The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1883-10-20
A CRUEL BLOW.

."rhe mos dangerous and troublesome
| men," said Dr. Rcdheld, "are those who
should bo regarded as fools, but for some
unexplained reason are not. Here now is
a beautiful and lovely young woman sud-
denly deprived of reason just on the eve
of her marriage to a worthy young man
on whom the blow has fallen with crush
ing forcs. Two lives hlightcd perhaps
forever 10y an act that should coLsign its
perpetrator to prison and a lunatic asy
lum for each alternate year Of the remain
der Of his life.
These remarks related to practical
| joke played by reckless and imprudent
| young man, one FREQ Losher, the victim
of criminal folly being his cousin,
| Florence Percival, whose marriage would
have taken place next day.
| The railway train which was bringing
her prospective husband from his home,
three hundred miles away, was behind
time about five hours, delayed By heavy
storm, which had also Frustrated the tel
| egraph lines, SO that no information in
regard to the cause of the detention
| con Id be obtaiue6.
The train came IN at last, however, all
right and without having sustained any
serious accident. The bridegroom elect,
| Frank McAllister, aliehted from the cars
| going first to the hotel, from whence, in
half All hour he would have reported
| himself at the residence of his betrothed.
That foolish cousin, however, who had
| been sent to the station to obtain the
! earliest news Of the delayed train came
n, sking back to the house to bring the
tidin, vs., but thought it would be a capi.
tai Joke as he aiterNard said, to give his
,usin at i: st a good scare.
We'll. F.oreucr." he exclaimed,
| "Fiark has been heard from al last. The
trains mashed - forty persons killed
and he among thom"'
A hewil.lcred, half conscious look was
| followed by "a fearful scream and Florence
| had fallen unconscious.
Hr Re.liield,. the family physician,
who Glanced to be passing the door, was
Immediately with the patient, and doing
his utmost to arrest the progress OF those
terrible commissions. but with scarcely
| any success.
A Young brother ef Florence was the
| only person with her at sthe time that
startling announcement was made; but
his version of what had occurred was SO
Gear and positive that the reckless fell
low who was the author of the mischief
| did not attempt to contradict or deny t.
| boys statement.
| Had the life of the girl been suddenly
destroyed by the careless discharge of
pistol, fred by some one who did not
| stop to consider in what direction he was
| pointing. the CONSERVATION and sorrow
or Frank McAllister knelt at the side
of the insensible gi,i, giving vent to his
| feelings in an agony OF grief
In the meantire.t!.e Young block head,
by whose criminal folly the mischief had
| been done, was dndsing around in q
| doZe II iir, ct ions, telling everybody how
sorry lie was Tor what had happened, and
! ASKING each enc o tell him What service
he could render. lie subsidized, however,
and made himself less prominent after
havin. been repeatedly told that his i'm
| mediate departure from the scene of the
| trouble would crafty everyone
The terrible shock was folio~ed as the
doctor predicted it would be, by typho-
| mania. that continued three weeks-the
patients life, in the mean time, being
suspended in a balance which the weight
of a feather might turn.
At the end Of that time the malady
began to take different form. The
| cerebral excitement appeared to haye ex-
hausted its force and to be passing away,
but the light of reason did not return
Tie one terrible thought, that her lover
had been crushed to death, had gone
through and possessed her whole mind
and there did net seem any way to re-
move it.
The first question she asked, when
looking as if making an effort to reason
once more, was how long it would be be-
fore she could 60 to Franks funeral.
When assured that he was not dead, but
still alive, and actually alive at that mo-
ment, the meaning of the words did not
seem to enter her mind, for she again re-
peatedly asked, in a pleading way:
"Please let me go to Franks funeral"
Her lover, who had been with her, or
near her, almost continually, then came
forward, and, sitting down beside her,
took one of her hands, saying:
81 am not dead, dear Florence! I am
alive and here with you"
But his kind words only brought a be-
wildering stare.
"You! Who are you?" she asked.
a. do not know you I never saw you
before You are not my dear Frank
he is dead; and now they will not even
let me go to his funeral. Did you know
, Frank? you look somewhat like him, and
believe you are trying to pass yourself
. for HIM. Go away from me! you trouble
met
"There is hope in her case" said the