Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-07-25
SLEEPING ON A SLAB.
Surroundings of the Morgue Induce All
Undertaken to Try Icy Couch.

Surroundings of the Morgue Induce
Undertaken to Try an 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
hendiSh grimaces, the agOnieS of their
horrible disembOdiment, and pointing their
skeleton myers as proof to the clOtS or
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 op-drop-drop of the chill
ing water as it strikes the cold slabs of
marble-ugh! IT'S 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 III sleep,
while one bare arm was thrown careleSSly
across his breast His underclothing,
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 it's 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 a 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 lazily after a meal upon
the clotted blood that darlxened the 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
darkened window all was light, life and
danger; within all was darkness, death,
safety. 1t could eat its disgusting meal
in silence and remain at the feast as it
might choose And SO the green fly lazily
Mapped its wings against the reek1ng
window panes and glorifed 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
its flight, says the indianapolis Sentinel,
moving in circles from one part of the
chamber of death to another. as though
making q tour or inspection OF us mdfDle
castle. 1t lighted upon one after an
other of the white slabs, slipping the
water that flowed from the death touches
and then arose again into the air. For a
moment it circled slowly above the slab
upon which rested the form Of the man,
as though inspecting its prey. The buzz
zing sounded like the requiem for the
dead.
For 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 moment of
horrible stiffness as the buzzing ceased,
and then-ye gods above! That form
moved! Could it be the work of magma
ton or a frightful play of deceptive Wis
ion? No! There could oe no mistake.
There was a distinct motion beneath that
snowy sheet-the bare arm was slowly
ralsed-thoSe eyes that a moment before
seemed so CLASSY opened-there was a
spasmodic twitching of the fingers, nor
ribie 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-ech0ed with a muttered
curse that seemed to reverberate against
the walls and float through the air like
the laughter of the fends
"Confound that fly broke through the
gloom and stiffness; "a fellow can't get
a wing of sleep anywhere this hot wealth
err 1t was the undertaken