Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-05-30

and that from that moment Elsie,s life
! and mine would be life of happiness.
| On that night it was that nv little
sweetheart's cries pierced my mind while
/ was sleeping, and unconsciously rose,
with the intention of going to her rescue.
1t happened that those about me were less
watchful than usual, and thus succeeded
| in creeping, unobserved, to the top of our
| house. where short ladder leading to a
trap-door in the roof enabled me to reach
similar door in the adjoining house,
| which found unlocked. 1t was a dark
| night, and my enterprise was full Of dam
gers; but sleep-walkers are like cats. and
can walk safely on the edge of a precipice.
/ succeeded in raising the door in the roof,
! and, III total darkness, felt nv way down
| the stairs, guided doubtless by the little
maids cries for help and mercy. Dashing
| into the room in which the torture was
| being inflicted, I sprang upon the cruel
woman, and tore at her and beat her 20
that she, in her turn, probably more
| frightened than hurt, screamed loudly for
assistance. By this time my own people
were aroused, and, obtaining entrance in
to the adjoining house, bore me away to
nv room.
When 1 awoke in the morning had no
knowledge or recollection Of what had &C.
CURED, and I gathered the particulars
from those who were interested in them.
My bedroom door was found open, and
not in bed; the two trap-doors in the roofs
were open, proclaiming the means by
which left one house and obtained en-
trance to the other; Elsie drew livid pic
lures of my actions when I rushed into
her bedroom and sprang upon her STEP
mother and my own people supplied the
rest. The adventure made a great i'm
preston, and was long remembered and
spoken of, and from the day of its occur
renee / was more carefully watched at
home. Upon me it left perhaps, a deeper
impression than upon others, and in after
life l often thought of it. I was not pas
sionate or a vindictive man; very rarely
indeed did 1 allow anger to master me:
and 1 may truly declare that my nature
was more inclined to gentleness than to
violence. How was it; then, that upon
this occasion should have behaved more
like wild beast than a human beingf
For this is what l was given to under
stand by all the witnesses of the affair
Elsie said, ooh, Dick, you were dreadful:
your eyes blazedp' My guardians, instead
of plying or sympathizing with ME, re-
proved me, and gave me long lectures up-
on the passions; and the step-mother
swore that if help had not arrived she
would have been murdered. My fingers,
she averred, were fixed in her throat so
viciously that she could not remove them,
and in another minute she would have
been strangled. Never afterwards, in my
sleeping or waking hours, was charge
of violent or Incorporate behavior brought
81 1N,,+s
the incident were true, there was, sleeping
within me, some instinct of savagery
which needed only strong incentive to
leap into life To such man as I the re-
Election could not be otherwise than dis
tresSing.
When [ asked the good woman I mar.
ried to become my wife, related this in
cident of my child-life to her. She made
light of it, and L think it was chiefly
through her encouragement that the adj
venture was known in my household My
daughter, it appears, described it to Mdlle
Rosalie as diverting incident, and the
woman Of multifarious accomplishments
treasured it in her mind. During man
hood my somnambulistic propensities oc-
casionally broke out, but they were al
ways of the most harmless kind, and I
grew to regard them as of small moment.
Shortly, however, after the engagement of
Eunice and Harry I was greatly disturbed
by an incident to which l could attach no
satisfactory explanation. My wife told
me that she woke in the night and I was
not by her side. She was about to rise
and seek me, when / entered the room, I'M
dressed myself. and lay down in bed, being
all the time in a sound sleep.
81 have no remembrance - T said sof
going anywhere, or doing anything"
You never have" remarked my wife.
1T is very annoying" I observed. "I
wish to Heaven they had thrown bucket
OF cold water over me when 1 was a child.
1t might have cured me-"
To be continued