Year: 1866

thu felt a tremendous blow on the


chst, and was driven backwards and
dalhed up against the wood scaffold-


inein the tunnel, and / suppose was


stunned, for knew nothing more for


a ht Then it seemed as though /


wa being called, and sorter woke


upbut everything was dark as pitch


ant silent as death, and, feeling heavy


an( misty and stupid, l shut my eyes


ag'in, and felt as if going to sleep,


forthere didn't seem to be anything


tn, matter to me. 1t was as though


something had shut up thought and


seise in the dark, and not wink of


light could get in. But there l was


in sort of dreamy comfortable state


AMI lay there perfectly still, till a


gpaning noise reused me, when tho't


cone back with binding fash, and


sosharp was that fash that my brain


seemed scorched, for l knew that /


WIS buried alive. Iaat


For few minutes / stood where l


firA rose up in half STOPPING posi-


ton, with my head and shoulders


touching the poles and boards above


me; but fresh groan made me begin


TO feel about in the darkness, and try


to find out where / was, and how


much room | had to move in. But
that was soon done, for at the bottom


there was about yard space, and as


far up as l could reach it seemed a


couple of yards, while the other way


there was the width of the tunnel. l


dared not move much, though, for the


earth and broken brickwork kept roll


ing and crumbling in, so that every


moment the space grew less, and a


cod sweat came out all over my face,


as i thought that i should soon be


cnshed and covered completely up


Jist then, however, another groan


sdnded close by me, and for the first


tine l remembered Sam Carberry,


AID began feeling about in the drec-


tim from whence the sound came.


Bricks, bits o. stone, crumbling
gavel, the uprights and cross pieces
and bits of board all in splinters, and
snapped in two and three pieces, with
their ragged ends sticking out of the
gravel. But / could feel nothing Of
Sam, and ] sat down at last, painting
as-.hough j had been running, and
there was the big drops a-rolling off
me, while i drew every breath that
heavy that grew wild with horror
and fear; for it seemed as though /
shouldn't be able to breathe much
longer, and then / must 6e stifled.-
1t was awful, the thoughts of all that;
and had such an effect on me, that /
dashed about like bird in a cage
now here, now there in mad efforts
and struggles to get out. l cried,
/" Help, help" and swore and tore
about, jumping up and plunging my
hands into the earth till at last,
pantins. and bleeding. and helpless,
lay upon the gravel orytu5 ,is,.s-.-
child.


All. Til t did me COOL, and seemed
TO clear my ti,e~,-i..s, aud naaLa ma
mad with myself to think ] had been
wasting my strength so for nothing,
when perhaps l might have been
doing something towards making my
escape; and while was thinking like
this, all at once | started, for there
was groan again close to my head !;
then, after feeling about bit, l got
my hand upon bit of broken board,
when l feh groan again, and then,
after searching about, found that un-
derneath the board was face which,
by scratching away the earth, / could
touch, and feel to be warm.


The first thing / did was to start up
and strike my head violently against
a cross piece, so that L was half
stunned; and then / began to feel
about for shovel till l got hold of
handle, and found that the rest was
so tightly bedded in the soil, that |
must have been good hour grubbing
it out with my fingers, but l kept
leaving off to go and speak to the
face, " hich / knew must be that of
Sam Carberry, and though, poor fell
low, it did him no good, he being
quite insensible, yet it did me good,
for there was company / was not
after leaving off that way
now and then, l worked again like a
good 'un till the shovel was at liberty;
for while was hard at work, | had
no time to think about anything else


And now, though / could feel that
poor -am was breathing, he didn't
groan; and began with the shovel
10 try and set his face more at liberty;
but at the first trial threw down the
TOOL with a horrible cry, as the loose
gravel came rattling down, and in an
,ther minute the poor fellows face
would have been completely covered,
[ l had not thrust myself against the
Earth and kept it back.


If L could only have kept from
would not have cared but
iow that / was forced to keep still
md hold up the earth, the thoughts
would keep coming thick and fast,
lud mixed up with them all were
'ofiins--black cloth coiIins with white
rails; black collins with black nails
I'm cofiins workhouse shells; and
hside every one of 'em 1 could see
byself lying stiff and cold. There
Fas one light. grained elm, which
boxed sometimes quite like little
peck right off in the distance, and
hen came gradually closer, and closer,
i'll it seemed as though the next mo-
nent it would crush me, or drive me
nto the earth where i was crouching;
hen it would gradually go back fur
her and further, till it was quite n
peck again. Then there were pro-
essions o people in black, constantly
by.


Now aud then there was noise of


stone falling or little bit of rolling
arth, else all was as still and silent
g IL there wasn't such a thing as
earring. 1t was so still that the