, 1864-07-25

see me- His body was undergoing grad
ual decay, from the effects Of the moral
poison continually instilled into the nerves
Of the brain, the centre Of the livirg pow
ers of the system, as well as the seat Of the
mind; while his liver, getting enlarged,
generated the food Of the mental disease,
which in its turn preycd on his fesh-pro-
ducing marusmus assimihting him to a
living skeleton. The darkness Of the room
he occupied was gradually Increased, so as
to suit his tender vision, which shrunk at
the light Of day; and it was subsequently
necessary to muffle the bell of the door, to
prevent its sound from throwing him into
a fit of Mysteries, in the apprehension Of
messengers, tipstaffs, and sherif-oficers,
who, he said, were haunting the house,
ready to pounce upon him the instant they
got a glimpse of his person. He was evil
IDENTIFY fast failing into a general caeheria
or depraved habit Of body, which would
eventually defy all the restorative powers Of
medicine, as well as the influence Of re-
newed belief, even if such could be stimu-
lated in his brain by natural perception
of external evidence. His daughter, too,
was still confined to bed by slow fever,
resulting from the fearful excitement she
had suffered on the day of the signing Of
the contract.
While matters were in this desperate con-
dition, the Mermaid arrived with rich
cargo from Jamaica. l saw the Captain
previous to his first interview with his owner,
gave him directions how to conduct himself,
and requested him to call and communicate
to me the result Of his meeting.
In few hours afterwards, he came run
ming to me in great haste, and informed
me that Mr.. H was assuredly mad /;
that he had gazed at him as if he had been
an apparition-requesting to know how he
had saved himself from the wreck Of the
Mermaid, and whether any Of the crew
were saved; but prohibiting him, by dread
fal oaths, from recapitulating the circum-
stances Of the loss, which, he said, he could
not hear from the lips Of an eyewitness,
and live an hour after. Whenthe Captain
replied that the Mermaid was in the har-
Dor, he rose in great fury, cried that the
narrator was leagued with his other enc
mics, who wanted to impose on him, and
threatened to strike him IL he did not in
stantly leave the room. After what had
witnessed, was not surprised even at this.
There was only one expedient now remain
ing---to carry him by force, IN as he was.
on board Of the ship, and present to his
eyes the corpus ftales of the tdef1haid her
self.
This was done the very next day. The
patient was by far too weak 70 offer any re-
sislance. He was told that he was ordered
by the doctor to take an airing. Two men
lifted him down stairs, and placed him in
sedan chair, for the greater facility Of
transporting him on board.
/ was waiting him on the deck, along
with Mrs. H., the Captain, and two
confidential friends, while the crew were d.
rected to be working about, 50 as to add
the weight Of the testimony Of their living
bodies to the evidence Of tho wood, ropes,
and sails Of the vessel. The sedan chair
was placed in the middle Of the dock; and
We stood around to witness the effects Of
tho apparition Of the lost Mermaid on the
diseased mind Of the patient. When the
head Of the chair was lifted Of and the
door opened, the spectacle presented to our
view was most appalling, transcending even
the fancy Of resurrection from the dead.
His skin was Of the color Of an orange,
and seemed to envelope heap Of bones,
bound together BY gristles-no muscular
amplifcation in any part visible; his jaws,
and the thin tendinous muscles intended TO
cover and move them, were As rigid as Il
they had been frozen by hyperborean
winter; thick shock Of black hair, that
had not been cut for long period, hung
down over his yellow forehead, and partly
concealed his eyes the nails upon his fin
gers, which he would not allow mortal to
touch, had grown long and sharp, rcsem-
bling more the talons Of an eagle than the
appnrtenanceso Of mems hands everything
indicated the diseased, immured troglodite,
or caye-man, brought out to see, before be
died, the rays Of the midday sun. As the
light, to which he had been 50 long uhac-
customed, struck his eyes. be WINGED and
groaned, turning the yellow orbs backwards
and forwards, shutting his eyelids, opening
them again, like one awakening from 4 long
sleep, and rubbing them with bis fingers,
- ~ " tA1o No YAluy uuaf ~ Alo A-A.l. AAAAl1i
to remove q supposed mirage which TOT.
menied him BY is delusion. Beginning to
wonder at the strange sights exhibited to
him-lhe change from his own apartment
10 ships deck, from darkness 20 light,
and from loneliness to society, with the
cries Of tho seamen's yo-he-vo, = the DASH
ing Of the waves against the sides Of the
vessel, and the motion Of the pitching
baTque, which was in an exposed part oil
the outer harbor--he rnso from his seat,
and looked wildly over the top Of the So
dan, cycling us, along with the passing sea-
men-Whose faces he scanned curiously-
with the greatest amusement, not unmixed
with terror, and struggling, apparently, TO
force some satisfactory conclusion out Of a
comparison Of riveted beliefs and perplex-
ing appearances. No one spoke % him, all
being deeply occupied in watching the
strange symptoms Of the first returning ray
Of reason and belief, on mind 30 long
clouded and dorabeed BY gloomy delusions
and visionary imnginations. He continued
to scan everything with the most minute
oniion-shuddoring at intervals, as if
he saw an npparifion- -casiing on US looks
Of suspicion, and then Frightening up with
n q n n n =.