, 1864-07-11


mirage OF m0nomania.s 81 ,ssss,-.sssii. ~. - 4.
al have not seen him. answered I;
Nbut have ascertained that your Vessal
the Mermaid was noted at Madeira, and DO
one has heard unfayorable accounts Of het;;
50, she must be presumed to be safe. You
have allowed q fancy TO master your per
ception Of truth. 2, Z II (. & slIossr g
aThe oldmedicine Egainly heexclaima1,
with aafe Astic grin and tone, evidently
excruciating to himself g So did ct The
ieech to my poor friend, when, with Eloyda'
List in my hand, told him that the AM
phitrite was not lost. Sodo we all enaeavof
to cheat the unfortunate" ~
"Well," replied !, @shOw me Lloydis
List for the loss Of the Mermaid, and Twill
repoune5 my scepticisn."
Eve are rot generally tnxious,s replied
he, g TO convince people Of the truth md
reality Of misfortune that must bring uA
to beggary. It is enough that read that
dreadful paragraph myself I could not
stand reperusal Of it. i threw the fatal
paper from me but the words, the WUrde
to letter, are marked as BY burning iron
on my brain. trace them everywhere:
on that wall, in that fire, In the aif, ! bee
then, ana, . God! they need no Daniel
to cOnstrue the doom of my ruin--my con.
demnatiOn to that state in which ! may,
with poor George B., weep over d.
yided crust, begged from the reluctant hand
Of charity r. f -
"WouId you have any objections b ies
me perusc the paragraph p said 1 ~
"What need, what need he cried, em-
phatically, "of paltry array Of the inn
pressions Of types, where the brain IS burned
by the flaming chafactefsf know moth.
ing Of the dfeadfnI memorial i threw L
from me in despair Cease this silly seep-
ticism, resorted to TO SHOW an affected by
pcrcritical examination Of evidence. See
YOU that book !1-( laying his hand on q
Bible that lay on the table; and speaking
slow and sOlcmnly ~, do you doubt holy
writl" siissls III ~ slir
As he pronounced these words emphati-
cally, he threw on me look Of the triumph
Of despair over the effort to pierce the dark
ness of his mind by the last struggling beam
Of hope. Having appealed 10 the Bible e.
an Anal6gods example of the certainty Of
the probation Of the loss Of the Mermaid,
he could 90 no further, and fell back on his
chair, with his face again covered BY his
palsied hands; but retained my hopes Of
still shaking him, by forcing him 70 descend
to the particulars Of the disaster. = 90
"WhenandRherewas Mermaid lost7p
said I. 20 s,,.S
This question, which begged particulars.
and assumed the loss, curdled his blood
he shuddcred all over; but, though his
courage was at fault, his fancy was prepaFA
eds-]44s . ,,sis.u4.s kss1 s.ssIiis,
On the banks of Newfoundland" he
replied, /" on the stormy night Of the 18th
Of November; she was driven 50 far north
by stress Of weather. Thus has perished
the greater part Of my fortune. Other
small disasters complete my ruin sstarting
up suddenly and hooking wildly around.
T" But, sir, you must mention this 10 no one,
not even TO my Wife-an execution in my
house tomorrow would be the reSultof the
discovery. She cannot stand it;. and
must not kill her yet; though deatE will, ]
hope, ultimately relieve her from the aeces-
sity Of beeging with HE by tie 3itlSide.
Promise, promise, on this holy book, that
you will bot diialge my secret r : f
i hesitated thus to confirm his disease,
81 Do Soa refise he this simple reqnesty y
he continued, falling on his knees and eeit-
ing my legs, while his wild, despairlsiIiekek
eye sought, with piteous look, my. faee.
Is it thus you repay my ecnfdencel The
confessions of q, patient are sacred shall
mine be made an excepticne TheR, may
the Lord have mercy on me and mine =
for Ne are Sll undohe-my tender, doating
wifc--my Angelinaszoh the eve Of mar
riage-all hurled in one ihstaht from the
height Of afiluence to ruin"
81 will divulge nothing" said /, raising
his weak and emaciated body as / would
have done that of child; "butif the dis
aster is in LlOyd's, my secresy can be Of
small impottanesi'
"True, true,p he replied, as he agaih
sank on his chair-aI forgot. Nothing
can now save me. Il must be all over the
town, What do the people sag Of iti Do
they pity me As 1 pits George b. I
Hal-thcn-then Hhi / indeed to be pitied;
for being pitiedl How often, cruel powersl
hate played thee to avert from md that
1 MFCtCucu u0uu, - tuc Aooty wy 6AOAeeSt V
all worldly eyilsg g,
My influence over the cOnvulsiee thf9SS.
hatiolloWed these words was nothing. TIE
only relief lay in the. exhaustion Of natures
diseased strength. With III ordinary vie:
tim Of real efil, many expedients may be
falleh tipoh to Introduce glimpseso Of conso;
lation through crksiees 6f the tnih9 ! bht
it is peculiar feature of hypochOndriathat
the imagined object of terror engrosses in
its power all the mental forces-judgment;
Imagination, and feeling-leaving no faculty
through which medicinal virtue can be
communicated TO the diseased and b9rning
braih. A$ate, d ny professional knowledge
made lie, of the invincible nature Of the
false belief ehgendered BY this disease, !
resolved upon Rot persisting in an attempt
by mere argument, to force i 70 give place !.
to trGer conviction. Through the Ph5sE
cal ijoSgfs, an impression, in the. inst in.
stance, could, with the greatest Chance Of
success, be made On the diseased mind !
and when. the unfortunate man recovered
from his Ct, endeavored % convince hum
that he was unwell in body, and required
medicine: He scarcely dGigued toleply y
,,,o a., a .nh;cet so far beutath his attention,