The Osceola times., 1878-08-03
A BEAUTIFUL DECEPTION.

|, A BEAUTIFUL DECEPTION.
A Whole T~wn se,nsss with Devoted
| DaaEhter 20 Ssembss an Old "
lrTV ~ MAN into sanity. taa
Pneyille, the eminent French actor,
having lost his fortune and indeed his
livelihood by the revolution which swept
away the, Comedie Frsncaise haying
lost his wife, to whom he was tenderly
attached, broken in health and finally
blind, went TO end HIS days at the resi-.
dence of his daughter, Mime. Guesdon,
whose husband was receiver general at
Beauvais. His mind gave way, and,
except at brief intervals, the cid man was
| insane, harmlessly but completely in
sanes The sights which he had witnessed
at Paris during the reign of terror had
always deeply affected him, and even
whhe he retained his mental vigor their
recollections haunted and oppressed him.
When his reason was clouded he inva.
riably tancied himself in one of the
prisons of the republic, under mys.
| terious charge of treason. He no long
er knew bimself TO be blind, but com.
plimented the ladies of quality, fellow
prscners in his imaginary dungeon,
on their freshness of lace, or rallied
the great gentlemen immured with him
on their fantasies and peculiarities Of
dress. With them he held long conver.
sstions, sparkling with wit and replete
with anecdote; indeed, during the forty.
eight hours that the attack always lasted
he. was not silent for a moment; over
his skilled and expressive features swept
all the varying emotions OF joy, sorrow
and intense interest the veins of his
forehead grew like cords, and his face red
as fire, and the end of the fit was hux
Of unintelligible words, at first spoken
epergetically, but finally dying into
silence and stupor. Previllc;would then
sleep heavily from fifteen TO eighteen
hours, and awake sane, but for the hal.
lucination that he was confined to prison.
He recognized his family and friends and
thanked them for visiting him; he
pointed out the Jailers and Police Com.
missioners and his fellow-prisonen. In
vain did his daughter lead rim through
the spacious gardens or drive out with
him through the streets Of the town
wherever he went lie carried his prison
with him.
He was failing peroeptibly, 20 vividly
had his imagination wrsught upon
him, when one day new phase of his
mslady slarmed his family. He was
noticed to steal noiselessiy from the
room, turning his head to look behind
him as If he feored that he might be
observed and pursued Is trembled and
shuddered violently, and on his counte-
nance, which was Of a deathly pallor,
great drops Of sweat stood out. Hearing
his daughters voice, he fled toward her
and threw himself into her arms. "Sur.
round me- hold mel" he gasped !;
"don't let them find me. l hear their
footsteps "There is no one coming,
my father" said Nine Guesdop, sooth-
ingly. 81 tell you they Will" he an.
swered; ''is the place ssfe9 Can they
find me here? 1t was thus Loiserolles
wS saved" Then sinking into chair
he continued: "I was on the farm cart;
not alone, for mother and son were
with me. They spare neither age moi
innocence, the butchers Every jolt OF
the cart made me shudder.p Who can
describe the agony of sitting there. tied,
where every turn of the, wheel brings
you nearer to your death. It is worse
than death" But you are safe, fa-
ther," said his daughter Z ''Safe yes,
but for how long, All at once the
tumbril stopped. \ could not look at
the guillotine, but cast my eyes down
and thought of you all. One OF the pris
oners steps down, he mounts the ladder;
there is thud, and a howl from the
crowd. Another, another; 1t is my
turn. l made my way, more dead than
alive, to the ladder, and had set my
foot on the first step, when suddenly
some one thrust q bare, bfawny arm
before me, stopping the way. 1t was
the executioner" Here Preville eave
With wonderful dramatic force and
changes of voice his dialogue with the
headsman. Where are YOU going to S''
"Going-why, you know. 1t is cruel To
prolong this torture" "Don't waste
time talking! Where are you going,
citizen, l say9 "To rejoin my com.
psniens in misfortune and pray in
heaven for the welfare Of my family"
That is all very nice. but you can't
pass here" What / can't pass p
ana inc OLD mans lace Dogan 10 ox-
press a feeble hope. "Of course you
can't pass without your number"
"My number ?" "Yes, your number.
Who in the world sent you here Do
you think we guillotine people that
way? Let me see your number" 81
beg your pardon, sir, but was not
aware of the formality. l have no
number" Look in your pockets"
How can with my hands tied? You
lock, cts none of my business -
get out of here, and don't come back
till you've found your number" "Yeu
can imagine" said the poor old man,
"that didn't wait to be told twice"
A few days later the hallucinatisn re-
turned he had been recaptured and
placed in his cell, and the old agony Of
apprehension possessed him and preyed
upon him. His daughter, woman as
clever as devoted, having exhausted all
the resources of medical science with>
out effecting q cure, hit upon the fortu-
nate idea of entering Into his .hallucina.
tion aud so guiding II as TO direct It "a
La natural and happy ending. She,
therefore, ceased attempting to con.
] "a h;rx That he xuaa - i.l>.k, .rl -