Almost Buried Alive

The Cincinnati Enquirer publishes the following account of an occurrence at Evansville, Inti., this present month: Josephine Kymen, a fair-haired, blueeyed young woman, is just recovering f rom a remarkable illness at the home of her sister. Her parents died some years ago, and Josephine went to work in St. James, a little village near here. One Saturday night last winter she went to smging school. She had not been in her seat long when she feit a strange sensation about the head, accompanied by pains in the back. She arose to her feet, as if to start out of church, when she feil in a dead faint, and was carried home. Her friends at tirst thought the attack was but a mere fainting spell, and the usual restoratives were applied, but the girl continued to lie as if dead. Sunday carne and went, but still there was no change, The body became colder and colder, thé eyes were open and starftig, the lips were apart, there was no perceptible pulse; and every indication pointed to death. Physicians pronounced life extinct. ■ The coffln was ordered, busy fingers begaa to prepare the white clothes in which to btiry the corpse, and, in fact, every preparation was made for tke ünal scène. Thus passed Monday. ün the evening of that day there was a slight change in the appearance of the body, which gave the tartled watchers ;i faint hope that the girl lay in a trance, and that this was but death's counterfeit. The body lay on its back, with arras folded, just as the attendants had placed it. There was nol the least eeptible breathing;the eyes still had that stoiiy, unmeaning gaze; the face was as pallid as white marble; but the icinesa of real death was wanting. The feet and lhnbs were not warm, but they did not have that chilly touch that is a sure accompaniment of actual dissolution. There was sufficient doubt in the minds of those in attendance to warrant caution, and so another day and nigkt passed. Af ter critically examiuing the case and consulting with the physiciaii, lie said: "It's a trance. She may come to herself, but it will be momentary. When she relapses all will be over. She can't live." Accordingly the funeral was set for the next day. Imagine the l'eelings of horror which possessed this girl when it is known that she was cognizant of every word that was spoken in that room, and could see the forms of her friends and watchers about her coucb. Her terrible situation is best told bv herself: ■ "Oh, air, it was horrible, As I lay there on my back, stretched out on the boards, with my arms crossedand feet tied together, and could see my sisters and neighbors come and peer hito my face it was awf ui. I heard every word spoken. My body, limbs, and arms were aa cold as ice. I thought of the agony of being buried alive, or being uailed in a eoüin and lowered in the ground. I tried to make soine noise, or move just a little, to let them know that I was alive, but it was impossible. I saw my sisters come in one by one and look into my face. 'Poor Josie,' 'she's gone.' Their tears dropped on my hair, and their kisses were warm to my lips. As they turned to leave me, it seemed as it I must make an effort to attract their attention, if only by moving my eye-lids. But I couldn't do it. I feit like screaming. 1 tried to, but I couldn't move a muscle. 'Will no one ünd out that 1 liveï' 1 said to myself. 'Must I be buried on Iy to wake when it is too late '( Must I come back to life when they put me in the vault, and all of the people have goue away, only to die of fright and horror and suffocation?' The thougliwas madness! Why doesn't the doctor do something to bring me to myself ? 1 amnotdead! It was no use. There 1 lay thinking and listening to Bvery word that was said. I could hear i woman giving directions as to the máking of the shroud. I heard the time set for the funeral and all. I could see every one who came to look at me. I tried to look conscious and let them know that I understood it all, but it was impossible. It is a wonder I did net die of fright and agony. I often think that I woulddieathousand times sooner, than go through that experience again. "Finally, when all was ready, when the shroud was iinished and all had left the room but two or three, some ov.v said: 'Ain't you going to cut her hair off ?' My hair was done up in long braids, and feil down my back. 'Yes," said my sister, 'we'll cut it off now.' Then they got the scissors and came tij) to me. While one of them took hold of my head and turned it to one side, the one with the scissors began the cutting. I could i'eel the cold steel on my neck. I realized this was about the last Uring they'd do before putting me in the coffln. The woman began to clip, and in a second or two one long braid of hair was taken off and laid aside. My head was then turned the other way to allow them to get at the other braid, but tliis was nottouched. Thank God! something in my condition or some movement, I don't know what it was, caused my sister to scream, and 1 was saved. The scissors dropped to the floor with a loud noise, the woman jumped back nearly scared to death, and 1 sat up. You should have seen that little house a little while after that. I thought everybody had gone crazy. 'Venie's alive!' 'Venie's alive!' Thewhole neighborhood came rushing in as soon as they heard of it. My folks thought I didn't know what bad been goingon. Little they thought every word spoken in tüat room was heard and understood by me. They tried to keep everybody from referring to the fact that my shroud was bought, the coffln ordered and the funeral arranged. They made an excuse, too, for part of my hair being cut off. Tbey told me the reason of it was that a piaster had been put on the back of my neck, and my hair got so tangled in it that it had to be cut away, I didn't say anything. One day my little brother said to me, "Venie, you was goin' to. be buried last Thursday, and they cut your hair off." He never imagiuetl; that I knew more about that than ht did.