Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-07-26
SLEEPING ON A SLAB.
Surroundings of the Morgue Induce an
Undertaken to Try an Icy Couch.

Undertaken to Try Icy Couch.
The interior of the morgue-a grewsome
place at the best. Cold, silent and awful,
with the shades of death lowering in the
icy air and the whispering spirits of the
mangled and murdered victims gliding I'M
canny and unseen through the shadows
and the gloom, lurking in the murky cor
nerS and narrating to each other, with
tiendish grimaces, the agonies of their
horrible disembodiment, and pointing their
skeleton fingers as proof to the clOts of
CONCEALED blood, the flowing of which
from gaping and CHASTITY wounds liberated
them from their prisons of clay; with the
deathly stiffness only relieved by the
monotonous drop-drop-drop of the chill
ing water as it strikes the cold slabs of
marble-ugh. IT'S a fitting sepulchre for
those whose death is enshrouded in mys-
terry.
Upon one of these white slabs that form
the cold touches in that chamber of hor-
rors there lay the other afternoon the out
stretched form Of a man. His face was
pallid, his eyes closed as though in sleep,
While one bare arm was thrown careleSSly
across his breast His Undertaking,
which was that of fine texture, had not
been removed. and could be seen where
the white sheet that served as his shroud
had been carelessly thrown back from his
breast. He lay motionless. all unconscious
of the whispering spirits and death shad-
ows that lowered around and above him.
Around him hung the stiffness of the
tomb, so heavy that its very intensity
was brought into greater relief by the
dropping of the cold water upon each of
the weird marble cots that stretched out
in long row on either side. At the
narrow aperture in the wall that served
as a window to allow the light to dimly
penetrate the grim interior, great green
fly was buZZing laziIy after meal upon
tbo rln fhat lar floor
in great splotches The winged scaven-
ger had been the sole living occupant of
the room for days and weeks, and seemed
to glory in its shadowy home. 1t had be-
come identified with the place and en-
joyed its solitude Without the half
danger; within all was darkness, death,
safety. It could eat it's disgusting meal
in silence and remain at the feast as it
might choose And SO the green fly lazlly
tapped its wings against the reeklng
window panes and gloritied in its hermit
life.
Ten minutes later the fly left the win
dow and began a slow and dreary tour
of the room which it had chosen for its
home. Here and there it lazily winged
it's flight, says the indianapolis Sentinel,
moving in circles from one part of the
making a tour of inspection of its marble
castle. 1t lighted upon one after an
other of the white slabs, slipping the
water that flowed from the death couches
and then arose again into the air. For
moment it circled slowly above the slab
upon which rested the form OF the man,
as though inspecting it's prey. The buz-
zing sounded like the requiem for the
dead.
For q moment the green fly lowered
above, and then slowly settled down upon
the face Of the still sleeper stretched upon
the icy couch. There was a moment of
horrible stiffness as the buzzing ceased,
and then-ye gods above! That form
moved! Could it be the work of ina gina
ton Or a frightful play of deceptive Wis
ion? No! There could be no mista Ike.
There was a distinct motion beneath that
snowy sheet-the bare arm was slowly
raised-those eyes that a moment before
seemed so CLASSY opened-there was a
spasmodic twitching of the fingers hor
rible working of the muscles of the face;
there was hurried rustling in the shad
ows as ghostly visitors fled in dismay;
the buZZing sound was repeated with
repeated dreariness as the green fly cir
cled toward the window; the outstretched
form of the man arose slowly from the
icy couch, and the chamber of death
echoed and re-echoed with muttered
curse that seemed to reverberate against
the walls and float through the air like
the laughter of the fiends.
"Confound that fly broke through the
gloom and stiffness; "a fellow can't get
a wing of sleep anywhere this hot wealth
or'' II was the l1ndert9 kar