Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-09-20

me-
"No: am greater fool than he, l
have given way to passion such as no
doubt influenced him, and | have less ex-
cuse-God help me !" and he turned and
left the stables with his hands covering
his face.
helped the groom to rise and saw him
safely into the servants quarters, where
he would no doubt be attended to by his
fellows. and then sought Hennell in the
drawing-room. He was not there, but
Mrs. Hennell sat there, some embroidery
in her hands, and placid smile on her
face.
"Well, you have finished your cigars,
but where is Frank ?"
Again that dream forced itself before
me. l pictured to myself Hennell grasp
ing the groom's throat, while ten thousand
devils looked out from his eyes, and l
thought, Had it been her throat and no
one near to save herr
Why should | not warn her as to her
husbands temper, and either tell her my
dream or at least beseech her to guard
against arousing his passion?
| | trembled with excitement, but |
strove to be calm, and, taking her hand in
mine, had just begun telling her what had
passed in the stables, when the door opened
and Hennell entered.
| was in so'nervous state that | have no
doubt l looked altogether confused; and
| Mrs. Hennell herself was agitated by my
manner and my opening words begging
her to listen calmly to what was about to
| say.
Hennell looked keenly at both of us,
but said no word, and, after a little forced
conversation between myself and Mrs.
Hennell, | begged to be excused and re-
tired to my room, as | was staying with
them for the night.
| retired to my room, but not to rest. /
was too excited to think about sleep, so
drew an easy chair in front of the fire,
which burned brightly in the CRATE, and
sat down to ponder over the events of the
day. had had long ride with Hennell
/ during the afternoon as special holiday,
and was physically tired; so that Nature,
aided by the warmth and comfort of the
room. asserted her rights, and | fell asleep.
How long / slept do not know, but long
: enough to dream again the dream of a
year ago, and once more | suffered the
agony of seeing the man seize the woman
| by the throat; but this time he suddenly
cast her from him and she fell heavily
upon the floor. heard the sound of her
fall and sprang up, wide awake, and an
! irresistible impulse moved me to seize the
lamp and rush to the landing
There | was met face to face by Hennell,
and, merciful Heaveni what face was
his 1t seemed to wear the stamp of years
of agony.
"For Gods sake, come with me, Stud
holme-my wife is dying or deadp were
his words, as he led me into his bedroom.
There, on the floor in front of her toilet
table, lay his wife in her dressing gown,
which was open at the breast, and her
raven tresses fell in all their glory over
her bosom.
knelt beside her, aud laid my hand on
her heart. Thank Heaven, it still beat,
though her face and lips were ashy pale.
AS bent low to see if she breathed, saw
by the light of the toilet candles three dis
tinct finger marks upon her snow-white
throat. 1t was all true, then-he had
tried to strangle her.
Hennell himself stood in front of the
fire in a dazed condition, twining his fng-
ers together like puzzled child. In a
| harsh voice | bade him get some brandy,
and meantime bathed his wife's forehead
with cold water She was evidently
| stunned by the fall, and must have struck
her head against some piece of furniture
in falling. There were no real signs of
asphyxia, thank Heaven and | knew she
would speedily recover consciousness; so,
having administered to her little of the
brandy which Hennell brought, and wit
messed the first deep breath which har-
| bingered returning consciousness, | slipped
out of the room, whispering Hennell to
come to me for further instructions later
on. He came to my room half an hour
after, and, in reply to my query as to how
Jared his wife, he said in low, broken
| voice:
"Better, better than l deserve-God
help mep and sinking into chair gave
way to such violent weeping that, in spite
of the hardness Of my heart just then, |
fairly pitied the man.
l spoke sharply to him, as he was hy-
sterical, and bade him pull himself to-
gether and act the man; but he replied in
despair:
II am no longer man. have laid
hands upon woman, and she the noblest
! anu LIu6sb hOiudu lIldL CNOl olCppSd Ou
Gods earth p He would have told me
all there and then, but l would not listen,
and bade him return to his wife and watch
her with care until she slept.
Poor devil he did watch, as / after
wards learned from his wife; for when she
was awakened by the sun streaming
through the window-blinds he was still
sitting before the empty fireplace, his face
buried in his hands and his elbows resting
on his sknees. At her first movement $50 she
told me- he rose from his seat and knelt
by her bedside, declaring he would never
rise again antil he had received pardon,
and offering there and then to 90 away, if
she so desired, leaving her house and
grounds and half his fortune l need
scarcely say that he was forgiven and did
not 90 away; and that in truth this strange
and violent scene, and the bitter repent
ance which followed on Hennells part,
only bound husband and wife in closer
ties.
heard the whole story afterwards fir ON
HennelPs own lips-how that the row
with the groom had thrown him entirely
off his balance, and let loose the demon of
passion which had been long chained up.
One devil loose had brought in another for
company, viz, Jealousy, and he had
charged his wife with dishonorable rela-
tions with myself, The scorn with which
she treated the charge being too proud
even to rebut it, had maddened him, and
he had actually seized her by the throat,
when she stepped backward, and, her foot
catching in her dressing gown, she fell,
and was stunned by the fall.
Thus had my dream been realized, real
lied partly by its own baleful influence
upon myself and others; but there still
remains the mystery-why did see those
two faces in my dream? why were they as
sociated together in the dream, as they
were afterwards in reality? | confess it
has shaken my skepticism as regards the
things mot dreamed of in our philos-