Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-09-05
a Trying Predicament.
Observation-Disclosures


"Twin brothers?" I said, looking from
one to the other.
Eyes, we are twins" said Mr.. Will
liam. Unfortunately, Charles is pc
culiar in his manner, and l wish you
to look after HMM fact, to be his con-
slant companion"
His constant companion" l repeat
ed. What! Is he crazy? 1 asked,
aside, of Mr.. William.
eyes, a little out of his head" he re-
piled. ''You must be careful not to let
him get the upper hand Of you in any
way, and when he is violent, there is a
strait-jacket," he said, showing me the
article on a sideboard.
"All right" 1 said. "Now, as l un-
derstand you, must use this when 1
think proper to do 500"
eyes," he replied, whenever you
have occasion to. OF course, you must
ues proper judgment and not be too Vi
olent. I can see by your looks that you
are a very powerful man-in fact, I
pride myself on being so fortunate as to
secure YOU"
He was right in his judgment as to
my powers; 1 have met few men in
my lifetime who eQualed me in
strength.
During our conversation Mr.. Charles
sat STILL without saying a word. 1
gain compared them. The similarity
# features, build, even their hair,
which was gray, was remarkable; both
vore their Whiskers alike 1t was the
irst time in my life I was puzzled in
making a distinction whereby I could
cell one man from another.
As a last resource I was obliged to
make a note of their different costumes,
in order to know Mr.. Charles apart
from Mr.. William.
What II l was to mistake Tin nv
routine as keeper and nurse), one
brother for the other? A dread of the
fearful consequence that would follow
came over me, and 1 can assure YOU
it was some time before l could reat
easy in mind.
Mr.. William retired leaving me with
my charge. The change, at least, fur
nished the pressing requirements for
the time. Unsuited though it was to
my taste, l soon fell into the dull
routine the life Of a nurse to mad
man furnishes, and, before a week was
up, felt myself perfectly able to take
any first-class position that offered as
keeper of the unfortunate insane COM
mGnity.
Mr.. Charles, at times, was violent
and rough in his manner, but after l
had given him a taste Of the strait
jacket few times he troubled me very
little. Occasionally he would go down
on his knees and plead love for an i'm
aginary lady, then start up with blus-
tering air, and order me out of the
room as if l had no business there.
And really, | must say, there was very
little need Of my staying by him all
the time; but 1 was paid for it, so 1
was obliged to obey.
They were both bachelors. having
considerable property. Mr.. Charles be-
came insane few years previous. His
brother preferred taking charge of him
instead Of sending him to an asylum.
At times Mr.. William did not appear
as rational as he should be, but it was
his peculiar manner. l learned from
the servants that he had been for years
paying his addresses to a Miss Steb-
Gins, an elderly maiden lady belonging
to one Of the first families Of Louisville.
She often visited the house. He would
be very tender in his manner toward
her and would offer his arm when they
walked in the garden, but marriage, or
any arrangement to that end, was never
limited at. He seemed to be content
with paying the polite addresses due
from an engaged swain to the object Of
his choice, and there it. ended. It was
evident that he was either too bashful
to proceed with his suit beyond that
mark, or else the lady objected to him,
and preferred single blessedness to the
duties and cares of married life.
The latter seemed improbable, as
Miss Stebbins, when they promenaded
on the piazza, hung lovingly on his
arm and threw such sweet glances at
her escort that they betrayed her will
lngness to unite her fortunes with his.
Then it was clear that the fault was
altogether on the part of Mr. William.
AS the summer advanced, Miss Steb-
bins came oftener. The greenhouse re-