Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-05-20
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WRITTEN FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SPY.
10. OF NIXoNs.

My patient felt the change muttering,
through his set teeth, the names of persons
and places, sometimes in foreign tongue
wholly unintelligible to me. But when l rose
to look after the condition of the limb, he re-
pulsed me, saying,
"Let me alone, sir. 1t is useless-my time
has come, and in twelve hours 1 shall be
dead !"
began to re-assure him, adding something
about my regret for the accident but he inter
rupted me suddenly, and somewhat. sarcasti-
cally-
"There, that will do, Doctor. We have no
time for mere words besides, you know that
it is not the exact truth You want to know
who and what l am, and you are even now re-
lying upon this wound as means to gain your
end"
The knowledge that he bad read me SO
clearly, together with the suddenness of the
charge silenced me, for moment, but seeing
the expression of sarcasm deepen in his face |
said earnestly
"You are partly right, sir l do wish to
know you. Impelled by feeling | can neith-
er account for or define, L have repeatedly
sought to make your acquaintance, but have
uniformly been repulsed. Thus much own,
but if you think 1 would not have ventured
life and limb to have saved you from this ac-
cident, you do me great injustice' p
MAY be SO, he returned in the same tone,
'for God put mark upon Cain, lest any find
ing him should slay him Men talk of single
motives he added, after pause; "there is
no such thing in human experience. If |, too,
had not been conscious of the feeling of which
you speak, you would not have been here to-
night.
"Now, what is it 2" he went on, attempting
to raise himself on his elbow, and fixing his
keen, searching eyes on me. "There must be
reason for this What deyilish passion, what
temptation to secret crime, are you nursing,
that you must needs look into heart bIacken-
ed by guilt and scorched by the curse of Al
mighty God 2"
"None-none of which l am conscious, l
assure you p l said quickly, startled by his
manner as well as his words
'Conscious!' he repeated contemptuously,
still keeping his eye on me- 'Look here |
am guilty Of murder and yet one little space of
fifteen mnutes-aye as many seconds before
the crime was DONE | was as unconscious of
harboring such sin as you are tonight! will
that plea avail me few hours hence, think
you ?"
81 know not,-but lrust-I hope it willp'
l replied soothingly, for began to be a little
doubtful of his sanity.
He sunk back and closing his eyes, lay for
some moments, without speaking,-as if re-
volving the past and l watched him in silence,
for knew, by the swift shades of feeling that
passed over his face, that God was sitting that
heart and what there was remaining of his
wronged and scorned humanity must come to
light.
81 have no desire to point a moral, Doctor"
he said at last "and, if had, you have de-
MED that, consciously, you need the applica-
ton, but some thing, probably the garrulous-
ness that precedes death, moves me to speak,
for tell you l shall die
"My parents had but two children myself
and my brother Fred. was five years his
senior and, mentally and physically, we were
perfect contrast. He possessed the fine or
ganization and gentle disposition of our moth
er, while | was from my birth, the very mcar-
nation Of pride and self.will"
This unikeness was increased by the differ
ence in our ages, but more by the treatment of
those around us. AT an early age, was
power i'll the house, consulted by my father
and deferred to by my mother and the SER
wants, while Fred was only chat boy" the
pet and plaything of all. This suited me, for
though l loved him passionately, l could i'll
bear divided sway even then He had far
more real ability than l, butmy over-weening
love of mastershp made me to excel as a
scholar and the reverence and admiration with
which he looked up to me- were but secret
ministers to my pride, eve did not see much
society, but whenever we did go, Fred was the
favorite, and this, too suited me, for was far
too egotistic to care for social popularity and
held myself as something quite above the likes
or dislikes of common people"
Ny father died suddenly when was about
fifteen, and then, my independent, set-reliant
habits were of some use, for my mother and
Fred were completely stunned by the blow.
For long time, our mother hung between
life and death and instead of acting as our
guardian, according to the tenor of our fathers
. will, / became hers and took the whole man
agement of our affairs upon myself"
81 was to enter Harvard University that
fall but could not leave my mother in that
state, so Fred and devoted ourselves to her
all the winter, with the watchfulness if not the
skill of regular nurses. But in the spring she
was as feeble and Respondent as ever, and we
began to despair.
About this time a letter came to my hands,
addressed to my father which seemed to
time largely engaged in the India trade, and
this letter was from one of his old business
partners, written on his death-bed, to consign
to his love and care his only child, his little
Marion There was an alluson to some prom
ises made years ago, when he and the writer
were still bachelors, which, as my fathers rep
resentative, | thought touched my honor, but
the child was also spoken of as an infant, and
what could we do with such charge
Something was to be done, for note ac-
complaining the letter informed US that the
child was then in Boston at the house OF the
captain who had brought her over, awaiting
our orders. l did not like to trouble my moth
or with this, SO / took the letter to our old
friend and physician, DIR. Eastman"
"He declared the arrival of the child to be a
perfect god-send said my mother had no real
disease, but needed rousing, and with wo-
man like her baby was omnipotent, and babe
me be off to Boston at once was not quite
so sangune, but found to my surprise that he
was nearly right. My mother not only acqnl-
esced in my wish to go for the child myself,
but reused herself so far as to oversee IN per-
son the necessary preparations for the accom-
mediation of the child and its nurse, and by
the time reached Boston was so convinced
of the correctness of the doctors opinion that
felt not only disappointed but really wTonged
when found awaiting me in Captain Cops
parlor not an infant, but child of eleven, very
small and delicate for that age but quite too fal
advanced for any of our anticipations and pre-
parations at home"
She was shy little thing, and made nc
words when told she was to go with me, but
saw she was watching me as she passed ou
into the room with the captains wife, and
knew by the heaving Of her little chest how