The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-03-02

nothlng so pleased him as a perusal o.
the papers, and for narratives of mur
ders, battles and sudden deaths he haC
a special zest. So absorbed would hi
become at times in this reading that ht
would lose control of himself and rave
about scenes of bloodshed described il
1t as though he were mad. When the
accounts of the last battles of the Aus
trlan war got into print sudden desire
seized Thomas to visit these fields Of
carnage, and while his wife was still suf
fering from illness and grief for the loss
OF a child he caused her to ride in his
company along the route the contend
ing armies had taken in the last cam.
palgn. Over every field where the
havoc had been greatest they went,
and, although the man evinced wish
to conceal from his wife some of the
horrors Spread along the way, he seem
ed to glOat over the awful sights and
10 be oblivious to any thing but them.
Very hurried preparations had been
made for this strange journey, and Sc
yhen they passed through districts
iss.lPre the villages had been burned and
the fields devastated, they suffered In
tensely from thirst and fatigue, but even
this would not deter him from continu-
ing on his route. Strangely inconsist-
ent with this morbid passion for looking
upon death in its most revolving aspect,
was his conduct on visiting hospitals
where the wounded were brought. He
conversed with them, encouraged them,
and frequently wept over them; and
when he saw the dead borne by their
comrades to their last repose, his eyes
would fill with tears, and
he would keep repeating, "Poor
fellows, | pity them" On his return
to Dresden the doctor attending his wife
reproached him with the folly of his
journey, saying it was the act of a crazy
man, at which he became thoughtful,
and desisted for while from speaking
of the horrors he had seen on the way.
THE HOME AT DRESDEN.
In a short time Thomas announced
his intention of going to America. He
hired house in the suburbs of Dresden,
bade an affectionate farewell to his
family, and correspOnded with them so
far as he was able on the way. His stay
in America was very brief, rs he re-
turned on the steamer which had taken
him there. He had telegraphed his ar
rival on reaching Bremen, and on the
night when she expected him Mrs.
Thomas sat up awaiting him until, worn
out by fatigue, she fell asleep. Sudden
ly she was awakened by loud knocks on
the door, and voice she recognized as
her husbands threatening and swear
ing. She opened the door and he came
into the room, flushed, angry, and with
a strange, wild look in his face she had
never seen before. From that time he
lost his good humOr, avoided his friends
and sat apart, gloomy, taciturn,
and disposed to resent any dis
turbance whatever. His children,
too, whom he had formerly delighted
to fondle, were now neglected, and no
effort of his wife could dispel his settled
melancholy. He was also suject to fits of
dizziness, and when questioned about it
said he had had touch of sunstrOke,
but would soon recover, and entreated
to be left to his own thoughts. A mark
ed characteristic of his at this time was
his aversion to people for whom he had
had great liking. Time and
again he expressed his feelings toward
them with passionate earneStnesS in
dicative of actual hatred, and whenever
he had occasion to mention them his
speech was most violent and abusive.
however, he became more
cheerful, an announced his intention of
going to America again. He made the
preparations and took pas
sage for England. For while letters
came from him dated from different ho-
tells, and then correspondence suddenly
ceased. Time passed and Mrs. Thomas
in her little house near Dresden vainly
awaited some news of the absentee. Her
money was almost all expended, and,
living among strange people, she knew
not what resource to seek. kilograms
sent by her to England were unanSwer-
ed, and fears of some dreadful accident
began to force themselves upon her.
While in this strait she received a COM
from her husband, annOunc-
ing his arrival in America and declaring
his intention of speedily returning.
One day, some time after-this, while
seated with her children, Thomas en-
tered the room suddenly, hesitated for
a moment, and then cast himself beside
her, weeping like a child. In answer
to her inquiries he said, in a strange,
rambling way, "Oh, how l longed for
this moment! was in the house all
last night"
"That could not be-" said his wife;
" the doors were locked and bolted."
"Well, was about it," he replied.
al walked around it again and again" "
Mrs. Thomas endeavored to dismiss
such a fancy from his head, and he at
last admitted that he had not been
there, but had seen every thing in
just as if he were. For a
few weeks he remained about the house,
some of his former cheer
fulness and frequently laughing and
chatting with the children. His wife
at this improvement in his
health and disposition, and tried to be-
lieve that he had resumed his old course
of life again, when one stormy night he
burst into her room muffled to the
throat, and with the rain streaming
from his garments.
81 did not want to grieve you by tell
ing you," he said, in a voice that trem-
bled with excitement, "but have to 90
away for a week or two"
She began to weep as she parted from
him, when he turned and whispered,
81 must 90 now, but this will be the
last time"
He went away, and in a few days
came letters from him dated at Bremen
and Bremerhaven. The language of
these massives was strangely rambling,
the words misspelled, and traces of
tears blurring the ink on every page.
These indications of troubled mind
seemed portentous to Mrs. Thomas. She
felt presentiment that something
dreadful was going to happen, and day
after day looked for news from her hus-
band. For long time she heard moth
ing of him, till one day there came a
telegram from the North Lloyd Steam
ship Company addressed to "Mrs.
Thomas" and bearing this dispatch:
am sick. Come on here.
THOMAS.
Through the miSdirection of the en-
velope she was not sure at first that it
90 mo frND, la- Shn fp1n-