Litchfield enquirer., 1872-01-25
THE EXPERIENCES OF A HARRIS
 as TER-MO. 2.
"The Writ of Aabeas Corpus

l III bn0 ulOnGn Oi feDfuafy O1 tno year following that which witnessed the sue
 cessful establishment of the claim of Sir
 Harry Comptons infant son to his mag nifcent patrimony, Mrs Sannel Ferret
 was travelling post with all the speed he
 could command towards Lancashire, in
 compliance with summons from Lady
 Compton, requesting. in urgent terms,
 his immediate presence at the castle. It
 was wild and bitter weather, and the roads
 were in many places rendered dangerous,
 and almost impossible, by the drifting snow. Mir. Ferret, however, pressed on-
 wards with his habitual energy an perse- verance and, spite of all elemental and
 postboy opposition, succeeded in accomp-
 fishing his journey ill much less time
 than, under the circumstances, could have
 been reasonably expected. But swiftly
 as, for those slow times, he pushed on, it
 is necessary should anticipate, by brief
 period, his arrival at his destination, in
 order to put the reader in possession of the circumstances which had occasioned the hurried and pressing message he had received. -sE4
 Two days before, as Lady Compton and her sister, who had been paying a visit to Mrs. Arlington at the Grange, were re- turning home towards nine o'clock in the evening, they observed, as the carriage turned sharp angle of the road leading through Compton Park, considerable number of lighted lanterns borne hurried l ly to and fro in various directions, by persons apparently in eager but bewilder- | ed pursuit of some missing object. The carriage was stopped, and in answer to l the servants inquiries, it was replied that
 Major Brandon's crazy niece has escaped | Rw1,,, hon --a1ato o,,1 a1%ho,, ,r,1, traced by the snow-tracks as far as the en-
 trance to the park, had not yet been re- l covered Mrs. Brandon had offered re-
 ward of ten pounds to whoever should se-
 cure and reconduct her home hence the l hot pursuit of the fugitive, who, it was now supposed, must be concealed ill the
 shrubberies. Rumors regarding this un- fortunate young lady, by no means favor able to the character of her relatives as persons of humanity, had previously l reached Lady Comptons ears and she determined to avail herself, if possible, of l the present opportunity to obtain per- sonal interview with the real or supposed lunatic. The men who had been ques- tioned were informed that only the castle servants could be allowed to search for the missing person. either in the park or shrubberies and that if there, she would l be taken care of, and restored to her i friends in the morning The coachman was then ordered to drive on; but the ! wheels had not made half-a-dozen revolu- ! when loud shout at some distance, in the direction of the park, followed by a succession of piercing screams, announced l the discovery and capture of the object of the chase The horses were urged rapid | ly forward and ere more than a minute ! had elapsed, the carriage drew up within few yards of the hunted girl and her | captors. The instant it stopped, Clara Brandon, iberating herself by a frenzied effort from the rude grasp in which she l was held by an athlectic young man, sprang wildly towards it, and with pas sionate intreaty implored mercy and pro- tection. The young man, son of Mrs. Brandon's by a former husband, imme- diately re-seized her and with ferce vio- lence endeavored to wrench her hand from the handle of the carriage-doOr, which she clutched with desperate tenacity. The door flew open, the sudden jerk disen- gagged her hold, and she struggled vainly in her captor's powerful grasp. Save me save me p she frantically exclaimed, as she felt herself borne off s'You who are, they say, as kind and good as yon are beautiful and happy, save me from this cruel man r
 Lady Compton, inexpressibly shocked l by the piteous spectacle presented by the l unhappy girl-her scanty clothing soiled, l disarrayed, and torn by the violence of her struggles; her long faxen tresses l flowing disorderly over her face and neck in tangled dishevelment and the pale, haggard, wild expression of her counte- nance-was for a few moments incapable of speech. Her sister was more collected:
 "Violet," she instantly reconstructed, "do not permit this brutal violence"
 "What right has she or any one to in- terfere with us?" demanded the young man savagely. ''This girl is Major Bran
 don's ward, as well as niece, and shGU re- turn to her lawful home! Stand back" continued he, addressing the servants,
 who, at a gesture from Miss Dalston,
 barred his progress. Withstand me at your peril p .s
 sForce her from him P exclaimed Lady Compton, recovering her voice. ''Gently! gently I will be answerable for her safe custody till the morning." @
 The athletic fellow struggled desperate ly; but however powerful and determined | he was only one man against a score, l nearly all the bystanders being tenants or laborers on the Compton estates j; and spite of his furious efforts, and menaces of law and vengeance, Clara was torn from
 him in twinkling, and himself hurled
 with some violence prostrate on the road.
 "Do not let them hurt the man." said Lady Compton, as the servants placed the
 insensible girl in the carriage (she had | faintedD "and tell him that if he has really any legal claim to the custody of this unfortunate person, he must prefer it
 in the morning. sST<S t7
 Immediately on arrival at the castle,
 the escaped prisoner was conveyed to bed, and medical aid instantly summoned. l When restored to consciousness, whether from the effect of an excess of fever pro ducing temporary delirium; or from con
 frmed mental disease, her speech was al- together wild and incoherent-the Only at
 all consistent portions of her rawlings be- ing piteously -iterated appeals to Lady
 Compton not to surrender her to her aunt
 in-law, Mrs. Brandon, of whom she seem
 ed to entertain an overpowering, indefina-
 ble dread. It was evident she had been
 subjected to extremely brutal treatment
 such as, in these days of improved legis-
 lation in such matters, and greatly ad-
 vanced knowledge of the origin and rem
 edy of cerebral infrmity, would not be permitted towards the meanest human be-
 ing, much less tenderly- deli
 cate female. At length, under the infiu-
 ence of composing draught. she sank gradually to sleep; and Lady Compton
 having determined to rescue her, if possi-
 ble, from the suspicious custody of her
 relatives, and naturally apprehensive of
 the legal difficulties which she could not
 doubt would impede tine execution of her
 generous, if somewhat Quixotic project,
 resolved on at once sending off an express
 for MT. Ferret, on whose acumen and zeal
 she knew she could place the fullest re-
 liance. .1s aao5
 Clara Brandon's simple history may be
 briefly summed up. She was the only
 child of Mr. Frederick Brandon, who, a
 widower in the second year of his mar
 riage, had since principally resided at the
 "Elms, !" a handsome mansion and grounds (which he had leased of the uncle of the