The Saint Paul globe., 1904-02-22
IN A COFFIN TWICE II
YET ALIVE AND WELL
London Woman Tells How She
Was Almost Buried Alive
While in a Trance.

LONDON, Feb. 21s-"There is a
woman in this room who has been in
her coffin twice, and has her death
certificate in her pocket at this mo-
ment"
This singular announcement was
made at the annual meeting of the
London Association for the Preven-
ton of Premature Burial.
The subject of it is Mrs. Heigham,
a woman who still has the good for
tune to be enjoying the best of health
at her home in Holland road, Ken
sington. She has been subject to cata-
leptic frances, and thrice has been in
imminent danger of being buried alive.
Story of First Escape.
The story of her first escape is best
told in her own words. It's terrible
realism only finds a parallel in the
awe-inspiring imagination Of Poe.
my first trance" Mrs. Heigham
said, was brought about by shock. 1
was told that all my property had been
lost. The news was quite unexpected,
and it sent me into Mysteries.
Then lapsed into insensibility, and
at the end of two hours my limbs be-
gan to assume the rigidity of death.
My eyes were open, and I could see
what was happening. but was unable
to move hand or foot or to show that
life had not yet left my body.
Imagine my horror, then, when,
after being left for twenty-four hours,
/ was taken from bed and rolled on
the floor. Pins and needles were stuck
in my body in order to see whether
blood would flow Fortunately 1 could
feel no bodily pain, but the strain on
my mind was terrible.
After this every one gave me up
for dead. Poor woman, 1 am afraid
she is now out of all earthly suffer-
ing remember hearing the doctor
say. Oh! the terror of that moment!
Order for Coffin Given.
Worse, however, was to come, for
the order for my coffin was given.
When the undertaker's men came to
measure me 1 tried to shrek aloud,
but not sound came from my blood
less lips. / could not have been more
helpless had the angel of death in
reality taken my soul. The final agony
came when my coffin was brought into
the room. At sight of that grewsome
object placed by my bedeside I felt
would finally break under its futile
efforts to assert itself.
Il then lapsed into Inconsistencies
for the first time for forty eight hours
Mrs. Heigham then related how her
daughter, who had never quite given
up hope, arose from her bed in the mid
die of the night to visit her mother for
the last time.
Saved by Daughter.
The girl was unable to sleep owing
TO an ever-recurring presentiment that
her parent had not really passed away;
and, fifty enough, 1t was this midnight
visit that really saved Mrs. Heigham
from her awful fate.
AS she gaZed with fearful eyes upon
her mothers still form, she thought she
saw movement of the eyelids. Has
tily summoning the servants, she held
bottle of strong smelling salts to Mrs
Heigham's nostrils, and in her agita-
ton split part of the contents over the
unconscious woman's face.
"At this" concluded Mrs Heigham,
II heaved a deep sigh, and suddenly
sat up in my bed-saved by my daugh-
ter's love and energy"
Holds Death Certificate.
Few will envy Mrs. Heigham her re-
markable experience. She now pos
sesses the death certificate signed by
the doctor who attended her, and,
though the memories attached to it are
fraught with such horror, she would
not part with the document for great
deal.
Mrs. Heigham's subsequent attacks
were not quite so serious, but in both
cases she was at first thought to be
deadly all but her devoted daughter.
Curiously enough Mrs Heigham
has herself taken degrees as a doctor
of psychology, and in face of the fore
going facts it was somewhat startling
to hear her announce that she had mo
fear Of death for many, many years
TO come"