Year: 1861

STRANGE STORY.


ga young gentleman resided with his wild
owed mother and two sisters in the near neigh
borhood of Bristol, England. He was in easy
circumstances, respected, well, in fact, to do
in the world-and moreover engaged to be-
married very shortly. Under such state of
things, there was nothing likely to be preying
upon his mind, but he was OF rather delicate
health and nervous temperament. One NOR
ming he came down to breakfast, looking pale,
ill, and altogether much agitated. His moth
er and sisters anxiously and eagerly inquired
the cause. At first he assured them that moth
ing was the matter, but upon his mother and
sisters more urgently pressing him, he con-
fessed that he had dream which disturbed
and troubled him. l ought to have stated he
held some position in the cathedral-was a
minor cannon, or something of that sort-and
he said that he had dreamed he was in the YES
try there, and looking over the register. when,
latest among the entries of burial. he had read
his own name, age, and all correct. There
was no mistake; the writing was all clear,
fresh and legibIe. Well, they laughed at him,
and rallied him, and though he was evidently
much impressed with what he had seen, after
the lapse of day or two he shook off his dejec-
tlon, and was the same as ever. Then again
he appeared second time at the breakfast-ta-
BILE in the same style of nervousness-only this
time worse than before. Again he was pres





HIM. He had been walking, he said, over the
cathedral with some one, and they had been
surprised by the sight of a new monument in
most out-of- -the-way and unusual place-over
the vestry door they stopped to read tit
was his own This time it was a worse matter
than before to conquer his nervous anxiety
but just as the family thought him shaking of
the effects of his second dream, he one evening
rushed into the house in state bordering up
on frenzy, and calling out, "Where is il
Where are they? What have they done with
it ?'' dropped down in sheer exhaustion and
terror. As soon as he could answer their ques-
tions, he told them that they were at that mo-
ment in the house with two men with coffin
"a most remarkable one, corered with red mo-
rocco, thickly studded With brass nails, and
with his name on it-that they had entered the
door the moment before himself and brushed
by him in the lane as he stood against the wall
to allow them and their CHASTITY burden to pass,
when he had distinctly seen that the coffin was
meant for himself, and pursued them into
the house. No such person could be seen or
heard OF. No such coffin had been made. It
was quite light in summer evening, and
public road. No soul but himself had seen
the men or the coffin-much less touched it
it seemed delusion of the brain. However
as he pressed it, every means were taken by
his family, and large rewards offered for any
information, as they rightly thought reason





nation. 1t was not to be From the bed to
which they carried him he never rose again.
A few days only of feyerous excitement elaps-
ed, and he was dead ! The family in their
deep distress could attend to no matters Of
business or money. The undertaken, to whom
the funeral was entrusted, sent home the most
expensive coffin for his own sordid ends-but
it was, strange to say, corered ,cuh red morocco.
and studded all over with brass nails, the name
of course being conspicuous among them.
This might have been the working out of the
from its coming to the ears of those
among whom previous inquiry had been
made. But, the fact of the monument needed
further Interpretation, for, the clergy belong
ing to the cathedral, wishing to show every
respect, without consulting the family of the
deceased, resolved TO put up tablet to his
memory, and to their intense surprise his
friends most unexpectedly found a monument
erected in the very unusual place be had de-
scrbed as its situation in his dream.''