Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-10

sunniest days, that seemed to speak in thunder tones of the secrets it contained. A gloomy pile of masonry, with small, irOn-barred windows, and surrounded by high wail-there 1t stood. a curse upon the face of nature.
 Could those walls have spoken, what terrible things would they have told stories of the poor creatures who had entered there rational beings, but whose minds had become shattered beneath tho awful tortures in vogue there. Every day and night those gloomy, forbid.iing walls resounded with the wild sh:ieks and lamentable groans of the wrc:., led people who beat upon the doors and tore at their hair in the widest manner i'm aginable.
 No wonder all those connected with the asylum became hardened; daily lii,. with such surroundings was enough to .y:llcn the heart of any man, no matter what l mercy and goodness had dwelt thcrc be- fore.
 In ono of the little cell-like rooms was Nora Warner.
 They had brought her back senseless, ] and when she awoke to life oncn more, l it was to find herself within the confines 1 of the hated asylum where sine had al- l ready spent so many months of weary agony.
 Up to this time Dr. Grim had not boon very particular about infiicting any of tho tortures of the place upon hor, for his orders had principally been to hold | her a prisoner. If she wont insane, overcome by the horrors that surrounded | her, well and good-in fact so much the 1 bettcr-but so long as he received his pay and the captain was satisfied, tho doctor cid not waste his time in dealing severely with Nora Warner, when he had his hands full at any rate. Every now and then new patients ar- rived at the asylum, which was always full. and 1t might be noticed that just preceding each new arrival corpse was carried out of tho back door. There was nothing secret about this matter of burial, and the people living in the vicinity had little idea of the hot-bed of iniquity they were fostering in their midst.
 l It seems they had not given No. Warner credit for the sagacity she pos sessed.
 Sho had escaped from the house, and fate had assisted to throw them off their guard by sending tho poor girl with whom Nora had exchanged her shawl and hat, to her death in the river.
 The doctor was enraged when he re- turned home, though he did not show It.. Indeed, the more serious his anger, as a general rule, the moro smiling became his face, but there was death in that smile.
 He realized that by the escape of Nora Warner his institution had been placed in very great danger, for had she gone to tho proper authorities they would have adjudged her perfectly sane, and then believed her story. which would have meant ruin, financially. to him.
 He trembled with fear and anger when- ever he thought of the narrow escape he had had, and inwardly swore that it should never occur again.
 Nora Warner was the first sane person to escape from the walls of his domain. and she should be the last. Before a month wont by he would cause her to lose her reason, and then If she should manage to get out, her talk would be an incoherent tumble of nonsense.
 From the glowing description of the mad-house doctor. of tho 'princely home" ho provided for his poor patients, one would imagine much that was pleas ant, from padded cells to elegant furni- ture and Brussels carpets.
 Alas! for the reality.
 Tho cell of Nora Warner Was O fail sample of those in the institution, with the exception of Q few comfortable ones that were occupied by those whose rela lives really cared for them. and who had not suspected what a den they were sending tho poor unfortunates to.
 With the exception of small iron cot fastened to the floor, and chair, secured in the same way, the cell was entirely destitute of furniture. The walls were damp and cold, and from the barred win dow ono could look down into the ground: of the asylum.
 Beyond the great stone wall the pris oner could see the waters of the Potomac glistcning in the afternoon sun, as sh. stood there one day, hcr white hands crossed. and a strange look upon he face.
 On that morning she had received he first terrible punishment. that of allowing cold water to fall upon her head for
 certain length of time, and she shud dered even then at the recollection o l that torture.
 She knew that the edict must hay, gone forth, that the doctor must hav' received orders from the Captain tt
 complete the terrible work, and ther'
 were times when a nameless chill crop
 over her frame at the bare thought o
 being made mad.
 Up to this time, in the midst of thes
 horrors she had maintained her reason
 simply because of her strong will, bu
 none knew better than Nora Warne that ere many weeks passed, if the wate
 torture were continued, she would be a : stark, staring mad as any inmate of tn
 place.
 Her heart had always been very bite toward the man to whom she was in debted for her incarceration, but now seemed as though the very blackness o hate had settled there, and, shoul Heaven bo kind enough to ever set he free again, she would follow him to tn