Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-08-29

the paything Kaspar who hitherto had treat
ed everything and every one with stolid in
| difference, suddenly reused up. He seated
himself ON the ground by the side of his new
toy, stroked il, patted il, kept his eyes con-
tinually fixed on it, and finally endeavored to
decorate it with all the various trilng pres
ents which benevolent visitors from time to
time had given him. For hours he would
sit by the side of his horse playing with it,
taking no notice of what was going on around
him. Several toy-horses were now given to
him, and for each Of them he manifested the
same affection he had shown for the first one
he received. Even at meal time he would not
be separated from his favorites; and before
eating his bread or drinking his water he
tried hard to induce his horses to partake
His plan was to hold his bread TO the mouth
of each horse in turn, and after that to dip
the mouth of each horse in the water. One
of the horses happened TO be made of plaster
of Paris, and the constant wetting had the
effect of softening the lips. and by degrees
part of the mouth crumbled off. This cir
cumstance caused Kaspar the most intense
sorrow, nor would he be comforted until one
of the officials had mended his toy for him.
In very short time after his arrival at the
prison Kaspar was no longer considered as
an ordinary prisoner, but rather as a forsaken
and neglected child, who needed only care
and education to render him like other hu-
man beings. The governor of the prison ad-
mitted him to his family table, where, al
though he would not yet eat the same food as
the others had, he still learned to sit proper
ly, and in some measure to conform to the
rules of decent society. Kaspar was pleased
to have the governors children as playmates,
while they on their part were delighted at the
idea of having playfellow bigger than them
selves, and yet with the gentleness and sim
plicity of a child.
About n fortnight after Kaspars arrival in
Nuremberg he was providentally favored
with n visit from certain Professor Daumer,
an intelligent young scholar, who forthwith
devoted himself to the peculiar and most in
teresting task of training the virgin mind of
the unfortunate youth. The Burgomaster,
Herr Binder, also took very deep interest
in Kaspar, and frequently had him brought
to his house, where he was encouraged and
assisted in his attempts to learn to converse,
and where, by carefully avoiding all the puz-
cling restrictions of legal forms and question
ings, the young man was by degrees, rs he
advanced in the knowledge Of words, induced
to try and recall some of the incidents in his
early life. At the same time the police were
still busy with their investigations but the
clew they had to work upon being so slight,
they made but slow progress in unravelling
the tangled thread of the mystery which sur
rounded this strange specimen of humanity.
Little by little, however, Kaspars mind be-
came enlightened, and his power of express
sion and his vocabulary increased, he began
putting together, bit by bit, as it were. those
of the incidents of his past life which struck
him most forcibly The account he gave of
himself was as follows: He neither knows
who be is nor where his home is. 1t was on
ly at Nuremberg that he came into the world.
Here he learned for the first time that besides
himself and one man who had always hHd the
care of him, there existed other men or other
creatures. As long as he could recollcct, he
had lived in a hole (or small low room, which
he sometimes calls n cage, where he had nj
ways sat upon the ground, with bare feet,
and clothed only in n shirt and pair of trou-
sers. In his apartment he had never heard
sound, whether produced by man, by an
animal, or 10y anything else. He never saw
the heavens, nor did there ever appear a
Frightening daylight such as at Nuremberg.
Whenever he awoke from sleep he found a
loaf of bread and a pitcher of water beside
him. Sometimes this water had a bad taste
and whenever this was the case, he could no
longer keep his eyes open, but was compelled
TO fall asleep. When he awOke he found that
he had n clean shirt on, and that his nails had
been cut. He never saw the face of the man
who brought him his bread and water. In
his room he had two wooden horses and some
ribbons. With these he always amused him
self as long as he was awake. How long he
lived in this state he knew not, for he had no
knowledge of time. The man who acted as
his keeper had, while he was in his little
room, taught him to write, standing behind
him during each lesson-in order that the face
of the teacher might not be seen-and guild
ing his hand. In this manner he learned to
write his name, and also some of the usual
words and copies that are used in elementary
instruction. After n time his keeper taught
him to stand upright. The method employed
for this purpose was very singular. The
keeper caught him firmly round the breast
from behind, placed his own feet behind his
(Kaspar's) feet. and lifted them as in step
ping forward. Finally the man appeared
once again, placed his (Kaspar's) hands over
his shoulders, tied them fast and carried him
on his back out of the room. The journey
must have lasted several days at least, for he
remembered having eaten and slept several
times. He never saw the face of his keeper
even now, for as he either led or carried him
along, the man directed him (Kaspar) to keep
his face directed toward the ground. Dur
ing this time the keeper attempted to teach
him to walk, and also instructed him to say
the same jargon he had used when he was
first observed by the citizen of Nuremberg.
Not long before he was discovered the keep
er put on him the clothes in which he was
found Then suddenly thrusting the letter
into his hands, the keeper vanished. After
this the citizen found him almost immediate
ly, and conducted him to the guard room"
This account, given almost i'll Kaspar's
own words, will go far toward explaining
how the youths mind was in such a dark
state but it helps very little to show who
Kaspar Hauser really was, or whence he
came OF in fact any real particulars of his
actual history. That great crime had been
committed by some one was very evident.
Many conjectures were hazarded, and it was
only after very considerable and protracted
search that it was possible to arrive at any
satisfactory conclusion. Link by link the
chain Of evidenoe-circumstant only, it
must be admitted-was put together; and
finally IL was on all sides generally admitted
that Kaspar Hauser was the product of an IL
licit alliance, A priest, who was said to be
his father, took charge of the child from the
moment of his birth, and in time shut him up
in some out-of-the-way subterranean vault in
the convent where he resided. Here it was
that Kaspar, totally secluded from all human
observation and knowledge save that of the
priest, passed seventeen long years; aud
here probably he would have remained, had
not circumstances compelled the priest TO
leave the convent, when, having no other
convenient place of ooneealment available, he
released the poor fellow, and left him to his
fate.
The incident mentioned by Kaspar in his
account of himself relating to the bad taste
in his water, which caused him to fall into
deep sleep, was explained a short time after
he had given the narrative to his friends. 1t
occurred to one of them that the priest might
have mixed drop or two of laudanum with
the water, with the view of inducing stupor
while the boys clothes were being changed.
One day a small dose of laudanum was put in
his glass of water without Kaspar's knowl-.
edge On tasting the water he recognized
the flavor at once, and unhesitahngly af-
frmed that the glass contained some of the
stuff he used to have given him during his
Imprisonment when a change of clothes be-
came necessary, This circumstance clearly
proved the truth of the conjecture.
The accounts that ara racOrdad Of the