Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-15
MY LUNACY.

i"S WIZ laiIlng puch PTcclpltalely
through Winchester.
/ Sheridan dashed upon the scene, and
his presence, like spell, checked the re-
treat and infused new courage into the
disordered mass. Our battery reached
knoll to the left of the pike, and unlim-
bered IN front of the timbered slope, on
the brow of which the Confederates had
1 posted heavy battery. The infantry line
on our front was advancing splcndidly,
and saw the cleaning crest of
bayonets fall when the order
came for charge on the double quick.
/ y Bright sunshine was streaming through
the open curtain, and seemed to
have awakened me from nv
prolonged slumber. Slowly my scattered
senses gathered from dim unconscious
ness, and as thought assumed definite
form the scene of the battle field again
flashed before me. u al
"What of the charged" / inquired
anxiously, making a desperate effort to
rise
The sharp unnatural tone of my own
voice startled me, and my strength was
unequal TO rustic even the covering of my
couch
''Do not try to walk now, Charley; you
will be strong very soon" 1t was the
voice of my wife. In moment I realized
that / was home on the shore of the
northern lake. Il glanced through the
window, and the waving branches associ-
ated with my thoughts of the battle scene
were not there, but the snow lay heavily
on the ground glistening in the sunshine
Many months had passed away--a blank
period in my existence.
AS l recovered my strength and com
, prehension [ learned the critical ordeal |
, had passed in surviving a severe wound
that caused fracture of the skull, and
necessitated the operation of trepanning.
= Still many more months elapsed before
/ was again abroad. The war was ended.
and the people were rejoicing in the
restoration of peace. was rendered and
accepted the old position / had resigned
in response to the call of arms-teacher of
mathematics in the academy of my native
} town.
The routine Of the position was famil-
lar enough, but close attention to its duties
| shortly developed the fact that my nervous
system had not recovered from the severe
shock it had sustained, and my mental
powers were impaired.
AS nearly as | could define the effect
produced, the injury seemed to have inter
rppted the harmonious action of the brain
and the right and left lobes apparel to
, operate independently, and take separate
and distinct cognizance Of emotions and
sensations conveyed 10y the medium of the
r senses. Every thought seemed to have
It's duplicate, necessary to a complete i'm
e preston. When l studied single prob
lem, and the solution occurred immedi-
ately would follow the solution again, as
if emanating from second mind acting
in conjunction, and always a little slower
in its perceptions. This arrangement
a vexatious and confusing at first, continued
to increase as devoted myself to mental
labor, until finally | was compelled tc
abandon my position in the academy.
3 The necessity was indeed a hardship
as it left me without the means of sus.
tenance. Ny brave and devoted wife bore
up nobly under the atf1iction, and insisted
that / should indulge in the repose that
: my critical position demanded. sMean-
, time she turned the fine musical faculties
acquired in better days to good account
r and we continued to live comfortably fol-
a time on the proceeds of her labor
Comfortably, did l say? No, it grieved
me constantly to see her toll 81 arduous-
ly, with the double responsibility OF
| household cares. And ! knew that hel
assumed cheerfulness was the cover OF
painful sOlicitude she experienced on my
/ behalf.
| This anxiety did not favorably effect
my arrangement. 1t grew more marked
and depressing. Vague fears haunted
me by day, and narrowed the long, sleep
less hours of night. The strange percep.
ton of double intellect became so fan
defined that the senses were sympathetic
The sounds that reached my ear were re-
J peated as if by echo; taste and touch
were fanciful and erratc, and at night
wierd, fantastic forms fitted before my
eyes, and real objects assumed the shape
OF what they were not, and drove me to
the verge of delirium, while the effort
constantly exerted to retain my reason
only the more Frustrated the mental
! powers.
Ultimately my malady reached stage
at which | seemed to realize both physi-
cal and mental and double existence. AT
times l could distinctly see the form and
features of my second self, directly con-
fronting and gazing upon my more immed-
late self. And then my own voice adj
dressed me and we converscd together
myself and second self-now condoing in
common misery, and then in tantalizing
and horrible imDrecatiOns
The terrible delusion. became unbear-
able, and I felt that reason could not
much longer retain command of the dis
ordered facilities. 1t was a night when
my mental agitation had reached high
degree. My wife had fallen asleep,
overcome with constant care and watch
ing. was pacing the sitting 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
hallucination; but it was for moment
only.
/ lay down again on the sofa. Ny
brain seemed whirling in blaze of fire,
md I sprang up stricken with madness.
The horrible spectre stood before me with
a fiendish grin of derision. / grasped a
heavy piece of furniture and dashed at it
with the fury Of maniac. The spectre
seemed palpable to tho blow, and yielded.
/ saw it vanish in darkness that spread
before me, and my tormenting second self
was gone. broke forth in frantic laugh
ter, that returned in hundred echoes
around me, and sank exhausted, uncon-
Sc. IS &c floor. M
| Ing sun was shining in upou