The Portland daily press., 1862-06-24
An Hours Struggle with Poison.

afamily that had more than common attractions
to one who loves domestic life as well as myself
The little circle had in il more of real interest
than l have often seen developed in the same
number of persons.
The father of the family-about too young to
feel yet that he was entitled to that honorab
appellation-was fine, frank-hearted young
mechanic with wide world of life bounding in
his veins, and energy, that when fully aroused,
drove everything violently before him, and
warmth ofdspostion that won him more friend
ship than it had then given him the goods Of
this world.
His wife, to whom he had been married some
four years, was singularly beautiful.
They had two children. the one laughing
brown-eyed and brown haired little fairy of
three years. Her name was Eveleen. The
second was Growing, laughing, blue-eyed,
plump little beauty of less than year. promis-
ing to have all the charms Of fhe older at her
age.
was sitting one afternoon in quiet little
room with my feet upon two chairs, reading a
pleasant little book, in state between asleep
and awake-my host away at his shop, hun
dred yards off, and my pretty little hostess en-
gagged in her household labors-wnen l was
thrown out of my Incidence by scream that
brought me to my feet like an electric shock.
1t was womans voice, and had In it an excess
of agony that cannot be indicated in words, so
brought every one forth to ascertain the cause.
Isprang to the door that separated the sit
ting room from the dining apartments. and saw
the whole at a glance. The young mother
stood at the door with her first born-our
darling Eveleen- in her arms dying. A brief
and hurried word from the servant told me the
sad story. The little girl had accompanied a
child uncle up stairs and while the attention of
the older child was for q moment turned away,
she seized bottle of corrosive sublimate in al
cohol, and had taken enough to have taken
away twenty such lives. The little thing had
tottered down stairs, and the mother had met
her at the landing with the empty bottle in her
hand, and the poison oozing from her mouth,
and the child all unconscious of the fearful
thing she had done. Was it any wonder that
a terrible shrek rang out over the quiet vii
lage, and that already the occupants Of every
house near were rushing towards the spot
where the mother stood.
But few moments could possibly have
elapsed since the poison was taken and yet the
effect was already fearful. After the first shrek
of terror, the mother had quieted to calm de-
spar for the moment, and stood with the child
in her arms, making no effort for its relief, and
indeed it seemed hopeless, for already the subtle
poison seemed difiused through the frame; the
brown eyes had lost their lustre. the face was
blackened as in after death. and the teeth were
tight set in convulsive spasm that evidently
would not pass away. / examined the little
lost darling for moment, saw that II was hope
less, and then turned away unable to bear that
mothers agony. The little door was already
hall filled with villagers, and sobs, and moans
and lamentations over the fate of the dying
child were heard in every direction, mingled
with quick hurried qsestions, as 10 the manner
of its occurrence, and vain attempts at answer
ing, which added sad expressing confusion to
the sadness of the scene.
The little fellows uIcle, who had been up
stairs with the child. ran instantly to call the
father, but few moments elapsed before he
srrang into the middle of the group. He had
been told all and asked no questions. l had
time 10 remark that his eye was very stern and
that his lip was very compressed Others, too.
remarked il, and knew afterwards that muir
mur ran round the circle OF how strange il was
that he betrayed no feeling.
He reached out his hands and took the child
from its mother. Its eyes were now closed,
and white ooze coming from between the
backeLed lips Was ever death more assured?
saw him OPEN the eyeiids, ard heard him give
a sigh OF relief. He told me afterwards that
the eye was not shrnnken, ard so death had
not begun. He then ATTEMPTED TO open the
mouth but the teeth were tight set ard they re-
sisted his Efforts. But with force that seem
ed ;flmost brutal he wrenched the teeth apart
and OF ehed the mouth.
shame. cried one Of the bystanders
The iather did Lot heed them but motioned
to neighbor TO take the child in his arms. He
did so
Bring me the egg basket he spoke very
sterily, almost without opening his teeth, to the
servant.
What do you want OF il p What can you do
with il? He's crazy and many such remarks
followed, but the Iasket was there in a mo-
ment
He seized one of the eggs, and broke it. in
serted his fingers again Ietween the teeth and
wreLched them oIen by ioice, ihonghihey shut
with so conyulsiye a motion as to tear the flesh
lIcm his fingers, aid oured the abb men into
the throat There was slight struggle, Moth
ing mole, and the spectators we've horrfed at
the action.
..IIlpnt. the child is dpina r --ii
Please don't hunt the little thng-it can't
live. the mother found voice to say, laying her
hand upon the ann.
Mary be still. he answered sternly, while
his teeth were relaxing from their clenching,
and his face as haid as II he were entering q
battle; and don't any of you NEEDLE with me;
keep Off
The bystanders involuntarily obeyed, with
many harsh remarks uron his cruelty-but he
did not heed tbeni and went on. Another egg
was broken. aid still there was no sign of lie.
Then the whole body OF bystaIders broke ont
Let the child die in reacer He is crazy take
the child away from himr were heard around
him.
He desisted for moment from his efforts,
and turned with fierceness which had before
been altogether foreign TO his nature but no
one who saw him afterwards forgot il. Fools
he Kissed, mind your own business and leave
me to mine! Take her away will you. Try
ite and he went on emptying egg after egg
down the apparently liieess throat
The mother could stand this no longer. Her
first born was being tortured to death before
her eyes and she imploringly flung herself on
her knees before her husbands father who had
that moment arrived.
%, father, do stop himr she gasped; he
will obey you, do stop him. He Is torturing
that poor dying child
The grandfather started forward step TO in
terfere. Tor he, too, thought the proceeding an
outrageous one: but he stopped and said Ma
ry, let him alone. The child will die Ii he does
not go on 1t cannot more than die IL he does
would not say word TO him for the world.
The child is his; let him use il at his pleasure.
There was silence then. In a moment more
there was quiver OF the eye.lids. convulsive
movement OF the chest, and the teeth lost their
tension. The father seized his child, turned
her face downward, and the poison began TO
flow from her mouth. Again and again, as
the retching ceased. he repeated the experi-
ment-the life returning still more, and the
face losing its black color every instant More
than twenty times albumen had been admins
tered, and more than half those times followed
by the expulsion of the poison, when the eyes
opened, the father desisted. the little sufferer
lay just alive in his arms, exhausted, its little
life terribly shattered but saued
Then-when the necessity for exertion and