Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-08-20


what you ao~ $50 Al flrse thought Is w0
diving; nov do 80 kpov vhne to think"
I eosid NJ banikh Ill thnaght 1t fhs
srarxe 6swer frpm my mind 1t once. and
that nighs fell asleep thinking Of IL All
night long I was tortured by hosribls dreams
II murder and bsonkhed. and IN I'll my ~
inus ths lily figured prominentiy- -
very GAL wien morning cane
Enos Nrsiner had In win which eus
on his spn Claude with dollar. All biz
property had been bequeatbed 70 Victor, but
he hal s,Atei tn t;ae VIII that st VicfoeI
death the psrperfy should go To the next Of
kiu As Vi-tor bad died unmarried, '-ths
next of kin nlssst BE- bis only brother. Ciausie.
could sse but little trouble in settling ths
affair quickly and easily. and could hardly
cosnprei.e,,d way Claude had sent 90 far Tor
me x..sn legal serv CO could have been oh
eaiaed much nearer home
Nsntine bod novel my practice TO Up
tngroa had discovered that there was .
better Geld there. and at onee awaited myself
Of what sefned to bel goodopenin2- Strange
70 say, Claude did aot sssefn TO approve Of the
ss~p He did not openly express his disAP
prevail, stlu Lis manner spoke fully - plain
Is words Severtheless. We still remained
friends ~
cl.nde wasustsrIy changed from hisfosmer
toviaI self Es had lost all his old Jolly Ways
and SEEMED hike nsau haunted by fearful
memory lie was nervous and unsociabie,
and his former twinkling eyes seemed filed
with a sI.iftlng. unsteady light The lines
upon his fare grew deeper. and the white that
tinged his barr grew more pcreeptible
S.ra gely enough. after my removal 10 Up
ington my old friend did not ask ms 10 call
A. a sS t. s.xtf.
ton One day called | found him in his
favorits room, and lnstinctiveiy looked for
the lily A cry burst from my lips as did 50.
There In the corner stod the grewsou,e
flower, looking stranger AMI more unnatural
than when | first siw 1t From a mixed
black and white the cup nf the flower mad
turned To duh dead h,ark and the tongue,
which dad b.en u dull red. wa. crimson, ~ II
| colored by pure life blood dontiis had pass
| ed since "A " II last, still this was the same
flower that had sen before
| A peculiar feelIn, OF fascination and hor-
| ror seized me- and | advanced toward the
| lily Claude Mortimer there before me.
| He stood betw, EN- the flower and me. his whole
| frame a-trcmole.
| Don't touch i'll" he gasped hoarseiy 1T
10 accnrsedi'
LET me look 1t it, Claude" said, endeav-
oring to choke down tho feeling Of horror In
my breast. ut is stransei'
| With reluctance he stepped aside and allow
/ ed me to again Inspect the flower. but all the
! while he cautioned! me not to touch It or to
| inhale too nu.h odor from the flower. The
sarne sweet yet sicseLing odor came from the
| flower. but now it was many times stronger
than before indeed. thIs odor was So strong
that I was sos compelled 70 seek . chair,
feeling faint and dizzy
II should think you would die, shut In
here with that thing" cried The odor 10
terriblei''
mot so very bad after you get accus-
toned 10 it," he replied, hesitatinsly In
deed If you are no, directly above it you will
not notice the t,lor at all after time
at is the straugest thing ever saw or
heard Of" declared 1t actually oils me
with horror Why. should dump the thing
| out doors"
face
NO no." he cried Il would not part
with 1t for anything"
That day when | parted with Claude Nor
timer did so fully cow need that there was
breast. and that in some way the black lily
was connected witt the cret How this
could hc could not imagine. yet something
seemed to tell me that it was
From that day | summed Claude Morti-
mer, for felt that there was "a dreadful stain
upon his hands OF this had no proof; yet
| In an unexplained manner | WAS convinced
that 1t was true.
| Two mouths passed., and one night a terri
BILE thunder storm passed. over uplngtou.
The morning came, bright and beautiful, and
at an early hour Claude Mortiner's negro
servant brought sisileienvelope to my door
and delivered II into my hands. He said that
his master had aroused him in the night and
| given him the envelofe with the request
that he bring it to me the first thing in the
morning
| With shaking hands and a strange PRESENT.
ment that some terrible event had happened,
. tore OXEN the envelope This is what read;
=, am "A murderer. | have resolved to
cake this confession u, the world, and to
morrow | viii be found dead in the room
where all now writing, while the thunder
bellows ia the heavens aud the Jagged light
ming relIds the dnr..ues, asunder the brand
of Cain Is Oh nv brow, for | slew my own
| brother ! will make the confession rs brief
| as possible, All then co.nes-deathi On the
day preceding the r.: night when Victor
Mortimer was murdered he aud qnarreled
conccru,n, our father, will In a rage
left the house and departed. mounted on the
| horse which was given me by my father
some years asu Twelve miles away
stopped Tor Tao uisht. putting up at q sleepy
| little hotel
When rrtiyed tn my room that night
-tiil nh
| tine house llsn Il terrible impulse seized
me Beneath my window was a low. sloping
shed With but little trouble cllInDed out
! upon II AMI reached the ground had seen
horse !esdin., III nci shboring pasture, and
by the ald OF occasional glc2;n OF moon
| light which st0le through The clouds | sue
cee'ied in fading and capturing that horsa
AS led him out of the pasture noticed
| long iron pin by which tie gate was fastened
| This took with me Within the hour
| runy at the door Of Mortimer Hall There
| werc uosorvants IN the house at the time. and
| Victor car, to the door TO asked who was
| there and answered.
"Unsusfecting. he opened the door and l
stepped in He was holding light in his
hand As be turned to close the door struck
him with the iron pin fairly on the back Of
| the head. putting all the force could into
| the blow lie fell dead at my feeti Then,
in order tn make it appear that the crime
was committed by u robler. tool his jewelry
uand money I hid the iron pin in a safe
yplace, and on the horses back fed away
through the night like the crime stained thing
that
What followed is well known | was re-
Icalled to the scene my terrible crime ]
uplayed my part well. and no one suspected me.
The iron pin wish which | committed the
/ murder troubled me the most. | feared that
| It would be found, and finally buried it in the
,ery bottom of isrye not in which stood q
| lily in full bloom 1len had the lily placed
n my room. that | might always stand
/ l ,uard over i; Two days later | noticed q
change ii tie appearance of the flower. !
Thought it was dying, but it was not. Slowly
{ turned black. and the small tongue in the
tenter became blood rcd | watched the
change with feeling Of horror that cannot
Ne described It seemed To me that the thing
was trytns, To tell of my terrible crime. Hun
iretts OF times have bcei tempted to destroy
t. but something, always kept me from doing
80 hoped that II would die. but week after
week. month after month. it stood there &C.