St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-01

mitigate its horrors.
Friday, August-How my jolly coria
rades in all the gaycities will laugh
when they hear it, L havemade up ImX
mind to marry; to escbew the delightS
Of my wild bachelor life, and seek harS
piness in cOnnubial felicity. She to-
whom l intend offering my hand and
heart is pretty child of seventeen. n
have met her at Thun travelling witM
her parents. They know me by named
my wealth, my title, my reputation as a
roue, everything but my crime. How
they would shrink from me did they buty
become aware Of that! And yet they do.
not discourage my addresses to their
daughter; nay, they encourage theni.l
simpletOns!
Is not the numbering of souls the firstG
insidiOuS impulse given toward prOpel-5
ling an immortal spirit to the dOWnWardg
road that leads TO everlasting death, to-
be more condemned than the mere hast-3
ening of the inevitable doom Of alE
flesh?
Tuesday-Every day l am by Minna'S
side, walking, riding, driving, and every
day see more clearly the love sh6k
bears me. She is sweet and pretty; az
truly Womanly woman, with all the9
freshness of an ignorant child. / look
forward to passing years OF calm anR
pleasant existence in her companions
ship, and to becoming an eminently REL
spectacle member of society. / have
sown my wild oats, covered them and
left them. / have grown weary of eviN
doing. Let but my crime remain undis,;
covered land who can discover it wheW
the secret lies betwiXt myself and tho
dead?), and all will be well.
Thursday-There is ball at our hOtee
this evening. l am engaged to MinnE
for the first dance. AfterWard i intend
to lead her from the ''madding crowdi
and the brilliant rooms, out upon the
little terrace fronting the flower gar
dens, and there, in the misty light of
the stars and the solemn hush Of eyeEsl
ing, plight my troth.
Friday-Minna is dead. How cOldlH
write the words! All sense of her loss
is effaced by the terrible calamity thap
has befallen me. Nemesis is upon mea
at last. Fool that l was, to dream of a !
tranquil Eden for such as /!
Scarce moment had we stood tor
gether, Minna and I-her little handy
upon which had just slipped ring, iIh
mine-When, to my horror, the old
dreadful sensation, from which latterlY'
| had been free, stole over me. The
heavy weight upon my chest, the dead-
ness of my limbs, the fire in my hands,
and feet, were intensified and accom-.
panied by loud, whirring noise, whichs
beat upon my brains until L fell prOne'
before my love upon the terrace.
Her shrek l family heard ring out
into the soft night air, bringing crowds
of men and gaily-dressed women from
the ballroom; then the things around
me faded from my sight, and there arose.
in their place a being it would be imFs
20 no. I. ~
whose terrible cOuntenance struck me-
with ineffable dread. He was a gianta
in form, and, though so terrible, thereti
was beauty in his face-a beauty which,,
however. my soul instinctively lOathed. ]
Dumb / lay at his feet, while in mOnQt-
OnOuS accents he spoke thus:
"You have committed sinS-culminatE
ing in the murder of your brOther-QG
which it were impossible for mortal tL,
bear the burden and live. You live beg
cause the oppression entailed by thema
has, by occult influence, been thrown Off
your sensibilitieS, creating me. Butt
though apart from you, still have pOweps
over you, increasing or decreasing ac,,
cording to the evil or good motives
swaying you; and in natural sequence i
bring you misery, retribution for thef
suffering you have caused to others,
The less corrupt life you have liveds
since leaving England stayed for whileS
my avenging hand. Had you revere6
the purity of this innocent girl now
lying dead at your feet; had you heSi-
tated to sacrifice her to your selfish DuIe
poses, to take advantage of her ignOf.
ance and her parents ambition to bind
her to man with your past: you might.
never have seen me, never have pros
vOked my utmost vengeance. But yeu did5
not hesitate; and when her lips tOucheds
yours; when the ring upon her finger
| proclaimed her yours; when the Loves.
light in her eyes proclaimed her yours Z
when you did not waver in claiming
your sacrifice; then, your exceeding
sinfulness called forth my greateSL
force: Her purity, because unappreciEl
ated by you, proved curse instead OF a.
blessing to you. As she fell, horror
stricken by the sight of your cOunte..
nance, upon which was reflected every
evil passion you had cherished, the mag
| netism of her purity, working under my
guiding influence, as surely as the gray
itatiOn of the spheres, drew the REM
| nantS of good from you, leaving you, ber
cause undiluted evil, at my mercy, and
| myself visible to you. The shock of the
| discovery of your true character was too
| much for her. She is dead; one of the.
| guiltless sacrificed for the vices of the
| guilty.
you are mine. Your passions have
enslaved you to me. But, so obstinate
is your temperament, you will refuse to-
| acknowledge your bondage ;yOuWill fight.
against me with all the might of yOuE.
infexible will. So be it. There must,
| be conflict. But, sooner or later, l shall
completely overpOwer you.
Upon the third night of each month
l will meet you. You cannot escapes
me. In whatever place, with whOmsO.
| ever you are, my grasp will be upon
you; and as my hold over you strength
| ems, the more often shall be with you,
the more protracted will be my stay"
Tue day. have chosen a house to
which may retire to battle with my
foe, and behind the doors of which may
be concealed from the world the knOwS
edge of my misfortune. In case my
courage deserts me, and cOwardice i'll
clines me to flee from him, thus ac-
| knowledging his masterShip and hasten
| ing my ruin, have contrived that the
| room in which shall meet him shall be
OH occasions my temporar prison. The
d. or closes with a spring to be worked
only from the outside, and / shall be
compelled, from the cOnspicuOuSneSs of
my inability to escape, to disregard any
momentary weakness and confront him
| DraVely.
have engaged an old woman to be,
unwittingly, my jailer. l think L cam
safely trust her to appear and open my
door at a given hour, but if l see reason
to doubt her / can take measures for en-
forcing her obedience. can confine
her to the house, as l have-to guard
against tattling if l may so speak in
connection with a dumb person.
confined her within the boundary of the
pendent on me, she will not dare run
contrary to my commands. l shall keep
the secret of the door q secure it each
time on leaving in manner which rem