The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-09-26

for the whole block. Professional cour.
tesy, however, made 1t incumbent on me
that should call on him, which I did
in few days after his sign made its ap.
pearance at the door. Tsoftened toward
him as grew TO know him better, for
there was always something strangely
pathetic about his face. afterward met
his wife and frequently spent the even.
ing with them at cards or chess. From
the first noticed tendency to absent.
mindedness, a startled expression, lack
of interest in the surroundings, some.
times in the wife and sometimes in the
husband, which l could never satisfac.
torily explain. As time passed my visits
to the house became less frequent, for
the simple reason that the husband was
now scarcely ever in Of evenings. Once
or twice saw him coming home late at
night bearing unmistakable signs of in.
toxication. His wife, also, grew thin
and careworn. Her fresh beauty was
fast fading. It soon became evident to
me that my professional rival was not
leading a happy domestic life. His
patients began to leave him, and one
day he came over to my Office with his
breath heavy laden with alcohol, and
begged me to loan him dollar. Grad.
ually things went from bad to worse,
till one morning the block was aroused
by the cries of murder In a few
moments I was across the street, admin.
istering to the last wants of the dying
man.
"It seems he had come home late and
gone to his room, where, after leaving a
note to his wife, he had committed sui.
eide. The bullet passed through his
chest and lungs and he only lived few
moments after reached his side. Agnes
was siezed with fit of hysterical laugh.
ter, out of which she came raving
maniac. For ten days we had to confine
her to her room, after which she became
ouieter. She was then removed to the
asylum. The next year accepted the
appointment g; asylum physician. At
that time she had periods of sanity
which gradually heightened, until now,
with the exception of these periodical
attacks of dementia, which ocs1r but
once or twice a week, she is always in
the full possession of her normal mental
faculties"
SIN her rawlings, she spoke of not
giving the medicine. Has that anything
to do with her case ?" asked, eager to
hear more of her.
eyes, poor woman, that is the result
of long continued compunctions of con.
science. This hallucination is readily
explained by her actual experiences. 1t
seems that her first husband exercised a
peculiar power over her-a subtle mag
netism that kept her constantly under
his control. She said she feared him,
and was always conscious of terrible
power he exercised over her. She did
what he told her to do and she knew not
why. When he asked her to marry him
she complied, just as she would have
blindly obeyed him had he asked her to
shout. And so they were married, she
all the while under this strange fascina.
ton. He sapped her very soul her in.
dividuality and will were completely
gone. When her husband fell sick this
strange hynotic power grew less as his
strength and vitality failed. She realiz
ed more and more that she had never
loved him. i became interested in the
attending physician she said, 'and, al.
though was never by word or action
false to my marriage VOWS, I :somehow
or other became more and more con.
cious of my awful condition-bound to q
man who held me to him by the same
power that serpent charms a bird.
And now that influence was fast going.
grew to dread my husbands recovery.
began to loath him, for realized more
and more what terrible power he had
exercised over me. looked forward to
the visits of the physician with pleasure.
would count the hours till he would
come. He seemed to free me from some
venomous poison. I breathed freer
in his presence and felt that was my
self again. Finally, there came time
when the doctor told me all depended
upon the faithful administration of the
medicine he left. He said it was the last
chance, and that unless I gave him the
remedy faithfully every half hour dur
ing the night, my husband would surely
die. I trembled. thought of the hor'
rors of life with this man now loath
ed. Would do it faltered. I was
weak, with wild beating heart. ]
threw away the contents of the vial and
gave my husband water instead-Doctor
you know the rest"
"Then, indirectly, she is guilty Of
numbering her husband ?"