A THRILLING ADVENTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 161, 20 May 1873, Page 3

A THRILLING ADVENT URE.

Fivr jearsngo, I was book-fcepor at the Grand Elevator, in the city of Cincinnati. The Elevator is it very laigc buildlug, being 120 feet m height ; and when you look from its upper windows the head grows dizzy, and tho other houses around seem to be \en unprctend.ng -liuntie? I had been in the po-.it ion of clerk in the Elevator for one year, and liked tl.e situation >erv will. I had gi\eu satisfaction to my employers, and they had pronn.-.ed an advance in my salary ih the cour-e of a few weeks. Tin-, of course, was particulurh pleasant to me, for I was looking forward to the time- when I could claim Emma Vane ior my own. At that time I thought I should not bo justified in claiming her, as it requirod nearly my entiro salary to support myself and my aged mother. One day a lady and gentleman came into the office, and asked to look through the building. This was no uncommon occurrence, as persons were often attracted by the immense edifice, and frequently wished to see it. In reality, there wr;is not much to be seen, except dust and a loug line of stairs. The work of ascending the stairs was laborious ; nevertheless there trained to be any amount of persons who wore ready to rauke the ascent,, mereh, I suppose, to bavo it to sa\ that they hud been up to the top of the immense building. On tho day named, when in company with the lady and genllemuu I had reached the upper landing, I thought I heard a blight rustle behind some of the machinery 5 but I took little notice of it at the time, supposing it to hare been occasioned by tho rats. We descended, and the lady and gentleman, after entering the office and having some of the dust brushed off their clothes, left me alone with my books. Shortly after the visitors left, I went for my supper, and returned soon after dark. I had never been required to stay in the Elevator after nightfall ; bnt the watchman who remained during the night was unwell that day, and I volunteered to staj m hu plate. The machinery was always kept in motion during tho night, and the watchman was required to ascend regularly at tuehe o'clock to attend to some part of its movement I knew that this was all that would bo necessary for me to <lo; and so I laid myself down on a settee to take a uap ; but, before I did so, I gave the engineer orders to awake me at the time for going to the top of the building. At the time appointed, I was duh awakened ; and taking a lantern, I proceeded on my upward journej. Truly, it was a loneh , dismal tramp. I had ne^cr made the ascent after nightfall; and I half wi«heil, before I had 1 cached the fourth iloor, that I had allow ed some person else to act as w atchmnn, as one of my employers wished me to The click clack of the machinery, the dickering light of my lantern, and, tho dust arising all around me, certainly formed a. very dismal picture. I reached the upper landing, attended to the change of the machinery , »ntl about turning to go down, when a wild, fearful yell broke upon my cars. My hair seemed to stand on end, and a cold sweat broke out all over me. Thu next instant a huge form sprang upon me, and I knew I was in the hands ot a madman. By the dim light of the lantern, I could see his flaming, fiery eye, and my heart failed me. What if he should attempt to throw me from one of the w indows ! I knew I should be as a child in his grasp. " Ha, ha 1 " he shrieked; "I've found jou at last! I have aon now under my feet — ha, ha! — and your brains shall bpatter the pa\cment below in less than five minutes ! Say jour prnu'ru, stripling ! " Horrois! was Ito die thus ? The sweet face of Emma Yanc rose before me, and I was determined to sell mv life as dearly as possible. The lantern was upset in tho struggle, but the light was not extinguished, and I managed to set it upon its bottom again. I wanted light for the struggle which I knew must ensue. I grappled with him, but my strength was as nothing compared with his. He caught me in hih arms, and, bearing me to the nearest window, dashed out the sash with his heavy boot. I struggled again, caught at the window, and lacerated my hands fearfully on the broken gla«s. Then I shrieked with all my power ; but the streets, far below, were deserted, and amid the rumble and the ryar of the machinery, it was impossible for tbe engineer to hear my cry. "Ha, ha 1 jou may yell'" said the madman, in exultant tones ; " but yelling wdl do no good. You're a doomed man, I tell you. Your brains shall sputter the psu cment in three minutes ! " I uttered a prayer n< I was thru-t through the window and commented the fcarlul full. All my past life rushed before me, and I thought of the anguish of my mother and my betrothed wife when they heaid of my fate. Horror of horrors ! Another thought flashed upon* me. The madman would be gone, and they woul'l believe I had died the death of a suicide Oh, how could I endure this 3 Fortunately, I was thrown out of a, window below which was a scaffold. The sides of the building were covered with slate, some of which had been knocked oil 1 , and workmen had that day been engaged in making repairs and the scaffold was left standing. Of course I did not think of this m the struggle. A fall of ten feet brought me to the scaffold, and I wasonb slightly stunned. "I'm Safe," I muttered, in thankfulness; for I believed the madman would think I had fallen to the ground, and would retire from thebuildmg My ]oy wnsof shoit duration, for the maniac caught up my lantern, and swung it out, perhaps mthe hope of seeing my mangled remains m the street below. " Ha, La! you're lound a resting-place, have jou? "Well? you'll not rest long ; you'll take another flight, and a longer one. Ha, ha' " As he said this, he sprang from the window, and alighted beside me. And now ensued a fearful struggle. We" were near the end of the scaffold — I saw my chance ; one of the boards was loose. I sprung from him, tipped up the end of the board on -which he stood, and he wus hurled into eternity. I shall never forget that frightful ycU as he went over. It made the blood curdle in my veins. * I heard him striko the ground, and then I fainted, and knew no more until I saw faces at the broken window above, and knew that some persons were making preparations to draw me up. The engineer had become alarmed (it my absence, and had come up to see whtt was the matter The madman had escaped from a lunatic asylum a few days before, and had hid himself on the upper floor of tho Elevator. Since that night my hair has been as white as the drivon snow.

