The Portland daily press., 1872-11-30

of which is not in view until am close upon
it. As l reached it, the first thing l see 10
my artist friend packing up his traps, and
evidently on the point OF starting homsward.
He has been sketching, and come up with
him unavoidably, as he is just singing his
hayersack on his shoulder, and after an
awkward sort of recognition, we ascend
the further side of the little valley and
enter the wood together. The path al
most Immediately becomes so narrow that
there Is no room for us to walk side by sue,
so we go on in Indian file, he taking the lsaq
which have willingly accorded him. AS 1
do not greatly care for hi. company, 1t Is my
intention to drop well behind, but ne pro-
ceeds so slowly that cannot keep much as
tance between us. 81 endeavor to stimulate
his pace by suggesting that we shall get wet
TING ii we don't push ahead, for large rain
drops are beginning to patter solemnly among
the trees, which are now growing thicker and
thicker, lending additional gloom to the place.
He takes no notice OF what | say, and as l
now cannot pass him, we jog on as we are
fora few PAGES. I know that presently the
wood will open little at a clearing; ''then,'
l say to myself,'I will go on independently"
Just before we reach this spot his haversack
slips and appears to inconvenience him, la
den as he is with easel, camp stool, etc. As
he endeayors to restrap it two or three small
articles fall out--a colol-box, brush case,
small pocket sketch-book, sponge, water
battle. Hastily picking up the two former
and examining them back into the sack, he
goes on without apparently noticing the
other things. | come upon them and pick
them. 1 call to him. $50
Bring them along" he replies, without
stopping or looking back. "Put them in
your pocket I don't want them"
Nonsense, my dear sir,' 1 say, hurrying
upon behind him; there's your book and
''Keep it, keep it," he hastily interrupts !;
Kit will be of more use to you; it's of none to
me. There are some useful figures in it.
You are dabblng amateur, and amateurs
are seldom good at figures"
Again / rOmonstrate; again he repeats
something to the same effect as before; and
as cannot get him to stop or turn round,
carry the articles for little way, irresolute,
and then, as some overhanging branches
oblige me to push them aside, L drop the
sketch book etc., mechanically into my
shooting coat pocket, in order to get the free
use of my hand. In another minnie we are
emerging into the clearing, where there is
more light, and | am about to renew my pro-
testations concerning the book, thinking all
the while how odd his manner is, when he,
on sudden. tnrns round, faces me, and with
a jerk and clatter filings down his sketching
apparatus.
am not less startled by the abruptness of
this proceeding than by his strange and wild
expression. His face. always long and thin,
now looks horribly so, and CHASTITY pale,
whilst his eyes, usually bright and piercing,
have cat-like glaze over them, and glitter
rather than shine. The nasal and cheek
bones stand out with undue Prominence; one
of his thin bony hands runs quickly through
his wavy brown hair, pushing off his wide
awake; his other, raised to his inner breast
pocket, nervously clutches what, to my hor-
ror, see is the butt end of pistol. There
is a clammy crust of foam round his thin.
beardless lips, as he gasps out in his hollow,
grating voice: You are right; we have met
before; but we shall never meet there again.
Villain, blasphemer, perjurer though l am,
will not have mSsteps logged by you, or any
one. Never again within those walls
shall"
He is drawing the pistol out now, and 1 am
on the point of rushing at him, when he steps
briskly back pace or two, turns the muzzle
straight against his heart, and with the loud
ringing report that follows springs high into
the air, and falls face downward at my feet,
dead!
/. With frantic impulse turn the body over,
find then for the first time, as 1 gaze upon
his agonized and distorted countenance, re-
member. with the suddenness of lightning
flash, where have seen him before.
II was in the padded room at the Homes
kirk Lunatic Asylum.
Aghast, bewidered, unconscious of what
next happens, l only know that some little
while later am surrounded by small group
of people, two or three coast-guardsmen and
farm laborer. One of the former, petty Of
ficer by his uniform, addressed me civilly, but
firmly:
''This is a bad business, sir! don't know
what you may wish to say about it, but, if 1
may be so bold, I'd recommend you to say
nothing now"
Say nothing now9 Why? What do you
mean?'
..Well, you see, sir, it might complicate
matters. We should have to repeat what you
say, and il might be used against you"
FUSED against me? '' says I, the truth not
yet dawning on me. Explain yourself"
swell, my man here, who was on duty at
the lookout, saw you and there the coast
guard gives jerk with his thumb over his
shoulder and the young gentleman that was
making the draft come into the woods to-
gether, and few minutes after he hears the
report of firearms, and as it is his duty to
inquire into such things and prevent 'em,
lest they be mistook for signals, why, you see,
he runs quickly down the hill and up here
into this bit Of clearing, and what does he
find? Why you, kneeling over the unfortu-
one hand and the other feeling inside the
breast of his coat, and then, when my man
fetches us, he says, That young fellow, when
he was making his draft this afternoon, be-
gan a taking to me, and when / asked him
about his draftings, and supposed they were
worth great deal of money, he replies,
Money! should think they were, too; see
hereP' and he pulls out of little book whole
bundle OF bank notes and fourishes 'em in
my face, saying: I've got all these for some
drawings I've made lately hereabouts.' Well,
you see, sir, when my man tells me this, the
first thing we do when we come here is to
overhaul the young gentleman's pockets, and
then the notes and the little drafting book
where he had 'em are nowhere to be seen,
and this being the case, / am afraid must
keep my eye upon you till have reported
the master to the police"
AS the coast-guardsman proceeds with this
statement l gradually become aware of the
serious position / am in; and just as he fin
ishes l recollect that probably the sketch
book in question is one a. this moment in
my pocket. The long impending storm now
bursts overhead in deluge of rain; the
wind RACES; and amidst thunder and light
ming and pitchy darkness, am taken back,
virtually in custody, to the lonely coast-guard
station. .
Committed for trial on the charge of will
lul muTuer! Illus SCOOu unOer the black
BEAM" the shadow of the gallows; for the
verdict of the coroner jury and the decision
OF the local magistrate went dead against
me. That l have long since emerged from it
is of course pretty evident, but men have
been hanged upon less circumstantial evidence
than was brought against me. Forty-five
pounds in notes were stuffed into the pocket
of that fatal sketch-book, which was found in
my possession. 1t was impossible for me to
prove that had not stolen it, or that the
pistol did not belong to me. True, no one
had ever seen me with it-until the coast
gnardsman came up, but equally true was it
that no one had ever seen the unhappy man
with such a weapon. We could never find
out bow he came by it, or how he managed
so carefully to conceal it. There were aWk-
ward facts, which told heavily against me,
setting aside minor details. No, there was
only one line of defence, and this, in the
end, was adopted successfully.
had to prove that the young artist was
suicidal maniac, who had been in confine-
ment in the Homeshirk Asylum at the time
| had visited it, some few years previously;
that he had been released under the impress
ion that he was cured; and that it was quite
possible for the malady to have returned. l
could not rely upon my position in life and
my hitherto untarnished character for having
my account of the tragedy.
But, ali me! the anxiety while these things
were pending and the evidence got together!
The director Of the asylum who had shown
ME over the institution was dead; the keep