Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-04-22

am here to protect you. Tell me, what
is the meaning of this agitations What
is the meaning of this blood?"
You, Neda!-the sycamore grover
she uttered, in broken cries. "Were you
not there now-ust now to meet herr"
The Prince shook his head in silent
CONSERVATION.
"Whom have l murdered, them"
burst from the lips of the unhappy wom-
an, with thrilling shrek; and starting
from her husbands support she fed with
the speed of maniac toward the fatal
| spot from which she had recently re-
| turned.
The Prince and his attendants quickly
! followed her, some of them bearing
| lighted torches, but such was the speed
which the frenzied state Of her feelings
! lent to her movements that they only
overlook her at the moment of her reach
! ing the fountain. There she suddenly
stopped, as though rooted to the spot,
and, shuddering, pointed to the ground.
The Prince advanced hastily to her side.
His attendants followed, and, raising
| their torches, discovered at the margin
OF the fountain the body of man eX-
| tended on his back and weltering in his
blood. The CHASTITY face was turned up
ward, and as the glare of the torches fell
upon it an exclamation of horror fell
! from the lips of all present, and Tbyra,
leaning forward recognized her victim
with thrill of agony which caused all
| the blood to chill in her veins and her
pulse to stand still. At that one glance
the whole truth flashed upon her with
| terrible clearness until she comprehend
| ed, when too late, the fatal error into
which her blind and mistaken suspicious
had plunged her. There lay her son, her
only child, her beloved Demetri, bathed
| in the blood that welled forth from the
| death-wOun her murderOus hand had in
| f1icted. He it was, then, whose boyish pas
| sion had been reciprocated by her young
| attendant; he it was for whom Media
| had devised the love meeting which had
| that morning changed her own jealous
| fears into dreadful certainties He it
was, 0 God! upon whom her imaginary
wrongs had just been so bal bareus1Y
avenged The similarity of names, Of
dress, had deceived her. Why had she
not thought of this before? Why? Does
| suspicion ever pause to reason Or reflect?
Is not jealousy blind as love (whose dark
shadow it is said to be)? All this passed
through her mind with the rapidity of
lightning as that one awful glance re-
vealed to her the extent of her crime
No words escaped her lips, but, as if
struck by a thunderbolt, she fell heavily
| forward by the side of her beloved sen,
| whose life had fallen a sacrifice to the
rash and ungoverable suspicious of the
| jealous wife.
The first use that Thyra made of her
returning faculties was to cast herself at
the feet of her husband and make full
confession of the feelings which had
driven her to commit so desperate . deed,
implOring death at his hand in expiration
Of her crimes. But death, which would
have terminated her earthly torments,
was boon which the eXasperated hus-
band was resolved not to grant her.
Woman" said he, "you shall live to
die thousand deaths every day. You
shall live to curse the day on which you
were born. You hall live to expiate in
lingering torments of mind the misery
you have inflicted on me-"
And, int1exible in bis determination, he
caused his unfortunate wife to be con-
veyed to the Rock of Babake, where, in
a rudely-constructed stone chamber, she
was condemned to drag out miserable
existence without being suffered to ex-
change weird with any human being,
and with no companionship save her own
wretched thoughts. Her senses failed
under her severe punishment; but mad
ness, instead of bringing oblivion to her
woes, seemed to have impaired new
activity to her faculties of suffering
Every evening as darkness covered the
earth the poor maniac fancied herself
again an actor in the dreadful scenes
which stained her soul with the foul guilt
of murder; and the frenZied shrieks she
uttered during the night were heard from
afar, waking the echoes of that dreary
solitude until daylight brought with it
temporary cessation of her agonies in
the calm of exhaustion.
One day, at last, when her attendant
who daily brought her supplies of food
entered her prison she had disappeared.
Every part Of the rock was searched,
but no vestige of her was to be found,
nor could any trace of her be discovered
to account for her mysterious evanish
ment.-C Cincinnati Times