Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1880-12-16

| -" Su"h uuo pulSt Iuto " louu lauSu.
The students were startled. 3bH<
There was something 80 unnatural
auearthly and unreal in the doctor
laugh that the..mystery was immediatel,
deepened, and the students involuntari
y drew their chairs closer together.
ut 10 wonderful said the doctor
chow hospital traditions survive. Why
Ihsd supposed that old story was for
gotten years ago by oil save I. I shall
never forget it. Let me see. 1t hap
pened Just twenty eight years ago thi,
month. The hospital Of that day was
our present hospital, and was a student
myself, but an assistant surgeon also, id
oases Of emergency, and that was how
came to sleep In the building. The room,
! occupied was in the northeast corner,
on tho third floor. It was Il large room
with two windows in front and one at
the side Ny bed was placed In the
northwest corner, and ut the southwest
corner was the door, which led into the
hall. l am thus particular al to details,
because q remembrance Of them will en-
able you to better understand my story.
It was my privilege at that time to en-.
gage In some outside practice, and one
night / was called some distance in the
city to zee patient. lhad occupied my
own time going and returning, and thus
it WAS that reached my room in the
hospital about eleven o'clock in tho
evening. Then, as now, was devo-
tee Of tobacco, and it was with sense
Of relief and qualification that ! lit my
pipo and 10y down upon the bed to smoke.
1t IL indistigct in my memory how long
lay there but it must have been half
an hour, end all my senses were AZ acute
and active as ut this moment. Sudden
ly I permitted my hand and arm to fall
over tho edge Of tho bed, and to my u.s.
constituent, another hand closed upon
mine with q vice-like grip. It was 4,
pold bloodless hand, md ] recognized IN
MI its outlines the hand Of corpse.
l say it myself l had the reputa-
lion in those days Of being young man
IF great personal courage, and | imme-
liately regained my wonted equauimity
but before ] could fully recover from my
the hand was gone. All
he supersti0us tales ola lifetime crowd
ID into my brain, and lay there won
lering from what on earth that queer
circumstance could have originated. |
With desperation-for ! was growing 4
title nervous--f reached down and felt
bout the floor for the hand, but II
could not be found and / was still more
uystified. Again and again reached M
ler the bed, Us far as possible from my
eclining position, but each time with
ut success. This constant failure to
enew my experience with the bloodlsss
and nerved me to my usual composnre.
hen l arose and proceeded to make an
avestigation, and was not at all sur
rised to find underneath the bed the
feless body Of q man. Though the
Dom was quite dark could almost dis.
nguish its features, and knew it must
Q . man Of about forty years Of age.
be body was partially dressed, but
ON the waist up there was no clothing,
y familiarity with dead bodies was of
ing duration, and was no longer both
'ed with superstitious doubts or fears,
kcept rs to tho one fact that the lifeless
md had certainly reached ont and
osed upon mine; but that fact dis.
Used from my mind upon some physi.
ogioal ressonings satisfactory to my.
If, and thought conld not be fright
led again. II
4How the body came into my room and
,derneath my bed was the next inquiry.
hot question, however, could be easily
lived, for the hospital students were ,
ore lnischievous and more daring then .
on now, and resolved that they had
me this work to frighten me. laughed j
listly at the fruitlesspess of their 3D. {
'nture, and began making arrange
ents to remove the body. It taxed all
Y strength to drag the corpse from un- ,
meath the bed. Then I thought /
Vi better have some assistance from {
Q porter, and to call him I stepped to
9 door.
ITO my surprise the door was bolted t
'm the outside, and knew in q mo. ,
,nt that was doomed to the all !
GIFTS companionship of dead body. / q
uld have secured assistance from the =
tside BY alarming the neighborhood,
t then ] would have confessed myself U
3 frightened victim Of practical
70, and from such an admission ] re.
tied. y
Il was rapidly growing nervous now, t