Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-11-22

travelling SutJs DOuuu WIN WultS uFdlu,
and wore a straw hat.
Maybe German" | soliloquized;
'they are terrible smokers"
But again it occurred to me that posi-.
bly, the young lady might be neither
American nor German, but had got into
the carriage without noticing that 1t was
one reserved for the use of smokers.
Under this impression bowed slightly to
her. saying:
Il fear my cigar may annoy you. Per.
haps you are not aware that this is a
smoking compartments"
ooh, yes, she answered, with slight
German accent; Eyes. yes. yes, yes"
There was something peculiar in her
slow, deliberate utterance and the four
times repeated monosyllable. A dreamy
look, too in the speakers eyes, as if her
mind was preoccupied. However, the
train was now in motion, and had moth
ing for it but to esconce myself in my
corner. look out of the window and take
birds eye view of the surrounding house
tops.
For short time this was well enough;
but began at last to weary of the monot.
ony Of such an amusement. We English
men, as a rule, are SO reserved and unso-
ciable that we shrink into ourselves and
every fresh addition to the occupants of a
railway carriage or an omnibus is received
with black looks and sort of tacit intima-
tiOn that he has no right to enter. Now,
am free to confess that, whatever my
failings, want of sociability is not one of
them; and | determined to try to engage
my companion in little conversation.
There could be no improperly in a man of
my age Il was 3s) endeavoring to beguile
the tedium of lazy journey by convers-
ing with fellow traveller, school girl
and certainly not out of her teens. 1t
was, therefore, with an almost paternal
feeling that addressed her.
There are not many passengers by this
train, remarked.
1.-TWO thousand and three" was the
answer, that not little startled my
equanimny,
looked at the speaker, expecting to
find mischievous smile dancing in her
eyes, or lurking at the corners of her
mouth Nothing Of the sort She was
perfectly serious, even stern, and her eyes
had still the same dreamy far away look
in them.
Very absent minded. or else in love-"
thought to myself However, tried
again.
Il think we shall have fine day for
our journey" ventured to remark.
She turned upon me with that fierce.
yet restless look that we see
in a trapped rat.
How you talk, talk, talki" she said in
But
Are you mad?" she screamed in tone
of intensified shrillness, and with such an
awful, hungry look in her eyes, that the
truth flashed upon me like en- inspiration.
She was madl
Medical man as am, feeling of hor
ror overcame me when | reflected that |
was shut mp alone in the carriage Of a
train, travelling at express speed, with
lunatic. True, ! was a strong man, she
only girl But it is inconceivable what
the insane have known a woman thus
afflicted require two, and even three,
powerful men to restrain her during one
of her paroxysps.
However, | endeayored 10 keep as cool
as possible as | looked the young girl
steadily in the face She looked at me
for moment or SO without quailing; 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 person as myself was
in existence.
Poor girl!' | thought; and began to
wonder who or what she could be, and
how she came TO be travelling alone
Could she have escaped from an asylum?
If 50 how came she to be possessed of suf-
icient funds to procure railway ticket?
! had had some experience in mad
cases. and ! knew that the most out.
rageous ones arc those where the patient
maintains an even sullenness of de-
meanor. The girls case did not seem to
her sudden change of mood when | an
gered her seemed TO indicate it to be
case Of temporary alteration of mind, and
consequently durable one.
| 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 companion. with a
mocking laugh--the peculiarly metallic
ring Of which it is quite impossible to de-
scribe literally hurled herself upon me
with overwhelming 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 utmost
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 the weaker" from self
destruction.
All this time the poor girl uttered no
sound that could give warning to the
guard or our fellow passengers of the ter.
rible struggle for life or death that was
going on within a few yards Of them. As
for my own voice, the extraordinary
physical effort | was making to restrain
the would be suicide entirely prevented
my making the slightest use of it. But
just as my powers were failing me. and
felt that | could no longer prolong the
struggle, the train began perceptibly to
slacken speed.
"Thank heaveni Basingstoke at last"
What followed is easy to relate. OF
course, assistance was at hand, and the
unfortunate young lady was removed to a
place Of safety. From letters which we
found on her and some articles of jewelry,
which we advertised, we speedily dis
covered her friends Naturally /, as a
medical man. would not lose sight of her
till had discovered them.
The patient proved to be a member Of a
German family, naturalized in England,
who was subject to periodical attacks Of
mental alteration. but had never actually
been in an asylum
During the attacks, which invariably
came on without any warning, so that it
was difficult to watch her, she was seized
with a 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 attack
that her mother and sisters had on the
previous night ventured to go to an even.