Year: 1879

An old man, whose kindly counte-
nance had become familiar to me, as in
vision, appeared and sought to rally my
dependency with words of hope and en-
couragement.


" You have bad o long, bad spell,
Harden" he remarked, "but you are
coming around all right now, and will
soon be out in the world again"


Then was not in prison, hut an in
sane asylum. Thank heaven, my wretch
ed guilt had not been discovered.


And then l learned from the old man
the circumstances of my arrest as luna
tic, and the nature of my afiiction. In the
operation OF trepanning at the hands of
unskilled surgeons, a email splinter of
the fractured skull had been left adher-
ing in a position to irritate the men-
brane of the brain, and this trifing over
sight had caused the insanity attended
with such sad results, to blast the hap
piness of my life forever, and stamp my
memory with the ignominy of murder.


The arrangement had been effectively
repaired by the skilled surgeon of the
asylum, and my mind rapidly recovered
its original power. But what availed it,
[ reflected bitterly; and why had been
restored from peaceful lunacy to q con-
sciousness to which death would be
relief.


One morning the old attendant of whom
l had spoken interrupted my gloomy
meditations with a eountenance more
than usually cheerful, that seemed to
radiate the light of some hidden hope.


Harden" he remarked, "you are
growing vigorous again in both body
and mind. have a message for you
that may excite you little. Do you
think you can stand an agreeable sur
prise 2"


Anything agreeable to hear would
indeed be surprise, 1 replied. "But,
my dear friend, fear the world could
now hardly afford message to me suffi-
GENTLY pleasurable to inspire any appre-
ciable excitement"


"Well, if you are confident to that
extent, will permit the bearer OF the
message to impart it directly to you."


The old man withdrew, and presently
returned with a companion. A thrill,
premonitory of some great surprise,
startled me as l heard the approaching
footsteps"


l raised my eyes. Great heavens |
they met the old love-look of my wife,
ready to advance into my arms.


The ardor with which l returned her
embrace was assuring that my power of
nerve was restored.


The last great hallucination was dis
PEELED, and ray of gladness burst in
upon my heart, streaming through the
dark cloud of despair that had hung
over me those long and wretched years.
laughed and wept by turns. And then
drew the restored treasure of my life
more firmly to my breast, fearful was
still in a dream that might vanish and
leave me again in misery and despair.


"And how did you follow me here ?"
demanded, when sufficiently collected
to make the inquiry.


"There is your address," my wife re-
piled, handing me an Eastern paper
containing the following paragraph,
copied from San Francisco paper:


For STOCKTON. unknown man
was taken from a boarding house on
Sansome street yesterday, and brought
before the commissioners of lunacy, and
by them committed to the asylum at
Stockton. From what could be gathered
from his incoherent talk, his name is
Charles Harden, from New York city,
and he imagines himself to have COM
mitted some serious crime. His insanity
is caused by fracture of the skull,
which has been improperly trepanned." "


"And who was it that l struck down
and killed?"


"Your own reflection in oIaHpier-glass
mirror, which was shattered to atoms
the night you disappeared.


And so it was my own second self, and
none other.


We remain in California, my wife and
I, for its air is genial and its skies blue
and bright; and if at times L recall the
recollection of those long years of
wretchedness and despair, it is that the
contrast may render the present more
peaceful and happy,