The Osceola times., 1880-08-07
THE DREAM OF A LIFE.
Found Among the Papers Of student Of
Medicine.

Found Among the Papers Of n student Of
Medicine.
Soul watching soul withn,-tBulw
They tell me am dying; know it; |
feel that life is fast fading away. They
tell me | am diving Of disappointed love;
| il il falsel | spurn the weakness. !
would not crush the impulses of soul
which my creator has breathed into me-;
would not, at the bidding of an idle
passion, paralyze the energies of a body
which was given 20 me as minstrant
TO the immortal spirit No, IL Is false!
They Judge not but by their own base
conceptions; they know not that in I'M
parting light and life to an inert soul /
have been compelled TO borrow from
my own the Promcthean fire. | am dy-
ing; but no vain and selfish desire has
worn my life away. 1t is from exhaus-
ton of the soul, not from a yearnlng
fever of the heart. ! will no5 be thus
misunderstood; | will record my strange
and painful eXperience-not as warn
ing to others for my fate is too peculiar
to be thus usefnl-but rather to redeem
my memory from so degrading charge.
From my boyhood | nave been theo-
rist, and my soul wandered over the
vague ocean of speculative philosophy
seeking rest, but finding none. until,
wearicd with physiological researches, !
determined To seek amid physiological
demonstrations for the minute links
which bind the material TO the spiritual
NV fortune placed me above the neses'
sity of adopting profession, and | be-
came from choice student of medicine
and it was during the year which lspent
in Dublin, while in attendance upon
public lectures, that the circumstance
occurred which has thus robbed me OF
myself.
1t was my habit to pass much of my
time in the hospital, where the effect oi
! different diseases upon the various
phases of human character, as well as
upon the diverse physical constitutions
afforded me an interesting subject OF
speculation. | was one day passing
through one of the sheltered walks in
! the garden, when heard a sweet and
plsintive voice singing what appeared
to me to be snatches of old ballads. The
sound came from the shrubbery in tho
grounds appropriated to the lunatic pa.
tients, and separated from the rest o
the garden by a high wall. Prompted
by feeling which | can now under
stand, | climbed to the top of the wall
and finding that the thick foliage pre-
vented me from discerning the singer,
leaped over the inclosure and entered
the shrubbery. ! shall never forget the
picture which then stamped itself upon
my memory. Seated upon a rustic
bench, with single ray of sunshine
piercing the deep shade, and resting like
a halo upon her dark hair, was young
girl, SO fair. so pale, SO etherial IN the
delicate proportions of her figure, that
almost feared the image was an Illusion
of fancy. Her large blue eyes were
wandering restlessly around while she
sung, and ere had time to retreat
met their full glance. Instead of being
alarmed at my intrusionfa sweet voice
parted her soft lips, and, raising her fin
ger, she beckoned me to approach.
~Iou have waited long, beloved, bu
YOU have come at last" she murmureC
in low and broken tone, as she drew
me to a seat beside her; then, claspinl
nv hand in hers, she fixed her gaze on
my face with look SO full OF solemn
and earnest tenderness that my very
soul thrilled beneath it.
| soon found that the fair girls reason
was entirely obseured. and her insanity
seemed to me to have assumed the al
most hopeless form of imbeCility. Bu
her pure and beautiful instincts were ST
fresh and powerful IL if intellect wer,
still their guide. she was tender, gen
tie and full of that contiding innocenc,
which knows no evil and suspects n,
guile. Child like in her frankness
womanly in her sweet tenderness, anC
withal eyincing in every look the intui
tive modesty and delicacy which 81
characterize the pure-minded, sh'
seemed the very personitication of al
that was lovely in her sex. The yer,
wanderings of her Imagination were
Like a sunshine on the rill-
ThonEh turned aside twas sunshine sull.
The beauty, the tenderness, the help
lessness of this young creature intereste,
me exceedingly. My sympathies wert
aroused to u degree positively painful
and vet as | listened to her incoheren
but sweet words uttered by the rosies
lps that ever love had kissed, | lelt tina
had her soul been awakened while he
heart was thus gushing forth earth coulC
have held for me no higher bliss.
When we parted, which we did will
a mutual promise of again meeting / re
tired TO my lodging in state of excite
ment such as had rarely known, anc
my first care was to learn something o
her history. | found that she had been
from childhood duh and inert Of intel
lcct: that it had been only with exceed
ing labor she had been taught the ele
ments of knowledge, andsi hat her minC
seemed to become more obtuse as she
grew older until a severe fit of sickness
which hefell her ere She attained hei
fifteenth year, completely obscured hel
reason.
Upon further inquiry | learned that
She had been an atiectionate and de
pendent creature, always looking fol
love to everyone, and. as | could learn
never finding it. Her family were cold
phlegmatic and commonplace. Tn,
strict discipline of reason was all they
could exercise, and the Guild had grown
stupid in proportion rs these means had
been oxertcd upon her. She had beer
for three years in this state Of imbccii.
ty, AMI they had now lost all hope o
her recovery.
The next DAY again found her in the
shrubberv, where she was allowed &c
pass most of her time, as the absence OI
all close constraint and vigilance had
been found decidedly beneficial. Her
joy at seeing me was unbounded, and
throwing herself on the turf at my feet,
she leaned her arms upon my knee, and
resting her head upon them in an atti-
tude of chlldlike rcpose, remained gaz-
ing with speechless tenderness up into
my face. She said little, but | could see
| that She WAS filed with tumultOus emo