Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1880-12-18

IapIc anu upon every COHcolvaDle Shell,
but no lamp conld be discovered, and
saw again the thoroughness Of the trick
played upon me. The lamps had been
removed by the students.
God knows what night that was
l sat down and tried to compose myself
but the shadowy forms that, grouped
themselves about the room kept my
eyes staring into the darkness. There
was a cold dampness pervading the at.
mosphere, and very soon my teeth were
chattering with mingled cold and fright.
Most Of all, that body lay between me
and the bed, and ! could not find cour-
age to cross it. Not that ] feared the
dead body itself-for argued that the
body was really dead-but the startling
fact of it's hand having reached from
under the bed and claspet mine oame to
me again in all it's force. Was it alive
Was it deads These were the absurd
inquiries chat began to find earnest ar.
guinent with me. Every motion Of my
own person tcrrorized me; every change
Of position filled me with horrors. 1t
would be impossible to describe the in
tensity Of my suffering. l could not see
the dead body, but ! could see where l
knew it lay, and my distorted imagine
tion saw that lifeless hand ever and
anon clutching the air. Once l thought
heard groan, and then fancied the
body had moved little. After awhile
the room seemed filled with dark figures
that fitted back and forth between me
and the body.
"Hours must have passed, when
noticed the room growing lighter and
lighter, and finally moonbeam cast a
bright shadow through one Of the front
windows. For moment ] was enconr.
aged, until l saw the light creeping to.
ward the CHASTITY corpse. knew what
the full light would unfold to me, and
watched the crawling moonbeam with
the intensest agony. Suddenly, after
half an hour of waiting, q dood Of light
filed the room. It must have been five
minutes before could look in the direc'
ton Of the corpse. There it Icy,
with it's bare arms folded solemnly
across its breast, it's large, hollow eyes
staring directly upon Inc, it, teeth firm
set in the agonies Of death, end it's blood.
less hands grasping each other tightly.
The moon fell full upon the CHASTITY
face, and pitilessly reflected every un-
slightly mark of death. The shadows
seemed returning to my room, but now
they were angels and ministers Of light.
They were hollow skeletons wrapped in
a Tapping shroud, and they danced in
hideous glee about me. l had taken the
precaution to place my chair firmly
against the wall, and l knew that these
grinning skulls could take no advantage
of me from behind, but their very pres
ence was enough to stop the blood from
flowing in my veins and to throw out
upon my body cold, clammy perspira-
ton. The very atmosphere breathed
was all eXhalation from the grave.
Glow slowly the hours passed on. l
lived twenty years in that one short
night. Finally, it grew darker, and
then the first faint streaks Of day-dawn
came into the room. With the realities
OF daylight my courage returned, and
crossed the room, and, bestowing Wig
orous kick upon the innocent corpse, 1
clambered into bed, where | covered
head and ears and dropped instantly to
sleep from sheer exhaustion"
''Wllen | awoke the sun was high in
the heavens and my room filed with
Students
:" Hello, Dardenne,' said one, q call
this the greatest instance of personal
bravery on record. The young man who
will voluntarily stay all night with a
corpse
"'Voluntarilyr | said, with aston
ishment, that door was certainly lock-
ed
+" Yes he replied, but it was simply
bolted on the inside, and you could have
unmatched it,
!" Then, said l, 4 am the greatest
coward Oh record, for was too badly
frightened to remember the latch
+" No. said another student, 4 still
think it an example Of bravery for u
young man to lift corpse from his own
bed and place it on the floor beside him
and then lie down to pleasant dreams
without Il mHrmur.'
"'What, | cried; that corpse was
never in my bed found it under nv
bed.