Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1867-10-12
The Escaped Lunatio, or the Fortunate
Mistake.

How far am I from the tavern 2
Three miles, sir The toll gate keep
er looked anxiously in my face as he
held up his lantern, othwart which the
gusts Of rain dashed furiously. Nv hat
time is it?' lie glanced over his
shoulder, through the hall open door,
where fire and candle light cleaned
cheerily upon the face OF cheap wood
en- clock. Nine o'clock, sir [ spur
red on my horse, with q word or two Of
thanks, the closing door OF the toll
house shutting out all warmth and light
and human companionship and [ was
once more alone in the wind and storm
aud pitchy darkness. No matter
three miles was no distance worth
speaking Of, I should soon be within
shelter SO I patted my horses neck,
and spoke soothingly to him Old fellow,
don't be nervous. Heavens artillery
will hurt neither of Us, and you shall
have a feed Of oats and a snug dry stable
very soon y
Sultan tossed bis superb head, as il
he fully comprehended my encouraging
word, and quiokened his pace. But at
that instant blaze Of lightning more
brilliant and vivid than / had yet ex-
perienccd, revealed the whole surround
ing scenery to me in CHASTITY distinct
nes8-deep woods, through which the
narrow road wound sinuously-a sunk
en-, zigzag fence on each side, and
could it have been possible that | was
mistaken ? or did a white, terrified face
glare at mine through the low cedar
thickets, in that instant Of illumina-
ton ? 'ualloo > I cried out, listening
intently for some ether sound than the
rush of the rain and the perpetual tiut-
ter Of moving foliage in the wind. But
no sound was returned. Twice l re-
peated the summons-twice it was in
vain. 1--WE are dreaming, Sultan" l
said, encouragingly, to my horse. Come
get on, old fellow, or we shall fancy
ourselves hemmed in by witches
| am not a nervous man by nature,
but those three miles seemed to me the
longest three / had ever traversed, and
unconsciously I kept listening for foot
steps on the side of the road, watching
for pale, frightened faces and when at
last the rudy lights Of the way-side
tavern cleaned through the dense misty
darkness, l welcomed them with glad
heart
That night I slept the dull, heavy
sleep of a thoroughly wearied man, and
rose depressed and unrefreshed, in the
morning. Not even the fragrant slices
Of ham and the good coffee could in
spire me with an appetite. Bring me
tie bill, landlord, ii you please [ said.
Pm sorry you should have been de-
layed, sir, said the fat and jolly Boni-
face, bustling in, but the servants have
Just come in from the village, and
they're telling me Of a very extraor-
binary occurrence-a lunatlc, slr-one
of their worst cases, escaped from the
asylum, and at large in the woods ?
"A lunatic 2 l exclaimed. l felt the
blood ebb away from my cheeks as L re-
membered the white face among the
cedar thickets of the wilderness. what
time did he escape?' I asked. About
seven o'clock, sir he replied.
And I had seen the apparition at a
little after nine. Then it was no opti-
cal delusion-no spectre of disordered
imagination. 4 paid my bill without a
word; then 1 told my host what I had
seen. Dear me, SIR said the excited
landlord. But they're on his track,
they'll soon secure him. Landlord
I said, as I drew on my gloves, is it
far to Arch Hall ? arch Hall, sir
Squire Ackley's? Only about two