The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-08-24

through the gate as soon as the rain
held up a little. So the active and in
telligent officer got his little sword
ready to draw at moments notice,
and regardless of the downpour adj
vanced along the road to surprise and
apprehend the smugglers, or, at least,
their goods.
"When he got to within twenty yards
of the suspicious object, he made out
through the rain that the case on the
all over with brass nails. That discov-
cry startled him little, but the next
moment he was utterly demoralized at
seeing the lid of the coffin fly open and
dishevelled head thrust itself out, it's
eyes staring wildly. Without waiting
to draw his sword or challenge the APP
partition, the guard faced about and
retreated at run. When he reached
the gate he called his comrades to come
and see the abandoned corpse that
had burst open its coffin on the wayside.
The force seized their carbines and
paraded under shelter of the archway,
but what they saw was only very
bedrsggled Gallego tramping toward
them, carrying an empty coffin on his
back.
Son examination the Gallego de-
posed that, being overtaken by the rain
on his way from the cemetery, he had
shut himself up in the coffin to keep
dry and wait for fairer weather, but
when he heard footsteps stealthily APP
preaching he began to be afraid that
some one was coming to play trick
and lock him up. That was why he
had 30 suddenly thrust his head out and
stared. He was no corpse, but an
honest, Woodworking Gallego. AS for
the coffin, the Senores guards might
look for themselves and see that it was
empty.
''There seems to be certain morbid
fondness for what may be called play
ing with the dead in Portugal. They
seem to take peculiar delight in dress
ing up their dead and exposing them to
public view. happened to be present
at the solemn requiem of Cardinal
Patriarch of Lisbon, when the corpse,
dressed in full canonicals, was placed
in half-sitting posture to face the
crowd in the nave of the cathedral, and
thought at the time that the inter-
ment ought to have taken place sooner.
"One fine Sunday afternoon in spring
was strolling along one of the main
thoroughfares of Lisbon when the
shouts and merry chatter of lot of
little boys and girls attracted my atten-
ton to a side street. The children, all
nicely dressed, were coming down the
side street at brisk walk, evidently
interested in something that was being
carried along by three or four of them.
When they reached the corner l saw
that the centre of interest was very
small brass-studded coffin. The lid
was open, and l could see the little
fower-decked and bedizened corpse in
side of it.
"Another time 1 mistook the corpse
of child on its way to the grave for q
waxen image of the Madonna being car.
ried in procession. 1t was little dead
girl beautifully dressed in white satin
and wearing white veil and white
flowers. The little body had been
made to sit up in a chair which four
boys were carrying on their shoulders
The bearers and the other children in
the procession wore white ribbons and
white flowers, all emblematic of limo.
cence and happy confidence that the
soul of their little friend was in para
disc. New York Sun.