Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-02-11
ON THE ROOF.

ON The ROOF.
Have you never read of a persons hal
turning gray in single night? Of cours
you have. The old story books are full
of such tales. / can remember dozens o
them-stories reeking with gore ant
dank with dungeons, and grewsome will
ghosts and other uncanny things. TIL
heroine, and sometimes the hero, goes t,
bed at night with hair as black as tn
ravens wing, and along in the nigh
come the horrors, whatever they are, an(
in the morning the raven hair has turned
snowy white.
can remember, too, that never uset
to fake any stock in such stories. uset
to hear them read, and get up quite {
respectable thrill at the most horrible
portions, especially when the candle
fiickered awhile, leaving everybody il
total darkness, just as deep groan was
heard or long, shuddering cry, like the
wind through the weeping willows in G
graveyard.
Oh, yesl l was quite susceptible tc
touching passages like those, and | used
to hurry up to bed and tuck my head
under the clothes and shiver with the
most timid Of them. But somehow OF
other could not accept the hair turning
part Of the story, l knew that hair,
black or white, could stand on end, but
that good head Of black hair would
bleach itself out between dark and day
light was a little too much to swallow.
l know better now. l have had lit
tie experience of my own which-but
perhaps it is best to tell the story as it
occurred.
1t was on the roof Of the cathedral at
Milan. We had climbed the stairs in
the late afternoon Of beautiful spring
day, after paying the custodian the in
significant price he asked for all the
glories visible from the elevated station
We had looked through the telescope
for another fee-and had each assured
the others that we saw Mont Blanc per-
fectly well, without for a moment be-
heving what the others said or convinc-
ing them that we told the truth, and
had ended our climbs by ascending to
the highest point under the lantern-it
it is lantern-by the corkscrew stair
case, which will scarcely permit any but
the thinnest persons to pass when one is
going up and the other coming down.
We were a party Of four, and when
the roof was reached the youngest pro-
posed a ramble over that portion of the
structure. To this all but myself as
sented. l was tired and proposed to
rest awhile at the foot Of the tower
stairs, where the others were to pick me
up on their return, so that we might all
descend together. This was Isatisfac-
tory and off they started.
For time | was quite comfortable
and paid no attention to the passage o
time; but l suddenly noticed that it wal
getting dark and that my companion
had not returned. called to them first
in moderate tone of voice, then NOR,
loudly, but received no answer.
Fearing that they would be belated o.,
the roof | started in search of them.
walked the entire length of the ridge oi
the main roof and peered down all tn,
side passages in the gathering dusk, but
caught no glimpse of my companions
Then | descended to the roof of the aisle
and made a search there which was also
fruitless. became alarmed as the light
failed, and ran from one point to an
other, calling out as ran, until found
to my great distress, that had lost my
way. l could see far below me the lights
OF the great city and hear the distant
rumbling of the carriages as they drove
past on the stony streets.
But | was as effectually lost for tn,
moment as if | had been in the heart of
an African jungle without compass
and no Stanley on the alert to hunt me
up. In the excitement and despair
which the consciousness of this fact pro
duced, l rushed about so wildly that
slipped and fell on long flight of stonA
steps, wet with the dew which had be
gun to fall. was not conscious of an,
serious injury from the fall, but when
brought up at the foot of the stairs and
tried to regain my footing, found, tt
my despair and horror, that was utter
ly unable to move my limbs. was par
alyzed.
The mental agony suffered is incor,
ceivable. Yet curiously enough spen,
the first moments in specializing as t.
the exact nature of the injury had sus
tanned. Had broken my back or sins
ply injured my spinal cord? tried to
recall what | had heard my doctor
friends say about injuries of similar
but could not seem to remem-
Der anything definite, The words, "the
fifth pair" flashed into my mind and an
)eared to connect themselves in some
way with my condition; but whether it
vas the fifth pair of nerves or ribs, or of
else, ] could not make out.
could not understand either how ( |
ould have been SO seriously injured
Without any sensible shock, but that my
over of locomotion was gone there was
a doubt. | could move my hands and
fgan to speculate on the number Of
ngs one could do with ones hands
lDne. This occupied mo for what
semed to be an hour; but as the train
thought was interrupted by a clock
- s..-iac the hour o., midniGht. con-