Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1888-06-29
ORT TOBACCO, MARYLAND. JIrvE 20 ,ooo
She was mad !

She was mad
- Meulca' man as I am, ferliug Of bor
= TOT oVercame me when Ir,fected tim,
was smut up alone in the carriage Of
trai0, travelling at express speed with
a innatlc. True, was a strone man ~,
only girl. But it i, lncopceivobI.
i "n't extreme strength is pos o,sed b.
many oi th' insane. have known
woman thus afflicted to require two. qnd
even three powerful mon to restrain he,
'urlog one Of her paroxysms.
wevcr cndcavorcd "a keon 4.
l cool as po siblc, as looked tho yonr,
sir' steadily in the face. She looked n.
me Tor moment or 50 without ou,il.
ins; then she sank back in her corner
resumed her apathetic posture, a d sa,
gazing out Of the window. with III, r.,
away look in her eyes, a, if 40 such mar.
son as mysolf was In existence
"Poor girln Ithou ;ht: and I begs,
10 wonder who or what she could bc
ana how she came to be travelling alopo
Could she have escaped from an asv.
Z tm. II 50 how came she to be nos
@ssed Of sufficient fund, to procure 4,
railway tickct2
had some experience in "mad cases 81
and knew that the most outraooon.
ones are those where tho patient main
tllns an even sulenncss of demeanor
Inc girls case did not seem to me to
be one Of them. On the contrary, her
sudden change Of mood when I anoered
her seemed to indicate it to be case of
temporary alteration of mind. and CON
sequently curable ono.
looked at my watch. In quarter
OF an hour we should be at Basingstoke.
was In the very act of returning nv
watch to my pocket, when nv com.
panloo, with mocking laugh-the pe
caiiary metallic ring Of which It i,
quito impossible to dcscribe-literalIv
hurled herself upon me with ovorwheIm-
ing force, lroke the watch from If.
chain, and sent it spinning throurh the
window. In another second she was
endeavoring to force herself also tbrougb
the window
Then commenced terrible struaoIe
Of which l even yet 81 u Ider to think
sly mu'clcs were strained to their ut
most limit OF tension, tho perspiration
poured down my face, and my arms felt
T # about to be wrcuchcd from their
loekets. And all this to restrain one of |
Ihe sex commonly called the "weaker"
Isn so'f-destruction.
1sssa sriirv tito poor girl uttered no
Pund that could give warning to the
guard or our fellow passengers of the !,
terrible struggle for lie or death that l
was going on within a few yards of
them. As for my own voice, the extra
ordinary physical offort l was making .
to restrain the would be suicide entire
" prevented my making the slightest
use of it. But just as my powers were
failing me, and l felt that coull no
longer prolong the struggle, the train
began pcrcepti5ly to slackcu speed.
"Thank Heaven Basingstoko at :
last"
What followed is easy to relate. OF
course, assistance was at hand, and the
young lady was removed to
a pace of safety. From letters which
we found on her, and some articles of
jcwolry which we advertised, wo speed
lily discovered her friends. Naturally !,
a a medic,l man. would not lose sight
Of her till had discovered them.
The patient proved to be member
Of German family, naturalized in Eng
land, who was subject to periodical at
tacks Of mental alteration, but had
never actually been in tho asylum
During the 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 the Southwestern line
because it happened to be the nearest
to her own home.
She had been so long without an at.
tack that her mothers and sisters had on
the previous night vcnturcd to 60 TO an
evening party leaving Lolita fast asleep
in bed at homc. During their absence
she eluded the vigilance of the servants
got up and dressed herself, walked
alout 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 &C rtainlY have walked about the
streets for som3 time prior to the dopar-
ture OF the eX9rcss.
1t was natural that under the circum-
stances-I have already stated that l
had had considerable experience in such
cases-hcr friends should ask me to en-
dcavor TO effect ascure.
undertook it aad entirely succeed
ed. And also l undertook and succeed
ed in something else.
1t IS my vile who Is looking over my
shoulder as l write, and who says:
my dear, the maddest act OF all my
life was when"
But here stop.