Year: 1866

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From the st. Louis Times Ocf 21.


On one of the streets running parable


with Broadway, lived a married couple


who had not travelled together very


smoothly since they had been made one


flesh. The husband, though not bad


man, occasionally took drop too much,


and on such occasions happiness was the


exception in the household The wife had


one thousand dollars in greenbacks, which


she had saved and always carried with her,


and being the masterspirit of the firm,
she would not allow it to be encroachcd


upon, but, on the contrary, endeayored to
augment it.


The wife took the cholera, and the


husband, obtaining permit, had her sent


to the city hospital. 1t is not known that
he accompanied her thither, though he
must have visited her. One morning
the nurse being out of the room for some
time; he returned to the bedside of the
poor woman, and discovered her, to all
appearance, dead. The doctor was noti-
fed and made his observation no pulsation
of the heart, no breathing, nothing to dis
sipate the illusion and assertion that the
patient was dead, was discovered, and the
disciple of Esculapius pronounced her
dead. She was forthwith disrobed placed
in the rough coffin furnished by the city,
and conveyed to the dead house For hours
she lay, apparently corpse, with the sur
roundings Of death. After the shadows
of night had closed in, the watchman took
a look into the room to see that all was
right. From the inside Of one Of the cof-
fins perceptible knocking was heard
Superstition seized him; he slammed the
door after him and went to notify other
parties Of the mysterious rapping, and
several ccompanied the man to the tenn
porary receptacle Of the dead. When the
door was opened, sight met the gaze of
the party which made the roots Of their
hair tingle and caused item to feel
weakness aboutthe knees. The "eorpse"
had raised the lid of the coffin and
was sitting bold upright in it. "Where
am Il" says she. The matter was ex-
planned to her briefly. Filled with anger,
illness having seemingly departed, she let
loose the flood gate of her passion at the
idea OF being inclosed in such contempti-
bic receptacle. She had a thousand dol
lars when she went to the hospital, she
demanded to know where it had gone
that amount would have given her de.
cent sepuiture.


The attendants were unable to explain
the whereabouts of the missing money,
and the woman demanded to be restored
to herself once more, thatshe might pur-
sue the thief who had robbed her, and
secure to her body, if she were to die, de-
cent burial The 'resurrected' one was
helped out Of her narrow prison house
and taken to more genial chamber
But here another difficulty arose-her
clothes had been destroyed. Suitable ap-
parel, however, was furnished, and on
finding herself once more of the flesh, and
the blood, she insisted on starting at once
in search other husband, who she thought
and perhaps correctly-was consoling
himself with her $1,000 The surgeon,
observing that madam was comparatively
well, and thinking that it might do her
more harm to retain her than permit her
departure, had the iron gate opened for
her exit. Darkness had set in ere she
reached her husbands place OF domiscila-
ton. She knocked at the door, and her
husband opened it. With eyes fairly start
ing from their sockets he gazed-words fail
Cd him-he was paralyzed with fear at the
supposed apparition. At length the
wife demanded why he had robbed her,
insisting at the same time that she was
not dead, as he no doubt hoped she was,
and she had come home-he would find it
harder than thatto getrid of her. The hus-
band was too astonished, Mortified to be-
lieve his eyes, and he begged the "shost"
to leave-she might have the money, but
for Gods sake to go away and not destroy
him At this the man, with fear and
trembling, handed her the missing money,
which she took but she was not to be
driven from Eer home, and with a push
she opened the door and entered the
house She had no sooner done so than
her husband, minus coat and hat, rushed |
out of the back door into the yard, and
over the fence, and that is the last that
either his wife or his friends have seen Of
him.