Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-03-29

of desperate mailman. We heard the
| quick click of the weapons hammer as
it was drawn back, and helplessly and
with bated breath expected a tragedy,
when the host coolly walked across the
room, and, just as the trigger fell, seized
the muzzle of the gun and wrenched it
out of the sleep walkers hand, at the
same time explaining that he knew the
weapon to be harmless, inasmuch as,
anticipating such an adventure, he had
few days before drawn out the load
and carefully concealed the ammunition.
On another occasion, soon after we had
gone to bed, Roberts began muttering
something about an attack made on him
while in the army by soldier, armed
with a knife and crazed with rum. He
then arose TO sitting posture, when, by
the light of the moon which streamed in
through our little window, I discovered
his eyes directly at me and glarlng like
the eyes of a hungry tiger. [ have
always noticed that nature has an honest
way of compensating one for any natural
short comings. For instance. if poor
| listeners she endows us generally with
that garrulity which almost solves the
mystery of perpetual motion; If excep-
tionally ugly, behind the irregular
features generally may be found room
for exceptional intelligence; for his frail
arms she compensates coward almost
invariably by giving him sinewy legs.
MY legs were thus endowed ON the even
ing in question, I slid discreetly to the
foot of the bed, which had been showed
against the wall, and on the back part Of
which had been stretching, vaulted on
the foot board, and quickly hustled out
of the room, slamming the door just In
time to escape lunge which the SOM
nambulist made at me with his clenched
fist. The door was no sooner fastened
than my unconscious assailant began
beating the wall, making the loose pieces
of dried mortar rattle down between the
lath and weather boarding. On the
night subsequent to the adventure just
narrated, Robert said:
Il met the same old drunkard again
yesterday. He came at me with his knife,
but got away with him. knocked him
down into the cellar. I knew he was
knocked down the cellar stairs, because
I heard his bones rattle
The sleeper had curiously COMPOUNDED
the rafting of dried mortar with the
rattling of q druukards bones.
A more conscientious boy, and one
more correct in his habits and language,
than my young companion, have never
met. In his wakeful moments, an oath
was as much a stranger to his lips as to
the lips of deaf mute. In his sleep,
occasionally, he would make the air sui
phurous with his profanity. When
awake, the only knowledge he possessed
of what he had done in his sleep was in
the vague recollection of dream. One
day he looked particularly haggard, and
complained of great fatigue. On the fol-
lowing night, after falling asleep, he
said:
Yesterday had walk of about ff-
teen miles"
He then detailed his travels, how he
had gone to a railroad station called
GAINESVILLE, four miles distant; how the
place "had the appearance of Sunday,
all the stores and houses being closed;"
how he had walked to neighboring
post-village, and finally how he had
been driven off by an ugly dog from a
farmers premises located in an adioin-
ing township. His story Was verified
subsequently by several witnesses who
had seen him on the night in question
i'm the several places he had named. I
had left him for few days, and was on
the farm from which he had been driven
by the vigilant watch dog. After his de-
scription of his nights tramp, he ex-
planned that he was hunting for me.
His malady, for such it had now be-
come, had assumed alarming symptoms,
and we sought by some means to at
least alleviate the difficulty. We took
the precise course, or rather allowed
him to take it, that only aggravated the
trouble. He went to a college prepare
tory school located at H1llsdale, Mich,
and straightway became the one object
of interest for the whole institution.
His freaks became daily more eccentric.
At one time he remained in somnam-
bulistic state for fifty six hours, during
which time he was q guest at a SEM
mary soiree, and of course the cynJsure
of all eyes. It was during this brief
period, and while asleep, that he wrote
me letter in answer to a friendly one
which but few days before I had sent
him. 1t began and ended with abuse,
and was flied up with invective. Only
a few weeks previously, as David and
Jonathan, we had parted, and so far as I
knew, our friendship was still firmly
cemented. [ was therefore not little
stunned at the reading of my friend s
vituperation. The writing was on three
sides of sheet of note-paper, and con-
cluded with: "You need never an
swer this letter. I shall never receive
anything directed in your handwriting.
An envelope thus addressed to me will be
returned unopened"
On the last page of the sheet he had
used the cork of his ink-stand in black
ing the paper around several lines, rep
resenting fgure- heads most grotesque.
In one corner was Mephistophelean
portrait, done in black ink, ornamented
with the mythical horns and forked
tongue, and directly under it the sug-
gestive, not to say personal, inscription
in capital letters ''YOU."
Once out of this sleep, the young man
lapsed Immediately into another, until,
finally, studying began to make insanity