The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-07-30
NUMBER 80.
FHR MORdUE.

EHB 3OtGSEs
At the CONNER cement Of the second
empire there stood facing the Hotel
Diau, q gloomy building known So The
the most melancholy monument il
Paris. The form Of this edilce united
in some Doric outlines the threatening
gloom of a malefactor's cell with ths
/ profound sadness of a tomb. It.
double aspect Of incarceration suR
/ gested for it name once used technic
ally to describe "the ent- Of 3
prison" But IN its new association ths
=" La MoFgue acquired an emphasis
of tragedy.
II the exterior of this building was
sad, its interior was appalling. A
chamber inelosed Ia glass contained
tables Of black marble, upon whose in
ciined planes were stretched before the
public gaze the CHASTITY forms of sui
cides or of unfortunstes found drowned
IN the Seine The institution was be
gun in 1904, and had as its design the
exposure of sll victims of violence, ac-
cident, or suicide whose corpses should
Paria. There they were held Tor = time
for the purpose Of Identification or ol
recognition by friends.
Appalling g thu lsiaes Eas. 3 1aor bid
fascination made il he central attrec-
tion OF its neighboEbo0d it was actin
ally courted as a place Of rendezvous,
and q noted end of the promenade.
People rushed there daily, as to a morn
ing gazette or exciting bulletin, and the
scenes of its real grief we're Knocked by
brutal curiosity, and sometimes by re-
voting levity.
There came a day at last when the
most hardened habitues of the morgue
cOuld no longer look upon il without =
shHdder.
To obliterate all traces Of that bloody
time, Napoleon III. transferred the site
of this melancholy institution, and
changed the character of its architect
Ure to a plan more in accord with his
smiling rencVations, Built upon the
little arm Of the Seine that separates
the isle of st. Lcuis from the city, the
new morgue occupies a miniature des-
ert. and conceals in decent isolation the
details of its work. Staircases of stone
descend from it on every side, and
serve to facilitate the reception OF the
drowned, who, excepting in the heat Of
revolution, when cannon sweep the
streets, constitute in major part the
patronage of this funereal hostelry.
The moFgue is composed of two cham
bers or saloons, the largest OF which,
divided in two spaces by a partition of
glass. It is not always this larger sa-
loon that bears testimony of the most
terrible tragedies. There is a secret
hall, salte prives," devoted TO the
dead who have been Withdrawn from
the public gaze, or those already recog-
nized, who await their enshrouding.
Here the processes OF autopsy take
Ma 49, II
accused murderers with their victims.
It was in this lesser chamber that the
murderer Traupmann recognised with
horror the Kaupt family, who had been
miTaeulously recovered from a ditch in
which he had buried them. The pop
ular excitement was at that time so fu-
rious that La Morgue had to be closed
and guarded by soldiers to prevent the
abhOrred wretch from falling into the
hands of an avenging mob.
The revolution of September made
few contributions 10 the new morgue,
nor was it crowded during the siege,
for they who fell as heroes were regis
tered among the bastalons; but in the
time ef their bombafdment there were
mangled bodies brought there hourly,
chiefly of ga1aias who had been collect
ing shells 70 sell Is cnriosi4fes. OF Of
plosions--DErents killed with children
whom their arms vainly sought to pro-
toct-young mothers pierced through
the breast, where her babes lips were
still pressed.
During the commune it became i'm
possible to csntralize the disposition of
the killed, and temporary moTgues
we're established in the chapels of the
cemeteries. As there were no conven-
fences there for suspending the clothing
to view, the dead were left in the ha-
biliments in which they fell, and what
ever objects had been found IN their
pockets were laid upon their breasts to
assist Identification. When the insur-
rection reached its climax even these
provisions ceased: the bodies were
placed in the trenches where they were
TO be buried, and the trenches were left
for short tims open TO allow the in
spectiOn of those who sought their
missing friends. When the Fersaillais
took possession of Paris the dead were
stretched at the foot of the wall where
they had fallen, and the pavements of
the streets became the morgue.
The Seine is always the principal re-
source of these unfortunates Of Paris
who would escape from life. So CON-
mon is this mode of self-destruction
that when there is brought into the
morgue 8 corpse taken from the river.
the spectators exclaim, without interest,
a" An, il Is only one drowned y Unless
the victim happens TO be = young and
pretty woman, not yet dishgured by
death, the connoisseurs scarcely lock at
the pitiful form, upon whose head q
slender Jet Of water fails. The objects
that draw crowds are victims Of aBsas-
sination, or Of suicide that haunts the
imagination by some narrowing associs-
tion.