The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-12-19

fnuch calmneSS as l could command.
''and come down by my side. want to
talk to you"
He obeyed.
"You will be my wife ?" he said. You
accept my proposition p
l bowed an assent. A. triumphant
smile lighted up his features.
Herbert" began, "years ago you
offered me the rich treastiEes Of your
heart, but l blindly and foollshly refused
it. l recklessly threw away my own
happiness, but the act was a:houghtlcss;
unprecedented one, and l have never
ceased to regret it. This time you shall
not sue in vain.'
; Another wild, shrill laugh resoundsd
in my ears, and the maniac's eye glared
with additional lustre.
Il knew. he said proudly brushing
back the long black locks from his high,
broad forehead, II knew your woman 8
heart could not. 4 second time, withstand
the power OF my charms. Ladies have
always courted and admired me. have
been for years the center of universal
honor and attention; and though age is
creeping ON apacs; I can slip into the
silly heart of a woman as slyly and sub
tly as in the days of my eatly manhood
"Herbert, I will, as said, be the
bride of your future life. The unseen
Ijoys of the eternal world We shall share
together. But no bride ever leaves her
fathers home without making prepare.
ton; neither can l leave the abiding
place of my earthly husband without
making some arrangements for his com
fort and Happiness. will prepare a
dinner to be ready against his return, and
for the little ones God has given me
While am in the flesh | must be faith
full to the VOWS made in the flesh. We
will refresh our bodies before starting
upon the long journey. 1t shall be our
marriage feast; you will be the bride
groom and the honored guest. My hus-
). band will be there to see the happy ex.
change l have made"
Thus | ran on, betraying by neither
look nor act the mental terror OF my
soul. The eyes of the maniac glared
less fiercelY; the knife was replaced in
the belt. l had touched right chord in
his breast; his vanity had been fattered
hv INV praises, and by my readily accor-
ding to bis wishes, and for the passing
moment felt the danger was averted
Determined to follow up the advant-
age had so unexpectedly gained l rose
cal,niS and, with a forced smile, said +:
Il will 90 row and prepare the dinner
our wedding feast We will est for the
last time with Cur fellow mortals, and
take of them an afectionate farewell"
$50 we will" replied Stanley, gsily.-
$50 we will 1t shall be s marriage like
the marriage OF Cana. Water shall be
turned into wine, and we will eat Of the
bread of life" And he folded me to his
bosom in a rough embrace.
"Now, HERBERT said l, after a mo,
ment of unceremoaious. hugging, "now
| will go and make ready for our joour'
ney; time is precious, and we will not
delay our happiness" And | proceeded
to the dining-room and commenced lay
ing the cloth and dishes on the table !;
getting the necessary preparations for
the meal i hoped by SO doing should
be able to elude the Argus eyes of my
jailor. and when favorable moment
should present itself, I would leap from
the window and escape BY flight.
But no cat ever watched for prey
more closely than Herbert Stanley
watched me. His eyes never left me,and
1 saw that an attempt to escape would
be but TO spring into the very jaws Of
death. But as my flight grew more
hopeless, my mind grew more active A
bright thought crossed it.
"lf remember rightly. Herbert" said
I, 'syou used to be great admirer Of the
canine species? p
"Yes," was the reply.
"Now," said I, II will show you q
most splendid specimen OF dog; he is
as cunning as fox, and possesses traits
OF character and sagacity not an~or
thy of the human race. Here, Neptune. :"
And a large, shaggy Newfoundland came
slowly into the room with dosish Joy.
"This is our only errand boy" con-
tinued, pointing to- the animal, land a
better one could not be found. He does
our marketing daily, and saves as deal
of trouble. Such a sagacious creature
you never beheld All l have to do is
just to write upon little bit OF paper
whatever we Want, and the quantity, put
it in basket Neptune takes it in his
mouth, presents it 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 exploits,
and you shall judge if we have overra-
ted his services. We shall want meat
for our repast and l will send for some"
took a pencil from my pocket and
wrote upon little scrap Of paper these
words:
"NIR. Brown: For Heavens sake
come Immediately to my rescue. l am
completely in the power Of Herbert Stan
ley, b maniac, bent upon MY destruction.
COtuC WIN u lOlCC SutuS'SlIb w saw tiS
and capture him. LAURA MORGAN"
"What have you written" ?" inquired
Stanley, whose attention had been for a
moment ouly diverted to the dog, per
haps a little fearful that in spite of my
ready compliance to his wishes, l might
yet play him false.
Listen, l replied, send l will read
it to YOU" and held up the note and
read from it:
MIR. Brown: Please send me nice
piece of tenderoin steak. have unex-
pected company to-day,and wish to pro-
vide dinner worthy Of my guest.
LAURA MORGAN"
trembled violently as read, for !
saw the maniac was little suspicious of
me. With every moment l was in mo-
mentary expectation that he would
snatch the paper from me to ascertain
for himself if l had indeed reaG it as it
was written; and knew we'll that the
detection Of my deception would be in
slant death Hastily folding the note l
dropped it into the basket, and placed it
before the dog.
81 believe, Mr.. Stanley" I said, "that