Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-05-09

wife, locked the door OF the bedroom
a thing he had not done before but,
very strangely he woke at the same time
as he had done on the previous night,
or rather morning, for it was nearly 2
o'clock. His wife woke also, and Just
rs he was speaking to her in low
voice, a dooi was heard to open in the
upper part of the house; in the still
ness and silence of the night the creak
of the hinge was distinct as though it
had been in the same room with them.
He sprang out of bed, and ut that mo-
ment a stealthy step was heard slowly
descending the cautious " and
slowl y-for they could each hear the
brushing of sleeve against the vain.
scotas the conner steadied himself with
his arm. My friend felt that his door
would be tried, and stood with one
hand on the lock to receive the intrud-
er ; and as he was u powerful man, and
a skilled athlete, the welcome promised
to be of the warmest. The stealthy
hand approached; it paused; the
sleeve glided down the wainscot, and q
hand softly turned the handle.
My friend threw the key round in
the lock, and strove to pull the door
open; but his wife, without telling him,
had on her part also iocked-it, so that
it was double-locked, and could not
easily be opened. Steps were heard
hurrying up the stairs, q door was clap
ped to, and by the time my friend stood
OH the landing, with a light, all was
silent in the house, and he had no
means of knowing which out of half
dozen rooms was the one he wanted.
OF course the landiady was summoned
in the morning, but no light was thrown
on the matter by her, nor was it ever
conclusively proved who was the in
truder' However, ere many days clap
sed, the dark man who had been met
on the stairs showed symptoms of the
most dangerous insanity--he was re-
moved and became aconirmed lunatic.
1t would be in place here, did space
allow, to enter upon catalogue of the
alterations, more or less complete, of
eminent men; but they are most of
them to we'll known, and the terrible
collapse of Swift. and the eccentriclties
of DR.. johnson can be paralleled from
the reading of the least studious
amongst us. Keats, the poet, who is
popularity supposed to have been killed
by a severe criticism, in reality under
mined his constitution by drink; and
it is stated, on excellent authority, that
he used to shake cayenne pepper down
his throat as far as he could reach, to
stimulate his pallid appetite for drink
Religion, as is well known, often forms
the basis of decisions; so does money;
and SO, especially with women, does
marriage. The writer of these lines
was beguiled by a person, with whom
he had some slight acquaintance, into
making very fruutless journey. She,
poor thing! had gone out of her mind,
as the very suggestive ordinary phrase
runs, but no one knew it, and she wait
ed upon him with so coherent story
about purchasing certain property, that
he was induced to visit we'll. known
firm of auc ioneers, who fell into the
same trap, and there: they waited for
the arrival of this lady. She never
came, but the next day appeared again
to the writer, with such an admirable
explana ton that he was quite ready to
go on her behalf to the autioneers
Ouco MOIo, anu YET HI CnlS Clme she
was insane, and died mad within six
months.
These instances might be multiplied
to any extent. but space forbids. I
conclude, therefore, with an incident
only indirectly connected with my
theme, and which may appear laugh
able to the reader, but I assure him it
was any thing but laughable 10 me. It
happened that, being in a strange neigh
borhood, had to submit myself to the
local barber, and he was laboring un-
der detiriune trenaens, or something
like it. He shaved me very skillfully,
I admit, but his wild manner, the evi-
dent difficulty he had in holding him.
self tall still, and his fourishes of his
weapon, produced in me such a dread
full right, that I never passed o mo: e
wretched three minutes in my life than
1 did while under his hands. If this
be not exactly case in point. know
it is nevertheless, to me as interesting
as any of the others, I being an actor
tloroin