The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-03-27

the dlsordered faculties. Itwas q night
when my mental agitation had reached
a high degree. My wife had fallen
asleep, overcome with constant care
and watching. l was pacing the sit
ting room of our chamber about the
hour of midnight, as was my habit.
Occasionally l reclined on a sofa, in the
hope of catching slight respite from
the distress of my terrible hallucina-
ton; but it was for a moment only.
lay down again on the sofa. NV
brain seemed whirling in blaze of fire,
and sprung up stricken with madness.
The horrible specter stood before me
and Knocked me with fiendish grin of
derision. 1 grasped a heavy piece of
furniture and dashed at it with the fury
of maniac. The specter seemed pal
pable to the blow, and yielded. 1 saw
it vanish in darkness that spread be-
fore me, and my tormenting second self
was gone. I broke forth in frantic
laughter, that returned in hundred
echoes around me, and sank exhausted,
unconscious, to the floor.
The morning sun was shining in upon
me when l awoke to returning con-
sciousness. A cool perspiration oozed
from my forehead. rose on my elbow
and for some moments endeavored to
recall my identity and the recollections
of the night. Great heavens! it was
she! 1t was my poor, devoted wife
the reality of the form l had dashed
down and destroyed in my frenzy!
Overwhelmed with remorse, I rushed
wildly from the house and fled knew
not whittier. The greater grief that
had come upon me terminated my
mental power, and 1 became calm in
despair; but I shranE cowardly from
the desolation that my own hand had
wrought.
1t was some weeks after the dreadful
night 1 have described that / reached
New York City without detection, a
greater portion of the distance working
as one of the crew of q canal-boat.
wandered along the wharves of the me-
tropolis, searching anxiously for some
means of escaping the country, and
longing even to flee the fellowship of
civilized man. The opportunity was
finally discovered in a ship about sail
ing around Cape Horn for the Pacific
Coast, on board of which my services
were accepted in a menial capacity:
Twas soon safe from discovery and
pursuit, and free upon the boundless
waters-free as one could feel with the
remorse of hellish deed upon his soul,
and the abandonment of all hope of a
happy hour in life again.
need not describe the experience of
long and tedious sea-voyage, and the
hardships and indignities put upon me
in consequence of inefficiency and total
ignorance of q seaman's duties. To me
it was of little account. But the change
of life and scene and the sea air had a
wonderful effect in repairing my men,
tai and physical strength. 1t was on
bright September morning that 1
spied the hazy shores of California, and
in q day or two thereafter sauntered
along the streets of San Francisco,
alone in new world, with only the
companionship of bitter recollections.
As necessity required I sought en-
ployment, and managed to sustain my
self, leading a istless, purposeless sort
of life. But the monotony soon became
oppressive, and the apprehension of
ultimate discovery excited renewed
anxiety. Frequently fancied the recog-
milton of familiar countenance on the
streets, that kept me in painful uncer-
tainty.
The day came in which my worst
fears were realized. The miserable
wretch in whose house / was sojourn-
ing delivered me into the hands of JUS
tice. By what means he discovered my
identity could not determine; but 1
met my fate boldly; for remorse had so
far embittered my existence that dis
dained longer to struggle for its con-
tinuahce.
Gentlemen" I exclaimed. as the
officers inclosed my wrists with iron
shackles, "take your accursed reward!
I am Charles Harden, the murderer,
from"
They dragged me to the prison. and
the officers of the law came and ques-
toned me. 1 told them all, and they
transferred me to more secure confine-
ment, lest should escape again the
retribution of crime.
Long fingered in the solitude of a
gloomy cell, awaiting the final decree
of fate, until calm indifference succeed
ed despair. and gradually every emo
ton, even like itself. seemed to subside
into q dream.
But day came when my sensibili-
Ties seemed terminating, like one
emerging from q trance. Slowly nv
mind manifested activity. and in time
recalled my identity; then suddenly
the recollection of my whole life flooded
back upon me, and all the weight of its
great burden of remorse again de-
scended.
An old man, whose kindly counte-
nance had become familiar to me, as in
a vision. appeared and sought to rally
my despondepcy with words of hope
and encouragement.
"You have had long, bad spell,
Harden" he remarked, "but you are
coming around all right now, and will
soon be out in the world again.
Then was not in prison, but an in
sane asylum. Thank heaven, nv
wretched guilt had not been discovered.
And then learned from the old man
the circumstances of my arrest as a lu-
natic, and the nature of my affiiction.
In the operation of trepanning at the
hands of unskilled surgeons a small
splinter of the fractured skull had been
left adhering in q position to irritate
the membrane of the brain, and this
trifiing oversight had caused the insan.
| ity attended with such sad results, to
blast the happiness of my life forever,
and stamp my memory with the igno.
miny of murder.
The arrangement had been effective,
ly repaired by the skillful surgeon OF
the asylum, and my mind now rapidly
recovered its original power. But what
availed it, l reflected bitterly; and why
had been restored from peaceful lu.
macy to q consciousness to which death
would be relief?
One morning the old attendant OF
whom l have spoken interrupted my
gloomy meditation with a countenance
more than usually cheerful, that seemed
to radiate the light of some hidden hope.
Harden" he remarked, "you are
growing vigorous again in both body
and mind. have message for you
that may excite you little. Do you
think you can stand an agreeable sur.
pr;ao ps,