Washington telegraph., 1857-11-25

nervous la4 Uceu, anu atAF qua WHY @l4
you say that ! am mad. The disease had
sharT-=r--rl say zansaz. not fr~t-----t. 4oi
dullcd them Above all was the sense
Of hearing acute. I heard az things in
the heaven aud in the earth . Ec-rl
many things in he'll. How. then. am !
mad. liearhen aud observe how health
ily, how calmly, 1 can ,cll You tine Who'll,
story.
1t is impossible to say how first the idea
eniercd uy brain bus once conceived. it
haunted ne day and night Object there
was none. Passion there was none. I
loved The old man. lie had never wrong
ci mc. He had never given me insult
Fer lis gold I had us desire. | think il
was his eye-yes, it was this He had
the eve oi a vuiture-a rale blue eve with
film over il. Whenever it fell upou ne
my blood ran cold and So, by degree
very gradually made up my mind t.
take the life Of the old man, and thus rid
myself OF the eye forever.
Now this Is the point. You fancy me
mad. Madmen know Uothiug. Bus Won
should have seen me. You should have
seen hUw wisely / proceeded . with what
cautiln-with what ioresight-with what
Discrimination / went tu work ! was ncy-
er kinder 10 the old man than during the
whole week before ] killed him. And
every night, about midnight / turned ihc
latch OF his door and opened it--ou. su
gently And then, when | had made uu
opening sufficient Tor my head, | first pat
ia a. dark lantern, all closed. sp that uo
li-Ai sAuAc out, aud then I thrust iu my
head Oh, You would have laughed 10 So.
how cuuniagIy / thrust it in. moved il
iuwly-vCry, very s!Uw!y $50 that ! might
not disturb the old mans sleep.
It took me lu hour 10 place NY Who'll,
head v!,hiu ;Le opening 50 lar that ! could
se- iIe Old mau as lie lay upon his bed
la would a mat,uau have been so wise as
this And then, when NV head WAS well
ia th. rsl, ,-r..l, iae l-sl t5-4 4, tit,t.-iy
-Jh, 50 cautiously for the lI.u-
cr,sbei. ! uuj.I ii just So much that @
single thin ray tel upon the yUitGre eye.
tul tLls | did, for seven long nights
every night just at miduight-but found
the eye always closed and So il was iuI-
possible to do the work iyr it was uo-
the Old man who ycXad me, but his eyi!
Eye. And every morning, when the Gay
broke, J went boldly into his chamber aa4
spoke couFa yc1usly 90 him, calling him ly
name IN hearty tone. and iuiu.riug hos.
he had passed the night. 30 you see la
would have been a very profound old man,
indeed, to suspect that every night. just
at L, l looked ia upon him while he
slept.
Upon tic eighth night was more than
usually cautious in opening the door. s
watca inmate hama moves more quick
Is than did mine Never. before that
night, had 1 felt the extent Of my own
POwers--Ot my ssgaeity. l could scarcely
contain ny feelings of triumph. To think
that there ! WAS, opening the door hitlc
by little, and the old uau not even o.
dream Of my secret deeds or thoughts. !
fairly chuckied at the idea. And perhaps
the old man heard me. for lie moved IN
the bed suddenly, as If startled. Now
you may think that I drew back-but no
Ills room was as black as pi;ch with the
thieE darkness, dor the shutters were close
fastened. through fear vf lUhbers.1 aud su
knew that he could moi see the opening
Of the door. aud l kept on pushing it
steadily, steadily.
] gyt my head in and was about to open
the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon
the tin fastening, aud she Oh mau sprnug
up in bed, crying cut who's thereg7
/ kept quite still and said nothing; for
an hour | did not move a muscle, and in
the meantime | did rot hear the old maa
lie down. He was still sitting up in the
l. 4 ~
after night, hearkening to the death watch
Is in the wall.
Presently | heard a slight groan and |
knew it was the groan Of mortal terror.
1t was not j groan Of pain or grief oh,
no it was the low, stiaed sound that rises
from the bottom Of the soul when over
charged with awe. ] knew the sound we'll
Many q night, just at midnight, when al
the world slept, it has swelied up from my
own bosom, deepening with its dreadful
echo the terrors that distracted me | say
knew it we'll knew what the old man
felt and pItied him, although l chuckled
at heart. | knew thu he had been lyiug
awake cver since the FIRST slight noise.
when he had turned in the bed His fears
had been ever since growing upon him
He had been trying to fancy them cause
less but could not lie had been saying
to himself, "It is nothing but the wind in
the chimney, it Is only mouse ero-sin z
the floor = or lit is ,nerelya cricket which
has made single chirp.'
Yes, he had been trying to comfort
himself with these suggestions, but he
had found all iu vain. All in vain, be-
cause death, ia approaching the old % an.
bad stalked with his black shadow befvre
him, and the shadow had now reached and
envelJped the victim. And it was the
mourniul influence of the unperceived
shadow that caused BIN to feel-although