New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-08-13
new ORLEANS REPUBLICAN. SUNDAY, AUGUST - 1871


| vows that | have made in the flesh. We
will refresh our bodies before starting upor
| our long Journey. 1t shall be our marriage
| feast; you shall be the bridegroom and the
honofed guest NY husband shall be there
to see the happy change have made"
Thus ran on, betraying neither by look
| nor act the mental terror of my soul. The
| eyes of the maniac glared less fercely: the
| knife was placed in the belt | had touched
| the right chord in his breast; his vanity had
been battered by my praises, and by readily
| acceding to his wishes and for the passing
moment l felt the danger was ayerted.
Determined TO follow up the advantage
had so unexpectedly gained, arose calmly
| and with a forced smile, said:
II will go nowland prepare the dinner
our marriage feast We will eat for the last
time with our fellow mortals, and take OF
them an affectionate farewell"
$50 we will !" replied Stanley, gravely
$50 we will. 1t shall be marriage like the
| marriage of Cana. Water will be turned
into wine, and we will eat the bread OF
life,' and he folded me to his bosom in a
rough embrace.
Now, Herbet,' said l. after amoment OF
unceremonious hugging, 'now l viii go
| and make ready for our journey, time is
| precious, and will not delay our happiness. y
| And | proceeded to the dining aud
! commenced having the cloth and dishes on
| the table-getting the necessary prepare
| tons for meal. l hoped by so doing ]
| should befable to elude the argus eyes OF
| my jailer and when q favorable moment
| should present itself, I would leap from
the window and make nay escape by fight.
| But no bat ever watched for prey more
closely than Herbert Stanley watched me.
His eyes never left me, and saw that an
attempt to escape would be but to jump
| into the jaws of death. But as my flight
grew more hopeless, MY mind grew more
and more active. A bright thought crossed it.
"If remember rightly, Herbert" said L,
you used to be great admirer OF the can
inc species ~
Yes" was the reply.
splendid specimen of dog. He is as cum
ming as fox, and possesses traits of char
acter and sagacity not unworthy OF the
human race. Here, Neptune
And a large, shaggy Newfoundland dog
came into the room, wagging his tail with
doggish Joy.
This is our only errand boy" continued,
pointing to the animal, and better one
could not be found. He does our marketing
daily, and saves us deal of trouble. Such
a sagacious creature you never beheld. All
have to do is Just to write upon a little bit
of paper whatever we want and the guam
tity, and put itAh basket, which Neptune
takes in his mouth and presents to the
butcher, baker or grocer, as we tell him
and forthwith he returns with the articles
desired. Now, let me exhibit one of his ex.
ploits, and you shall see if have overrated
them. We shall want meat for our repast,
and will send for some."
| took my pencil from my pocket, and
wrote upon little scrap OF paper these
words:
I Mr.. BROWN: For heavens sake come
Immediately to my rescue. / am completely
in,the power Of Herbert Stanley, maniac.
Come with force sufficient to save me and
capture him. LAURA MORGAN.
what have you written !" inquired STAN
ley, whose attention had been for the last
moment only diverted to the dog, perhaps
fearing that In spite,of my ready compliance
to his wishes kmight yet play him false.
Listen" replied, "and | will read il to
you y and l held up the note and read from
Mr.. Brown; Please send me nice piece
of tenderloin steak. have unexpected COM
pany today, and wish to provide dinner
LAURA MORGAN.
l trembled violently as 1 read, for / saw
the maniac was still suspicious of me. With
every movement was in momentary ex-
pectation that he would snatch the paper
from me to ascertain for himself if had in.
deed read it as it was written, and | knew
well that the detection of my deception
would be instant death. Hastily folding the
note, l dropped it into the basket and
placed it before the dog.
81 believe, Mr.. Stanley | said, 'that you
have the key to the door in your possession.
Do me the favor to unlock it for Neptune
to pass out"
The request was made politely, and Stan
ley, equally polite, opened the door for the
dog. Hope once more entered my heart.
NV dreadful situation would soon be known,
and help might reach me.
A half hour passed. Neptune had not
yet appeared. Stanley grew impatient a.
the long delay. Again he drew the knife
from his belt.
':.Let the marriage vows be consummated,
and let. the marriage feast CO." he said
angrily.
But | skillfully and adroitly managed to
draw him into conversation upon old times.
when | was the fame of his youthful am
bitiOn. told him several little stories and
amusing anecdotes of my childhood; spoke
of my early school days and his college life,
and the honors he had won.
At last, steps were heard on the piazza.
distinguished my husbands voice and the
tread of half dozen men. Stanley, too,
knew the veice. His rich melodious tones
had years before grated harshly on his
jealous ear Springing like tiger upon me,
he shouted IN voice of thunder:
"My keepers have come, but they can not
capture me; they will find me a cold and
stiff corpse. Ny spirit will have gone to the
eternal world to enjow its celestial glories
with you, my beautiful bride"
And again the same wild, fiendish laugh
rang through the house. and the bright steel
blade of the bowie-knife glittered in the
sunbeams.
A cold tremOr ran over me, but courage
did not forsake me. With herculean strength
and energy | seized the madman's arm and
averted the deadly blow; and then, with
the agility of panther, l sprang through
the open window and rushed at lightning
speed around the house.
Taken completely by surprise, and Devil
dered by my unexpected fight, Herbert |
Stanley stood for a moment undecided what
course to pursue. The next moment he
found himself rudely assailed by half dozen
men. The uplifted knife was knocked out of |
his hand a strong rope was thrown dexter |
ously over his arms and shoulders, and |
drawn tightly around him, and in spite of |
his desperate struggle to free himself, he |
was captured. My hour of peril was over.
NV life had hung, as it were, by thread, |
and my soul had been fortified for the emer-
gency, but now came a reaction. My |
brain whirled film came before my eyes, |
and fell sense;ess into the arms of my hus-
band.
At last I awoke to Consciousness, as if |
from dream. Life and blessings were mine |
once more to enjoy, and from the very depth |
Of my soul l breathed forth prayer to the |
Most High for my unexpected deliverance.
Herbert Stanley was taken back to the asy- |
lum from whence he had escaped, and in a |
few months after completed his miserable
existence.