IN
cident am speaking OF occurred on one OF
the very coldest nights In January. Inc
bow had died at noon, and tie family sat
up with the corpse until midnight, when
relieved them In the watch, requesting all
90 retire, an loved the boy 20 well j feis
it my duty 70 stay near him In death. An
hour passed, and I picked up . copy or
THE Woman In White TO while away the
| somber watch. drew near the fireplace
and turned up the lamp little higher a.
the rest of the room wds very dark, ana
window was raised back Of the corpes on
| the cooling board. Afoer all had gone To
bed the realization Of the somber situstion
bbtruded itself upea me-. and a. peruseo
tho novel it's contents wcre NOT calculated
70 peassure me. thought about every
thing possible, and fw the hrst time In
my life began 70 quake with fear.
''I was In such q condition Of mind thai
the dropping Of pin would have beer
noted as once, and the oreaking OF pieo'
of furnituss or tho svvayips Of . shutter
would have sent terror thyeugh my hsars
In this ovsrwrought state of mind hear
Q slight noise and TUNED toward M
corpse, whom, awful to relate. saw M!
friend raise his hands, throw back the -!
and sit stark upright, Tho eyes, wniel
had never been closed, looked searcnmgr
about the room until they rested ON me
the open mouth contracted, and the counte
nance took distorted expression. Withou
peusing i dashed from the room Into On
dark corridors.
.swhen reached my bedroom, fell
a swoon, which must have lasted sewers
hours, for ON awakening saw the sun 1ua
tingeing tho eastern horizon. Finding my
self on the noor with the novel clinohed ]
my hand recalled the dreadful scene, an
pulling myself up from the ioor rang
call bell for servant The servant can'
and we descended to the parlor after na
told him what had happened Yes, ha
actually experienced that dreadful seem
for the corpse was found lying across u
bier We went over TO It. The muscle
were all relaxed. and IL appeared sleepir
peacefully. y was laid back - It ID
, been arranged by loving friends AS
could not explain the phenomenon hs
witnessed. Invent for q physician. He Ga
the boy had been dead all the time, D.
that the muscles contracted during his
had been relaxed In my presence v
agreed not to tell the circumstance to u
{ family, but IL Is true In every particuia
{ and when think Of the awful scene ev'
In daytime I am filed with terror.
/, II have never got into The Wom'
In White farther than three chapters, a
/ do not think now that I shall ever n
1 ish the story that Is 80 intimately asso'
I ated with this awful ghost story In nc
life n--Iouisyille CourierJ ournal.