AN EXPERIENCE IN ADDING TON GAOL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2361, 31 July 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

AN EXPERIENCE IN ADDING TON GAOL.

[By Jaukew.J

Physical and mental prostration wa .succeeded !>y dozy . q leep, When In awoke'he was delirious, He knev where he was, hut he had forg'Htei that ho wat undergoing medical lr* t uient, and velieinently demands hi: release, He becomes .a prey to tin most fearful horrors, and suffers tin nioat exquisite tortures. Watcli bin now,as he stands, with blanket wrappec round his left arm, and a pannikiu—the unly weapon ho, can find—in lib right hand. He imagines that lie is to be butchered in cold Mood. He hear; —ob.! off (MsMiictlv" —the faint Roiinr of st« ; ' by', footsteps hurryini; ti bis eel!.. and' alert". and farm he ■ •!«• : ili'ievmiriwl' to ••; sell hit lifeilf'i'/1.. Tli'. ; . footsteps"pause, tin nidi door moves, and he backs to tin comer of the cell, his aviuß upraised a.verv npi'vfi Rtrained to the ntniost, anc his eyes seintillatiiiff with (i dangeroui light. If he'only hail a'weapon, Hi alls aloud for help.' At last, woariw 1 md resigned, he exclaims, " (hw anc 'inish me, you cowards; I Hin'.ready 0 die." Lying down, he listens in ;ently, but no one comes, No sleej 'or him, for he has murdered sleep. Like Macbeth, he bears a voice crying 1 Sleep'iio more." In the morning lit sto be executed—for what he knows lot—it may be' State reasons, Morn ng comes, and tbe gaol bells rings, lis the signal for bis executions. He ;an hear them hammering away at the caffold. It matters little now, for he uffers more than the pain of death, .'he warder speaks to him soothingly, ad hands him his rations of bnad nd tea. After tasting that be is taken ut to the yard for exercise. There re prisoners on remand walking about here, and their sole topic of conversaion appears to be liis appioaching ex> cution. Why. lias the idea that ho is bout to be bung seized him 1 Possibly he unusual confinement is the cause. le catches the word reprieve, and lings to the.hope as a drowning man fill clutch a straw, The morning is lear, still, and bright, but to him it is ull of fearful sounds, Hark 1 there stbe sound of a conflict outside the ;aol walls. A party of friends, bis old ompanions in a Volunteer corps, are ttempting to rescue him. The gaol is n its pormal condition, the prisonets t work and the wardeision duty lint lis distorted vision.views with horror , black flag being.slowly hoisted to tell he outer world that be is dead, He briekstbat be is still alive, and cheers o his friend to tbe rescue. There is

a stubborn fight—the sharp reports of musketry—the clashing of arms and the cries of the wounded are vivid realities to him, and he groans at his inability to help the friends and schoolmates; who are fighting' aud'dyihg for liim. There comes a lull, his friends are beaten off. There is no hope, no hope, and he turns and he turns and watcheß the prisoners and

warders, and -wonders' which 'dri'e of them will despatch him. Hold, there is yet a chance, and he rnslies fiom the oulor gate, which is open for n few seconds, Too late \it is closed Wore him, and the warder quietly motions him hack. Note with, what cunning he hovers round near that heap of stones, They are. the only things he cair fling at his foes should they attack him. That unarmed warder never knew what a danger he ran that day, There is a deviish tugging and prompting at the man's heart to strike him with a stone as he passed within three' yards. But thin fierce desire is restrained, Now a curious change comes over him. ; He fancies he is a spiritualist, and his actions are guided by the spirits of the dead and those who are far away. The Queen has heard his tale, and has cabled an order for his release, fie informs the warder, who merely' smiles and takes his patient back to bis cell. Then he receives good news; he is made a magistrate, and demands his release, without avail Further honors are in store for him.; he is. appointed Governor of New Zealand and '. High Commissioner, of • the Pacific, and a man of-war is on thu way out to convoy bim home to receive a peerage, Her Majesty sends a cablegraphic order for £IOO,OOO in his favor, to enable, him to support' his honors with becoming dignity. Offering a free pardon to all concerned, he commands the gaoler to release him. The. gaoler is inexorable. No wonder, because he has received the money the Queen sent, and he hits determined to poison him and holt off with the spoil. The patient now refuses all foal, alleging that the beef tea, milk, and I roth are poisoned with U(Odte. A. winder, in whom he has still some lingering faith, guarantees that the nourishment; is harmless and strengthening, and he at last consents to take it, but he refuses to drink tea, because he had read of several cases of delirjum ■ tremens among hospital nurw;s, who had been in the habit of drinking large quantities of the comforting I'iiU'i'Mi/e;,--- No sign of lec-m-eiT yet, and lie is-abont to lie removed to Mi'imvsiiie., biit the'doc tor decides to w it, fun her development 0 . Tin 1 delusions change with marve||i,ii:; rapj.iiiy. He js now , smitten wi h a | 'a'hsome di-tea-ie, ami he vociferates f.r iV '(■n , .-< l- . The

doctors -come in troops, iir V !| adjacent to him are full of learue-l physicians attempting to diagnose his case. They disuuw the advisability of killing him in order to prevent' the contagion spreading. The Gaol Surgeon is particularly anxious lor his death, because ho wants his skull as a curio to garnish his study. At length he hears a Ijrm step, and the clank of a sable on the pavtunent outside, It is his brother, clad in the uniform of.an officer of bliu guards, conversing with

the gaoler. Tho gaoler assures the ollher that his broth"! 1 is dead. He goes away, and the last hopp is dead. Snaky forms glide and twist across the floor, Basilisk eyes glare and fati cinate him, and hellish, faces and mocking voices leer aed laugh at his agony. The gas is turned down low in the eell, and ho stands up and gazes through the window. It is a moonlight night, and he can see that- the. yard is swarming with enemies. They run to and fro, and occa'ioually tire

shots at bim. He turns oiiulik gas and watches, )he window shakes; they areclainheiiiig up the laddi'i' to get at him, Now for it—quick !He springs to the window, dashes his fist through, the glass, and, shakes th» ladder to the ground, The wash alarms the, warder, and the patient is removed to another cell, The doctor comes next day, and his practised eye detects a gleam of returning sanity, hut it will take a fev days yet before the mental balance of the patient is restored, Another voice now calms him by stating that he ha 3 been fooled and misled. That day be inquired how long he has been confined, mid he is told ten days, He asks for a book, He is sanp once pre. Strause, that although he bad lost all record of time, be still, after the lapse of three years, remembers clear'y all the dreadful phantasms of ihat.terriMe time, and he shudders at the recollection,