The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-11-16
A STRANGE CASE OF
RAISING THE DEAD.
copyright. 1908. by American Press Aaso-
alaffou -

ciation1
There is vacant lot 100 feet from,
by 200 feet deep in the upper part OF
New York about which nearly n cen.
fury ago residences were sprlnging M
One day In 1S- It was announced that
this lot had been bought by a man
who intended to use Il for livery
stable. The proximity Of such proper.
ty being undesirable. residents OF tho
neighborhood dubbed together and
bought the property. Two gentlemen
invested $1,000 each, forming a trust,
every investor having the right TO nom.
mate a person to inherit his interest.
The property was TO be kept intact TN
but one OF these nominees remained
alive. This person was to then be-
come Its owner The nominees were
all under one year OF age and selected
fros7 'Qmilies remarkable for longey.
IL
~S~~ -''ety years had passed but
two nV.-anees were living, Gustavus
Clough Wyatt and Lydia Ward Selby.
Mr. Wyatt vas ninety-one years OF
age, Mrs. Selbt ninety-two and a half.
Both were In fairly good health con-
sldering their advanced age. Mr..
Wyatt had wiled the property in case
he should live 10 secure II TO his son,
Walter Lambert. aged 1xty-fve. Miss
selby's interest was to 60 to her great
grandniece. Florence Dudley, aged
fourteen.
six years later both Mr. Wyatt and
Mrs. Selby had experienced n great
change. In each there remained but
the flicker Of the last drops OF llfe's
burning oil The property which one
or the other would own was worth
Si0000o0. Lambert. who would in.
herit II his father should be the sur.
vlvor. was an old curmudgeon whom
everybody hatedcFlorence Dudley was
lovely girl with no means whatever
and engaged to Travers Trask, a
young medical man who proposed to
make surgery his speciality.
Since the inheritance Of a million
was dependent upon the lives Of these
two aged people they were kept like
plants in a conservatory. The slight.
est draft Of air coming near either
one Of them was considered of more
Importance than a cyclone elsewhere,
Both lived on toast water, and neither
was permitted to go out Of doors. Mr.
Wyatt was under the constant care OF
DR.. Myrtlewood. a young man whose
whole time was engaged for the pur.
pose by lambert. Mrs. seIby was un.
der the care OF DR.. Trask, who visited
her every day.
The autumn of TO- was balmy up to
the 18th of November, when a blizzard
came down that carried OF most OF
those whose lives hung in the balance
Old Mr.. Wyatt and old Mrs. Selby
both lay dying. Mr.. Lambert had spies
in the Selby home. and DR.. Trask, who
had his fiancees interests in charge,
managed to keep himself fairly posted
as to the condition OF old Wyatt. Each
principal was approaching the end Of
the race, and 1t seemed probable that
the winner might survive by only
few hours. DR.. Myrtlewood was keep. |
ing old Wyatt up by stimulants, and
DR.. Trask was doing the same by Mrs.
Selby. Sympathy was entirely With
Miss Dudley, every one hoping that
she would inherit.
At 0 o'clock on the morning of Nov.
ID while the storm was still raging, |
DR.. Trask saw that his patient was
sinking. Word came that Mr.. Wyatt
could live but few hours. An hour
after this Mrs. Selby, despite the eff
feet of the most powerful stimulants,
passed away. Lambert was still alive.
Within ten minutes after Mrs. Selby's
death the fact was reported to DR..
Myrtlewood, who gave over attempting
to longer keep his patient alive, and
he died half an hour later.
DR.. Trask may be said to be on the
scouting line of his profession. While
a student he had witnessed an expert
ment which has startled the world.
He resolved to repeat 1t. Turning ev-
cry one out of the room where Mrs.
Selby had died except his intimate
friend, DR.. Semester, a graduate Of a
prominent German school Of medicine,
whom he retained for an assistant, he
made an incision over the woman's
heart He then inserted his hand and
clasped the organ, squeezing 1t gently
and massaging 1t. This process he
kept up for some fifteen minutes, when
a faint tinge of color appeared in the
patients cheeks. DIR. Semester placed
"a mirror under the woman's rlostrils
and slight moisture appeared on the
glass. The massaging continued some
ten minutes longer, when the patient
opened her eyes.
Hastily covering the body to the
chin DR.. Trask summoned every one
In the house and said to them:
81 wish you to witness that on this
l4th day OF November at 3:45 p. M.
Mrs. Selby lives"
At that moment the patient sighed
and said in a feeble voice, 81 feel so
queer"
do you hear that?" said the doctor.
''She not only lives, but speaks. Leave
the room. Everything depends upon
keeping Der composed"
No one knew what was passing in
the sickroom till o'clock, when the
two physicians emerged and announc-
ed that Mrs. Selby was dead.
There was a lawsuit over the inner
Itance Of the property in question. but
Il was proved on the trial that Mrs.
Selby survived Mr.. Wyatt by several !