The Corpse and the Dog.
The other day a woman shipped her husband’s remains and a dog over the Central. At Albany she appeared at the door of the baggage car to see how they were getting along.
“How does he seem to be doing?” she asked, with a sniff.
“Who, the corpse?” inquired the baggage master, kindly.
“No, the dog.”
“Oh! He’s comfortable,” replied the baggage man.
“Anybody been sitting down on him?”
“Who, the dog?”
“No, the corpse.”
“Certainly not,” answered the baggage man.
“Does it seem cool enough in here for him?”
“For whom, the corpse?
“No, the dog.”
“I think so,” grinned the baggage master.
“Does the jolting appear to effect him any?”
“Affect who, the dog?”
“No, the corpse.”
“I don’t believe it does.”
“You’ll keep an eye on him, wont’ you?” she asked, wiping a tear away.
“On who, the corpse?”
“No, the dog.”
And having secured the baggage man’s promise, she went back to her coach, apparently contented.
Dallas [TX] Morning News 28 December 1899: p. 4
Chris Woodyard is the author of The Victorian Book of the Dead, The Ghost Wore Black, The Headless Horror, The Face in the Window, and the 7-volume Haunted Ohio series. She is also the chronicler of the adventures of that amiable murderess Mrs Daffodil in A Spot of Bother: Four Macabre Tales. The books are available in paperback and for Kindle. Indexes and fact sheets for all of these books may be found by searching hauntedohiobooks.com. Join her on FB at Haunted Ohio by Chris Woodyard or The Victorian Book of the Dead. And visit her newest blog, The Victorian Book of the Dead.
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