The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-06-21
Sho was madI

i
Medical man as am, feeling Of hor.
ror overcame me when reflected that !
was shut up alone in the carriage of q
train, travelling at express speed, with q
lunatic. True, was strong man, she
only girl. But it is inconceivable
what extreme strength is possessed by
many of the insane. l have known q
woman thus afflicted to require two, and
even three powerful men to restrain her
during one of her paroxysms.
However, endeavored to keep as
cool as possible, as looked the young
girl steadily in the face. She looked at
me for moment or so without quail
ing; then she sank back in her corner,
resumed her apathetic posture, and sat
gazing out Of the window. with tho far
away look in her eyes, as if no such per-
son as myself was in existence.
''Poor girll' thought; and I began
to wonder who or what she could be,
and how she came to be travelling alone.
Could she have escaped from an asy-
lum. Ifso, how came sho to be pos
sessed of sufficient funds to procure a
railway ticket7
/ had some experience in "mad cases."
and knew that the most outrageous
ones are those where the patient main
tains an even sullenness of demeanor.
The girls case did not seem to me to
be one of them. On the contrary, her
sudden change of mood when angered
her seemed to indicate it to be case OF
temporary alteration Of mind. and con-
sequently curable one.
I looked at my watch. In quarter
of an hour we should be at Basingstoke.
was in the very act of returning my
watch to my pocket, when my COM
panion, with mocking laugh-the Pc
culiarly metallic ring Of which 1t is
quite impossible to describe-literally
hurled herself upon me with overwholm-
ing force, broke the watch from its
chain, and sent it spinning through the
window. In another second she was
endeavoring to force herself also through
the window.
Then commenced terrible struggle,
of which ! even yet shudder to think.
My muscles were strained to their ut
most limit of tension, the spiration
poured down my face, and my arms felt
| as if about to be wrenched from their
sockets. And all this to restrain one of
the sex commonly called the "weaker"
from sclf-destruction.
All this time tho poor girl uttered no
sound that could give warning to the
guard or our fellow passengers of the
terrible struggle for life or death that
was going on within few yards of
them. As for my own voice, the extra
ordinary physic effort l was making
| to restrain the would.bo suicide entire
ly prevented my making the slightest
use of it. But just as my powers were
failing me, and felt that could no
longer prolong tho struggle, the train
began perceptibly to slacken speed.
"Thank Heaven ! Basingstoke at
last"
What followed is easy to relate. Of
course, assistance was at hand, and the
unfortunate young lady was removed to
place of safety. From letters which
we found on her, and some articles OF
jewelry, which we advertised, wo speed
lily discovered her friends. Naturally l.,
medical man, would not lose sight
of her till had discovered them.
The patient proved to be a member
Of German family, naturalized in Eng
land, who was subject to periodical at
tacks of mental alteration, but had
never actually boen in the asylum.
During tho attacks, which invariably
came on without any warning, so that
it was difficult to watch her, she was
seized with restless desire to wander
over the country, and, it appeared, had
merely selected tho Southwestern line
because it happened to bo the nearest
to her own home.
She had been SO long without an at
tack that her mothors and sisters had on
the pre- vious night ventured to 60 to an
evening party leaving Lotta fast asleep
in bed at home. During their absence
she eluded the vigilance of tho servants
got up and dressed herself, walked
about for some time, and took ticket
for the early Portsmouth mail-at least,
that was what she imagined and told us
on her recovery. Her memory, however,
was very imperfect, but the poor child
must ce rtainly have walked ABOUT the
streets for some timo prior to the depar-
ture of the express.
1t was nat Ut al that under the circum-
stances-I have already stated that ]
had had considerable experience in such
cases-hcr frien ds should ask me to en-
deavor to effect a cure.
undertook it and entirely succeed
ed, And also l undertook and succeed
ed in something else.
1t is my wife who is looking over my
shoulder as write, and who says:
my dear, the maddcst act of all my
life was when"
But here l stop.