The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1888-09-22

was pcrfcctly serious, even stern, and
her ewes had still the same dreamy, far
away look in them. - =,
Every abscnted- minded, or else In
love, thought to myself. However,
tried again.
~ think we shall have fine day
for our Journey" l ventured to remark.
She turned upon me with that fierce,
despairinc, yet restless look that we see
in trapped rat.
'How you talk, talk, talk!' she said
Indignantly.
"But-'
care y GU madT she screamed in
tone of such intensified shrillness and
with such an awful, hun CRY look in her
eye that the truth flashed upon me like
an inspiration.
She was mad!
Medical man as I am, feeling of hor-
TOR overcame me when / reflected that /
was shut up alone in the carriage of
train, travelling at express speed, with
lunatic. True, was strong man, she
only a girl. But it is uncomfortable
what extreme strength is possessed by
many of the insane. have known a
woman thus afflicted to require two, and
even three powerful men to restrain her
during one of her paroxysms.
However, l 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 the far
away look in her eyes, as if no such per-
son as myself was IN existence.
Poor giri~ l thought; and l 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. If so, how came she to be pos
sessed of sufficient funds to procure q
railway ticket2
had some experience in ''mad cases."
and l 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 l angered
her seemed to indicate it to be case OF
temporary alteration of mind. and con-
sequently durable one.
l looked at my watch. In quarter
of an hour VIC should be at Basingstoke.
l was in the very act of returning my
watch to my pocket, when my COM
panion, with hooking laugh-the Pc
culiarly metallic ring of which 1t is
quite impossible to describe-literally
hurled herself upon me with overwhelm-
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 l even yet shuider to think.
My muscles were strained to their ut
most limit of tension, the perspiration
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 III: weaker"
from self-destruction.
All this time the poor girl uttered nc
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 a few yards OF
them. As for my own voice, the extra
ordina airy physical effort l was making
to restrain the would-bc suicide entire
ly prevented my making the sliy htes
use of it. But just as my powers were
failing me, and l felt that could NJ
longer prolong tho struggle. the trair
began perceptibly to slacken speed.
"Thank Heaven Basingstokc a
last"
What followed is easy to relate. Oh
course, assistance was at hand, and tn
unfortunate young lady was removed t.
place of safety. From letters which
we found on her, and some articles o
jewelry, which we ad ver;ised, we speed
lily discovered her friends. Naturally
a medical man, would not lose sigh
of her till had discovered them.
The nstient Droyed To be n membe