Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-04-12
A Horrible Experience,

A Philadelphia Press reporter inter-
viewed cynical grave-digger who dis
canted on the hypoc1cy of much of the
grief he had witnessed in the course of
his sombre life among graves and grave
stones. ''Shau | tell you my own
story ?" suddenly exclaimed the grave
digger, as he turned and faced the re-
porter. 81 think I will, / feel talka-
tive to-day, and I know grief. Great
God Do I not +? Walk little with
me-" Leading the way to portion of
the cemetery near the river walk, he
pointed to a grave with a plain stone
slab, marked with initials and a date.
"There lies my past, my present and
my future, he said mournfully," as he
stone letters. ''Thirty-fve years ago I
was doctor with rising practice, and
she who lies there was to have been my
wife. One June evening we saw each
other for the last time, but we little
thought SO then. I was going OF fort
nights journey, and when I returned we
were to be married, and that evening we
were arranging all the particulars for
the wedding. She was the picture of
health, and her parting words to me
were: "James, am glad you are 60
ing away for awhile, shall try and get
thinner; look how fat my arms are"
do not know how it happened, but did
not receive a letter from her while on
my journey, though I afterward heard
she wrote several, and posted one ev-
cry day. I returned to the city fifteen
days subsequently by late train, and,
feeling tired, I postponed going to her
house until the morning. 1 had no sus-
picions of the frightful thing that had
happened while I was absent. How
ever, I did not get to bed that night.
At my rooms, waiting for me, were
party of students, who told me they had
purchased the body of young woman
from a resurrection man, and would [
help them dissect the corpse? / pleaded
fatigue, but they begged hard, SO went
with them to the hospital, and getting
out my instruments, approached the
body. It was covered entirely with
sheet, except one arm, and | suggested
that we should experiment on the limb
and leave the remainder of the body for
the next day. Accordingly the incisions
were made, and I was preparing TO dis
locate the arm from the elbow, when
some one suggested that it would be
better to remove it from the shoulder,
and drew aside the cloth. With
shrek of horror I recognized the dead
features of the girl to whom was to
have been married on the following
Thursday.
ssI can speak calmly OF it now. Years
have soothed the frightful anguish of that
night For months | was an inmate of
a lunatic asylum, and when I slowly re-
covered [ was an altered being. had
lost all idea of my profession. / was
wreck in every way. They took me to
her grave. Her body had been willing
~ relinquished by the students, and it
had been reinterred in this cemetery in
stead of the suburban churchyard where
its repose had been so ruthlessly dis
turbed. Here, where I am standing
now, they told me the story of her death.
A severe cold, congestion of the lungs
and the breaking of blood-vessel had
killed her ten days after had hidden
her goodbye. They had written to me,
but the letter had miscarried. On the
night of her burial (the day returned),
her fresh grave was robbed and the
corpse sold to the students with the re-
suit have just related. I haunted the
cemetery for months, and at last got the
appointment of grave-digger SO that l
could be constantly near her. lit IS
thirty-fve years ago now, and L have
grown into common laboring man,
coarse in my speech, low in my habits,
a grave-digger. What does 1t matter?
She and will be united sooner or later
now I am always with her." He
paused and knelt down and kissed the
stone. and then his manner changed back
again to the cynical mood In which ne
had first spoken.