Litchfield enquirer., 1859-07-07
ATTEMPTED MURDER BY LuNAr1c-

ATTEMPTED MURDER BY LuNATIc.-A
 Youmg Lady Chased Jy e Naked D, ~mkard.- = A desperate attempt to murder young lady, Miss Jane Le Roy, was made on Saturday morning last, by man named Patrick Ryan while laboring under an attack of frenzy pro- duced by excessive alcoholic indulgence
 It seems that Miss Le Roy, who keeps house on Main street, near the hill, for her brother, MT. James Le Roy, the attorney, was seated in the kitchen On Saturday morning about g 1-4 o'clock, when she heard the sound of per son chopping wood in the yard On looking ped entirely naked, walking toward the door, with large axe in his hand, and acting in q wild and excited manner Notwithstanding her alarm at the unwontcd sight, she retained presence of mind enough to lock the front and back doors, and to run up stairs to her bed room, where she locked herself in. Presently she heard the madman--for such she was now convinced he vas breaking in the back door, d job he accomplished in short time. Once in the house, he went around in an aimless manner to upset everything that he could lay his hand upon. He rumaged the drawers, | overturned the chairs. tore papers, set things out of their places, but apparently without any intention either to rob or destroy. He enter ed MT. Le Roy's bed room and broke open q satcnel containing some law papers, which he l tore he pulled out the drawer of the wash l Staud, the contents of which he threw about, and committed other follies.
 II this time Miss Le Roy sat in her bed room trembling with terror, and hoping against hope, that he would pass by her door without | ut al In l,,,fi h, natic, with cunning not unusual in such cases, was all the while aware of her whereabouts, and finally came to her chamber door and de- manded admttance. She not answering, he again called upon her to open the door, or if not he would break it down and kill her when he got inside. The terrified woman kept still, and was almost frantic with terror at the pros. pect before her. At length the madmau, growing impatient, dashed in the chamber door aud sprang into the room, axe in haud Miss Le Roy scarcely knowing what she was about opened the window and jumped to the ground below, distance of some twenty feet, and ran for the fence, which is some four feet high aud with an agility that is truly surprising, as she IS small, delicate woman, sprang over it at a bound, and ran across the corn field toward the river, calling for help. The madman had cunning enough left not to follow Miss Le Roy out of the window, but ran down stairs, on which he dropped his axe, but on arriving in the yard he procured club and gave chase to the flying woman She kept on running, the naked madmau at her heels, until she got across another fence, when she fell on heap of sand, and ncr would-be-murderer on top of her--the blow he had intended for her falling on the sand. He recovered himself immediately, and was about aiming another blow at her head, when several men, who were in an adjoining field, came to her assistance, and seized the lunatic before 4he blow fell. It was almost 8 miracle that Miss Le Roy was not brutally murdered
 It seems that Patrick Ryan, for that is the name of the lanatic, is carpenter by trade, of dissipated habits. He has been building q house on some property owned by MT. Jesse Biim, but for the last ten days he has been OH drunken spree, which had given him fit of delirum tremens. On Saturday morning, while still laboring under the effects of his debaucI, he went to Mir. Leonard's aud then proceeded to piece of plowed ground on Main street, stripped ai of his clothing from his person, and naked as he was born, proceeded to MT. Le Roys house. where tue sceue We have described took place.
 Notwithstanding her perilous leap, Miss Le Roy escaped any serious personal injury, though she kept in her bed ali day yesterday in a nervous fever.
 Ryan recovered himself sufficiently, in about an hours time, to know the mischief he had been committing, and he admitted in all prob ability he would have killed the lady had he oVertaken her. He was taken to jail by Mir. John Fisher and MT. Watson, and will proba- ply be tried to day.-Rocsford Neaos, M.) June 90.