The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-02-29
A .Ghastly Practical Joke-Locked up by
Night in Dfssecting Room.

A GhaStly Practical J0ke-LOcked up Dy
Night in Dfssecting Room.
Medical students are noted for their love s
rough, practical Jokes. Some of them in an
eastern city once placed in bag number OF
human hands taken fromsubjects for dissection,
which they left in lonely place, alarming the
whole neighborhood by creating the belief that
some horrible and mysterious murder had been
perpetrated there On another occasion,
number of them in a college one night fright
ened gawky boy almost out of his senses by
running the ghastly, discovered hand Of a Sub
ject" in his face, and grimly asking him if ne
would like to see corpse. These jokes, how.
ever, rough as they were, were mild, compared
with one which was lately perpetrated in the
Medical College here. One of the students
attended lecture in state which indicated
much closer worship of "the rosy" than of his
books He was allowed to clay off," and take
it out in sleep until the staid professors had
ceased imparting grave instruction on some of
the practical diseases which afiict "the house
we live in" When the doctors had dispersed,
the students solemnly concluded to show their
disapprobation of intemperance in general, and
that of their erring brother in particular-the
offence in his case having been heightened BY
his getting "corned" alone, when dozen SYM
pathizing friends would have been willing to
have stood by him to see that .'the fair thing"
was done all round.
Four brawny students took up the sleeping
inebriate and carried him into the dissecting
room, upon the long table of which, devoted
to the deposit of "stiffs," they slowly and sadly
laid him down to take his rest. The corpse OF
an aged colored gentleman and OF a brawny
white were toted up alongside him, to each OF
which the inebriate was tied, that there might
be proper bond of brotherhood between them.
The door of the dissecting room was then care
fully locked, and the students, with the con-
sciousness of duty well performed, went to en-
Joy their dinner, it being about p m. IL the
language of the playbill, an interval OF six
hours must now be supposed to have elapsed.
All in the meantime was we'll with the sleep
ing inebriate. He may have snored sonorously
and stretched and kicked stupidity, but his cold
companions made no complaint. Even drum
ken Sleep however long as it generally is, like
the traditional lane, must have an end and so
about IL p. m, not quite a witching hour, but
unpleasantly near it, the sleeper's senses be-
gan to revisit the earth, when it was calculated
that he would make night hideous with his
yells
He gradually came to- and after many yawns,
the hardness of his bed and want of pillow,
at last struck him. He rose on his elbow to
see where he was. The halt-grown moon was
shining and threw peculiarly uncertain and
ghost-like light through the roonl. The lne-
briate rubbed his eyes and stared, but as ne
could remember nothing except that he had
been drunk when he lost consciousness, he
could not make out where he was. Finally he
Jumped up, which movement dragged his sleep
ing partner, with heavy thud, on the floor
after him. He was man of iron nerve, or he
would have been frightened almost into insani-
ty but even as it was, he stood not upon the
order of his going, but went at once for the
door. dragging his "pards" at his heels. The
door was locked, and on it he pounded with
knuckle and heel furiously, yelling for help all
the while savagely.
The porter in the barn was finally started
from his peaceful slumbers, and was far more
frightened than the inmates of the dissecting
room. When he became Convinced that the
uproar was in the room of the corpse he thought
they had awoke with an unearthly life, and
were about to visit vengeance on him for the
liberties taken with their late earthly tene-
ments. Half naked, and with the speed OF
Tam OShanter with the witches at his heels,
he rushed up Stockton street, pausing not un-
til he had summoned a small and hurriediy re-
cruited army of stray night-walkers. WITH
these he made nervous return to the college,
and cautiously and with we'll lighted steps he
led the way to the dissecting room, when the
knocking and internal noise was still heard.
A few moments sufficed to explsin the sitGa--
tion, and to bring forth torrents of curses on
the head of him whom it was but too truthful
" suspected had put the students up to the
rascally joke. As an illustration of perseyer.
ance in wicked courses, it may be stated that
after the imprisoned student finally stopped
cursing he Immediately sesolved-not aloud
to drink no more, but that it was his duty to
stand drinks for the crowd which relieved him
from his horrid company. The drinks were
accordingly taken and the crowd separated
San Francisco Bulletin.