The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-09-03

4 j. Z
backward, rs I once learned to do
in seeking relief from insomnia.
Yet at the sarle time I was con-
scious that my. whole life was pass
ing IN review before NE, as they say
at does when op0 is drowning or be-
lpg hanged. I remembered that
iIsaysngs too, and d5without any cessa-
Saon OF The review ] wondered in
NV doublBl c6nsciousness If / were
undergoing the sensations Of a
EfoWninE man or of one being
hanged and wished I could put
them down, on paper for the benefit
OF the Esst Of mankind. Va.
What struck me as singular was
that the clocks kept on striking
H. The second time they did this
T. thought I must have lost con-
sciousness for an entire day and that
this was the second midnight. But
when the third stroke Of IL came
from half dozen clocks knew it
could not be two days since I had
fallen.
I thought first that I had become
demented, and then it occurred to
lae that Z I were ] could not reason
about it in that fashion, so the
clocks themselves must be crazy.
This theory satisfied me until tHc
striking began again, when ] wen.
off in another fantastic speculation.
My friends had discovered that I
was missing and were having the
bells rung to keep my spirits up
Oh, the long, long, weary hours T
spent in waiting 1or glimpse Of
daylight! I had no hope that day
light would bring me any relief, but
the prospect of staying where it was
endless midnight seemed inendura-
BILE. ] groaned and wept and dug
my nails into the palms Of my hands
until it seemed as if the blood would
come, but / did not even feel any
sense of pain.
1t must have been after the clocks
had struck midnight dozen times
or more-I kept no exact account
that I saw in the distance at what
seemed to be the farther end Of the
cathedral roof two faint glimmers
Of light. Presently there were two
more and then two more, until there
was regular procession of them. I
tried to shout, but had become so
weak with cold and suffering that 7
could not raise my voice above
whisper
The lights nevertheless approach
ed, growing gradually stronger, un-
til / could see that they were borne
by several black robed figures that
were marching beside coffin. AS
the procession moved slowly toward
me I began to wonder what it meant
and whether funerals took place at
midnight on the roofaof Milan ca
thedral. Then I speculated mo-
ment on the propriety of disturbing
the obsequies even in my extreme
need. Suddenly it dawned upon me
that this was my own fuDeral, and I
knew that I was either dead or had
gone mad. In the supreme anguish
! of this discovery all memory Of past
suffering was blotted out, and I en-
tered on a new period Of the most
exquisite torture. Fortunately it
was Of brief duration. As the fore
most Of the moving figures reached
me Hsfelt grasp on my arm, and
voice called in my ear:
"Wake up, father. It's time to
be going down. T 1 guess you must
have had your yoke turned"
at was my daughter, and beside
her were the rest of the party,
flushed with their rambie on the
roof Z Strengthened out my cramp-
ed limbs, which must have gone to
sleep about the time I did, and
pulled ont my watch. had been
there just fifteen minutes.
/ don't mean to be understood
that my hair really did turn gray in
that night Of horror on Milan ca
thedral. In the first place, there is
not much of it, and what there Is
has been tolerably gray for some
years. But I do mean to- say that I
am not incredulous as to the posi-
bility Of such capillary change as
the story books tell about.
Volcanoes In Nofsh America.
In our North American posses,