The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-07-31

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THE SMELL
pervaded the house, making one feel sick
almost to fainting. The stairs were nm
caFpe'eu' the carpets having been taken
up and piled with the other furniture IN
room. The FOOTBALLS going up the
stairs sounded awiully dreariy. and it
was impossible to restrain suUerstitious
thrill OF woe in the mere presence Of the
dread mystery. Pushing open door n
the head of the landing room was enter.
ed which was piled with bedclothca
mattresses, chairs, tables had lamps. The
stencil was deadly but the body was not
there, and the next door was tried, and
the most horrible sight ever witnessed in
| New York presented itself The epen-
ing Of the door frightened away half a
dozen rats which were feasting upon what
was left of the remains The smell was
something fearful; but it was nothing
compared with what met the eye. lu
one corner OF the room there was a bed,
The clothing Of which was in confusion,
looking as if it had not been slept in for
years. The mattress was doubled mp,
and there were 40 sheets or pillows to be
seen. y first sight the remains coul1
not be seen, as the ground was black with
innumerable maggots, who actually seem
ed to be walking away with the floor
There was piano in the room which was
covered with litter Of all kinds, boxes.
broken chairs, bed clothes aud music
books With the head resting against
one of the upper legs of the piano all that
remained of the body lay. 1t would be
impossible TO say that human soul had
ever dwelt in the loathsome mass upon
the ground, as nothing could be seen but
\ sHAPELEss TRUNK,
from which the flesh had been devoured
by the rats and the insects. The mouth
was open, the teeth protruding in ghastly
way from the half eaten gums There
was some dark hair left upon the skull,
but the eyes were gone, and there was no
semblance of cheeks. The lower part of
the body was like that of skeleton the
flesh had all disappeared, and
THE BONES GLIsTENED IN THE LIGHT,
as if they had been polished. The feet
were the only parts completely left, but
this was owing to the fact that they were
encased in strong boots, which the rats
were unable to tear. The breast and sides
were followed out and the arms had
partially disappeared. The sight was
ghastly one, sufficient to make strong
man faint and shun food for month to
come.
On the front part of this floor there
was large apartment, containing some
very antique and costly furniture, but
like everything else in the house, it was
so covered with dust and dirt that it was
rapidly decaying. Going down stairs, a
parlor on the front floor was entered
which was also filed with valuable articles
On the mante piece there was beautiful
silver clock, the hands of which had stop
ped at five minutes to twelve, in one
corner there was piano which was cover
ed with green cloth. BY its side there
were some music books and piano stool,
although the sound Of the piano had
never been heard by any one. There
were some rare old fashioned chairs in
the room, on which were piled all kinds
of odds and ends In this room there
were also bedclothes, as there were in
every room in the house which the re
porter entered. Going back the kitchen
was found \ large stove was in the
centre and the floor was Uttered with dirt
There were some cooking utensils and
some plates upon dresser. The smell
from the remains had pcrvadcd all parts
Of the house and it saluted the nostrils at
every turning.
IN THE CELLAR