Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1870-04-07
N. o. WALLACE,
g Story Of 2eal gife.
A Romance Of Lima.

Many years ago a young Eng
lishman, a medical student named
Ashley, went TO Lima. The lovs
of adventure was strong upon, hin
and all he met with In his owl
country was too tame to satisfy it
Proud of the profession for which
he was studying, and trusting t.
it forsubsistence, strong and healthy
in body and mind, he left Eng.
land with a bold heart, and this
was the life he led, and what came
of it.
At a time when the difficulty
of procuring subjects for anato'
mical study was great, and when
to procure them honestly was i'm.
possible, and the prejudice against
dissection was SO strong that nc
one was willing to submit the
body of any one connected with
him to examination, it is well
known that there were men who
made it their business to obtain,
at no small risk, bodies, generally
those of the newly buried, which
they sold to surgeons, medical
students, or indeed to any one
who stood in need of the ghastly
commodity.
This class, known as body
snatchers' and resurrection men,
has died out since there is hap
PLY now little prejudice against
what has been triumphantly
proved to be a necessary branch
of scientific study; but at the time
of our story their hideous work
was a thriving and profitable one.
Richard Ashley, in common with
the rest of the profession, availed
himself of their servitude. and
many times in the black night his
I'door was opened to those who did
not knock, but who were expec-
ted and waited for, and who, en-
tering silently, stealthily deposi-
ted a dead burden upon the table
prepared for its reception. Old
and young, men, women and chill
dren, all in time lay upon that
grim table, and Astley's skillful
instruments cut their way to Sc
crets that were destined to benefit
the lieing.
Though he was not hard.heart-
ed, it was not unnatural that in
time he should grow SO much &C.
customed to the sight Of his sub
jects as to feel nothing but a mo,
mentary pity as he put aside the
cIusteringcurls oiinfancy or uncoy.
cred the face of man struck
down in the glory of his years.
One night, as many nights be-
fore, the stealthy visit was paid,
and Ashley took his lamp to ex-
anime the new subject. Neither
strong man nor tender child this
time but young and beautiful
woman. The dead face was so
lovely that it did not seem possi-
BILE that the light in the closed eyes
could make it lovelier. The fair
hair had fallen back. and gave.
no shade to the white brow, and
the long fair lashes lay in a thick
fringe upon the violet. tinted
underlids.
She was very tall and slender,
and her hands, one of which hung
down as she lay upon the table.
were long and perfectly sharped.
AS Ashley lifted the hand to lay
it on the breast, he thought how
beautiful it once must have been,
since now, when there was not
the slightest rose tint to relieve
the deathly pallor Of it, it was so
exquisite. She wore one garment,
a long flannel shroud, very
straigthly made, through which
scanty drapery her slender limbs
were distinctly visible, and below
which her delicate feet were seen,
bare to the ankle.
Ashley was troubled as he had
never been before. The idea of
treating this beautiful corpse as