Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-11
ALONE WITH A LUNATIC.
A Case of Lunacy Mistaken fl
Drunkenness md q Narrow Escape

Case of Lunncy Mistaken for
Drunkenness and a Narrow Escape.
AS Star reporter was walking along
Pennsylvania avenue with a well-known
Washington correspondent, the jaunting
car from st. Eliza beth's, with a load OF
patients out for an airing. drove by.
II can't say that am greatly enamored
of that kind Of folk" commented the cor
respondent.
Nor IT, responded the reporter, "but ]
have great charity for their misfortune"
Surely. and so does everybody, but
had an experience once that has always
affected my charity and made me suspi-
cious.'
Tell it, said the reporter.
"All right" and the correspondent pro-
ceeded. about dozen years ago
worked In a western city, and among my
friends was an attorney who had as his
stenosrapher a strapping big fellow who
had reputation as an athlete and some
what Of a crank. In any event, he had an
rgly disposition, and when he was drinking,
as he was at times, he was not a pleasant
party to have around. 1t was through me
he had secured his position in my friend S
office and while he and l were on the best
of terms, he did not like his employer a
little bit, but he kept at his work faith
fully and held his place because he was
most Skillful man. One day as l dropped
into the lawyers office 1 heard the two
men Quarellng, and as / appeared on the
scene the big fellow made a rush for his
employer with blood in his eye.
Il jumped and caught him around the
middle. calling to the lawyer to get out of
the office as the man was drunk and not
accountable and the lawyer got out in a
hurry. thought it would be an easy thing
to quiet him, bat in a minute 1 discov-
cred that 1 had made serious mistake,
for he turned on me, AMI as l caught his
eye. 1 saw he was not drunk, but crazy,
JI-ill ind of ~,
stead of trying to Soothe him. l tried to
follow my friend, the lawyer but the luna
tic, with blood curdling kind of a laugh,
caught me in his big arms and began to
slowly squeeze the life out of me-
Il was as helpless as a baby, and though
l tried to make fight, 1 could only kick,
and he laughed at me, with his face SO
close to mine that he almost smothered me.
l yelled once. but only once. for with a
sudden turn he threw me around tripped
me and fell upon me with his hands
ciutc led on my throat so tightly that my
breathing stopped. After that didn't know
any more, my last consciousness being of
that horrid, grating, crazy laugh, until I
opened my eyes and found myself on a
sofa in the private room of the office
Ihe crazy man was gone. but the law
ger, physician, policeman and three or
four other people Were standing around,
and though l did not ask Where am To-
after the prescribed fashion of people I'M
der such circumstances. l must have look
ed 1t. for my friend said: You're all right,
old man. and 1 found pretty soon that 1
was, but it took me a long time to get over
the shock Of it. NJ friend, the lawyer, ex-
planned that when he got out, he waited at
the door until 1 should have queted the
man, but when he heard the struggle and
yell for help. ne hustled after a policeman
and got back just in time to save me- The
crazy man never recovered and within a
year had butted his brains out against the
wall of an ordinary cell, where he had
been placed for an hour or two while some
repairs were making in his own padded
CELL