Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1883-11-06

J the Wretchedness of mere humanity. AnC
! brute beast-whose fellow had contemp
tuously destroyed-a brute beast to work
} out Tor me-for me man, fashioned in the
image OF the high God-so much of insuffer
able woe! Alas neither by day nor by
night know | the blessing of rest any more
! Durlng the former the creature left me nc
) moment alone; and in the latter I started
hourly from dreams and unutterable fear
to find the hot breath of the thing upon my
} face, and its vast weight-an incarnatt
nightmare that had no power to shake of
incumbent eternally upon nv hearti
Beneath the pressure of torments such a,
these, the feeble remnant of the good with.
in me suceumbed. Evil thoughts became
my sole intimates-the darkest and most
evil of thonghts. The moodiness of nv
usual temper increased to hatred of all
things and of all mankind; while from the
sudden, frequent and ungovernable out
bursts of a fury to which [ now blindly
abandonedtmyself, my uncomplaining wife,
alas! was the most usual and the most pa
tient of sufferers
One day she accompanied me upon some
household errand into the cellar of the old
building which our poverty compelled us to
inhabit. The cat followed me down the
steep stairs, and nearly throwing me head
long, exasperated me to madness. Uplift-
ing an axe. and forgetting in my wrath the
childish dread which had hitherto stayed
my hand, | aimed blow at the animal,
which, OF course, would have proved in
stantly fatal had it descended as wished
Bnt this blow was arrested by the hand of
my wife. Goaded by the interference into
a rage more than demoniacal, Withdrew
my arm from her grasp and buried the axe
In her brain. She fell dead upon the spot,
without groan.
This hideous murder accomplished, set
myself forthwith and with entire delibera-
ton to the task of concealing the body. I
knew that could not remove it from the
house, either by day or by night, without
the risk of being observed by the neighbors
Many projects entered my mind. At one
period thought of cutting the corpse into
minute fragments and destroying them by
fire. At another resolved to dig a grave
for it in the floor of the cellar Again.
deliberated about casting it into the well in
the yard-about packing it in box, as if
merchandise, with the usual arran .ements.
and so getting porter to take it from the
house. Finally, hit upon what 1 consid-
cred far better expedient than either of
| these. l determined to wall it up iu the
cellar, as the monks in the middle ages are
recorded to have walked up their victims.
For purpose such as this the cellar was
we'll adapted. Its walls were loosely con-
structed. and had lately been plastered
throughout with rough plaster, which the
dampness of the atmosphere had prevented
from hardening. Moreover in one of the
walls was projection caused by false
chimney or fireplace, that had been filled
up and made to resemble the rest of the
cellar. l made no doubt that could readi-
ly displace the bricks at this point, insert
the corpse and wall the hole up as before.
so that no eye could detect anything sus-
picious.
And in this calculation I was not deceiv
ed. BY means of crowbar l easily dis
lodged the bricks, and having carefully de-
posted the body against the inner wall, I
propped it in that position, while with lit
tic trouble | relaid the whole structure as
1t originally stood. Having procured NOR
tar, sand and hair with every possible pre-
caution, | prepared plaster which could
not be distinguished from the old, and with
this very carefully went over the new
brick work. When | had finished it I felt
satisfied that all was right. The wall did
not present the slightest appearance of hav-
Rl96rh Rl9&6 rheaR pistpEhap Gh THE eu Ahish 9p ottlg the
myself, "Here at last, then, my labor has
not been in vain -
My next step was to look for the beast
which had been the cause ofso much wretch
edness, for had at length firmly resolved
to put it to death. Had I been able to
meet with it at the moment there could
have been no doubt of its fate, but it ap-
peared that the crafty animal had been
alarmed at the violence Of my previous an
ger, and fOrebore to present itself in my
present mind. 1t is impossible to describe
or imagine the deep, the blissful sense of
relief which the absence of the detested
creature occasiOned in my bosom. 1t did
not make its appearance during the night
and thus for one night, at least, since its
introduction into the house, / soundly and
TRANQUILITY S ept; aye, slept even with the
burden of murder upon my souli
The second and the third day passed and
still my tormentor came not. Once again l
breathed as q freeman The monster, in
terror, had fed the premises forever! I
should behold it no more! My happiness
was supreme! The guilt of my dark deed
disturbed me but little. Some few inquiries
had been made, but those had been readily
answered. Even a search had been insti-
tuted; but, of course, nothing was to be dis
GOV red. | looked upon my future felicity
as assured.
Upon the fourth day of the assassination,
party of the police came very unexpected
ly into the house, and proceeded again to
make vigorous investigation of the premises.
Secure, however, in the inscrutability of my
place of coAcealment, | felt no embarrass-
ment whatever. The officers babe me ac-
company them in their search. They left
no nook or corner unexplored. At length,
for the third or fourth time, they descend
ed into the cellar. / quivered not in
muscle. My heart beat calmly as that of
one who slumbers in innocence. l walked
the cellar from end to end. folded my
arms upon my BOSOM and roamed to and
fro. The police were thoroughly satisfied,
and prepared to depart The glee at my
heart was too strong to be restrained. l
burned to say if but one word by way of
triumph, and to render doubly sure their
assurance of my guiltlessness
FGentlemeD;" | said at last, as the party
assembled the steps, Il delight to have al
layed you suspicion. / wish you all health
and little more courtesy. By the by,
gentlemen this-this is very well con-
structed house" Qn the rapid desire to
say something easily. scarce knew what 1
uttered at all.) 81 may say an exceed
ingly well constructed house. These walls
are you going gentleman?-these walls
are solidly put together and here through
the mere frenzy of bravado, 1 raped
heavily with cane which l held in my
hand upon that very portion of the brick
work behind which stood the corpse of the
wife of my bosom.
But may God shield and deliver me from
the fangs of the arch-fend! No sooner had
the reverberation of my blow sunk into
silence than was answered by voice from
within the to1nb!-by cry, at first muff1-
ed and broken, like the sobbing of a child,
and then quickly swelling into one long,
loud, and continuous scream, utterly anon
alCus and inhuman-a howl-a wailing
shrek, half of horror and half of triumph,
such as might have ARISEN out of hell, con-
Jointly from the throats of the damned in
their agony and of the demons that exult in
the damnation.
Of my own thoughts it is a folly to speak.
Swooning | staggered to the opposite wall.