The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1888-11-16

had congratulated ~. and within . cv
months Va we're 20 have been mar. led
was wild with happiness Ala ~,
did not die then. ! had unboundes,
faith In her. my lady love. but ! b.
came absurdly JEALOUS ] was haunt
"a By All sorts Of fears II was ~ II
some evil spirit had taken possession
Of me. which neither my reason nor
her devoted affection could exercise.
! would lie awake At night and i'm
agine ] heard her calling 20 me for
help: II another time some fiend
would whisper 70 me that my love Wa
untrue. so doubted and trusted her
b. turns and almost broke her heart
with my foolish fancies- I knew that
AZ my trouble was but the effect Of a
sicsiy imagination. and I would de-
tersniDe again AID again 10 fight on
the weakness. only 10 become more
and more = victim So my nights
were spent In torture and my days In
agony. lest some one should discover
my condition
'-One day became possessed with
the idea that my fancee had need oil
me. ! could hear her sigh and weep.
hurried 70 the house. gained admis-
sion. and when she came 10 meet me
fell At her feet and implored her to
tell me tine cause Of her trouble. She
coldly rcpellcd me: told me was jcal-
o,is Of phantoms; that had annoyed
her greatly and she would decline %
see me again unless I could behave
like sane man Like = sane man
Was l insane them Whether l was
or not. she had aroused a demon in
me Jumped TO my feet. sprang at
her like a tiger and clasped her in
these arms so savagely that crushed
and frightened the poor darling out Of
life She uttered = despairing cry.
and the next moment she iay at my
feet like a frozen flower. Can you
conceive Of my agony rs / looked ut
her, dead. quite dead. rs / supposed
had killed the woman ! adored. and
i knew l was mad Yes. lunatic-
She had seen il and had half realized
Il myself for some time. but ] had kept
the secret from my friends with all the
cunning Of lunatic-
''Well. they bound me and took me TO
my home was adjudged insane and
was sent TO an asylum. where for ten
years lived upon the rack: conscious
Of my surroundings; recalling daily
the parting scenes with my fiancee; the
hurried seizure Of my person. my
bound arms and the final turning Of
the key Of my prison
'.All sorts Of fancics kept my b ram
in whirl. At one time thought that
the flies In my room we're soldiers and
! would try and marshal them in line;
and because they would not obey
would 90 into violent paroxysms Of
rage which would always end in =
strait-jackct- Then long blank
would follow. and when another lucid
moment would come could remember
distinctly all that had occurred The
one illusion that was with me ever.
even in my sancst moments. was that
when ! killed my beloved that her spirit
had entered = dove which had found
its way into my room and lowered
above me always When lifted my
eyes l could see her ever with out
spread wings. and my ears were filed
with her soft cooling.
My recovery was retarded because
! could not eat Try As / would
could not make myself swallow. Il
knew that food was placed upon the
table for me TO cat and / would try
again and again 10 lift IL to my lips.
but my will was not strong enough to
compel obedience Of my hands When
my keepers forced me TO swallow Il
seemed 70 me that l could hear the
dove altering the most painful cries.
and upon her white breast would ap-
pear = drop OF blood rs II had
wounded her There were intervals
when realized that these sights and
sounds were only illusions. and that II |
could only control myself could Be
set free l dreaded the horrors Of the
strait-jacket. and knew well that II |
did not keep quiet l should have to |
wear IL Alas. in another moment all |
my tcrmenting fancies would return
and the old experiences were lived
once more In this way al |
most ten wears Of my life passed away
In all that time | had never voluntarily |
swallowed a morsel Of food
AT length my physical condition /
vas such that my sister determined TO /
bring me 70 South Germany. where
there was a celebrated insane expert |
remember distinctly the first time he
rame into my room / was conscious
81 no physical presence. / only saw
pair Of enormous. persuasive. com
pclling eyes. which were following me
about the room and enforcing obedi-
sncc- l was their captive. their
slave A cup Of bread and milk vas
placed upon tine table. The eyes babe
ne eat OF IL tried % lift the cup
,ut could mot The eyes came toward
ne. l felt the touch Of the spoon upon
ny lips. the taste Of food in my mouth.
md ! swallowed IL You can not guess