The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-02-27

EA UMBEkS OF llZarQS gllu'
HzSS ed away from my feet as
H6G.xA ] descended the steps, and
E4A 1E when the fare of my
EMSGt4E& torch penetrated the
S&SGS,; JySfr darkness heard sour
<RM YZO ryiIg of wings mingled
SElA TE with various kissing
WN sounds and wild cries.
knew now-none better-what weird and
sbominable things had habitation in
this storehouse of the dead, but l felt
I could defy them all, armed with the
light 1 carried. The way that had
seemed so long in the dense gloom was
brief and easy, and soon found myself
at the scene of my unexpected awaken
ing from sleep. The actual body Of the
vault was square-shaped, like a small
room inclOsed within high walls,-walls
which were scooped out in various places
30 as to form inches in which the narrow
caskets containing the bones of all the
departed members of the Romani family
were placed one above the other like 50
many bales of goods arranged evenly on
the shelves of an ordinary warehouse. |
held the candle high above my head and
looked about me with morbid interest.
soon perceived what 1 sought-my own
eoffin.
There it was In niche some five feet
from the ground, its splintered portions
bearing decided witness to the dreadful
struggle had made to obtain my free
dom. advanced and examined it close
ly. Il was frail she'll enough-unlined,
unornamented-aw retched sample of the
undertaker's art, thoughGod knows had
no fault to find with its workmanship,
nor with the haste of him who fashioned
1t. Something shone at the bottom of it
it was a crucifix Of ebony and silver.
That good monk again! His conscience
had not allowed him to see me buried
without this sacred symbol; he had per-
haps laid it on my breast as the last
service he could render me; it had fallen
from thence, no doubt, when l had
wrenched my way through the boards
thst inclosed me. took it and kissed il
reverently-I resolved that If ever l met
the holy father again, i would tell him
my story, and as proof of its truth, re-
store to him this cross, which he would
be sure to recognize. Had they put my
name on the coffin lid? / wondered.
Yes there it wss-painted on the wood
in coarse black letters, "Fabio Romani"
then followed the date of my birth;
then short latin inscription, stating
that had died Of cholera on August Is.
1884. That was yesterday-only yester-
dayl seemed to have lived a century
since then.
turned to look at my fathers resting
place. The velvet on his coffin hung
from its sides in Wondering remnants
but 1t was not so utterly damp destroyed
and worm eaten as the soaked and indis-
tinguishable material that still chung to
the massive oaken chest in the next
niche, where she lay-she from whose
whose tender arms l had received my
first embrace-she in whose loving eyes
| had first beheld the world! / knew by
q sort Of instinct that it must have been
with the frayed fragments on her coffin
that my fingers had idly played in the
darkness. counted as before the bits
Of metal-eight bits lengthwise, and four
across-and on my fathers close casket
there were ten silver plates lengthwiSe
and five across. My poor little mother!
/ thought Of her picture-it hung in my
library at home; the picture of young,