E:>GAr,En --I say nothing of the difficulty which rt lady in that delicate position has to encounter, for we all know that they experience but little difficulty in making themselves perpetually agreeable — at least before marriage ; but with regard to a man, thinking of the amiable and excusable deceptions he is forced to be guilty of — the real distaste, but professed pleasure, with which he accompanies " the beloved object " to the festive boaid of some oppresive family friend, where for two mortal hours at least he has to sit, the observed of all observers, next to the idol to whom he has bceu paying unceasing devotion for the greater portion of the day, and to whom he has to make himself agreeable— having exhausted every scrap of news, every conceiveable subject of conveisation 1 He is afraid to venture upon any tender aside, for fear he should be thought silly ; or to keep much to generalities, for fear he shculd be considered slow. I h.vve, indeed, remarked engaged couples who have been content to sit in blissful silence, wrapped in contemplation of their approaching happiness ; but such a state of quiescence is rarely observable, and can scarcely be preserved for rr k an indefinite period. One of my earliest recollections of such a couple is when thoy were sitting in this state of tranquil calm, and forming a very limited hand-in-hand mutual assurance company of their^ own ; but their example is scarcely to be quoted, as the purfnership v.19 shortly afterwards dissolved for ever, and the lady and gentleman arc at present thousands of miles apart and each belonging to i another firm. It is impossible for a man of buwneas not to sympathise with an eminent ph)sician, who informed his luture wife that he had no time for courtship, but that if she would marry him, and be ready on a certain day, he should be happy to meet her at the church and make her his bride. It is not every man, however, who can venture, with any probability of success, to bring matters to so practical an issuo ; and there is another caso I liavo heard likely to be more common, of an unfortunate middle-aged gentleman who, from the perpetnal harrassment, fell, for tho 13r»t timo in lm life, a victim to tho pout. All his friends imagined that the wedding, which at this crisis hud nt lnst becomo due, would be postponed; but tho natural firmness of the patient's character exhibited itself on tho elcTetith hour, or rather 11 30, when lie was led into the church between two best men, and on the evening of the name day was on his way to commence a Vichey- (ous) course of living in a famous watering-place, accompanied by his charming bride. — Temple Bar. " What is the principal business carried on in this place ?" asked a traveller of a person in the village. " Tho manufacture of ready-made clothing," was the reply. " You aro a queer set to spend your time in the manufacture- of what is already made," said the traveller. Switchy. — The following is an Irish advertisement verbatim — " To be fold, a splendid grey horso, enlrnlatDd for a charger, or would carry a lady with a switch tail." A. lady about to marry was warned that her intended, although a good man, was very eccentric. " Well," she said, " If he is unlike other men, he id moat likely to make a good husband." Its Origijt.— Somebody asled a Paris editor : "Whero do you get your intelligence from ?" ?From the papers." "Wlev do the papers get it?" From otlior pn pot u. " But who 19 tho firHt authory of it ?" " Nobody." "What is the difference between a good conscience and .1 briwlcr. I'—Ouo1 '— Ouo foils in tbo light, and the other rojls in tho fight.

f A CAb!; of I'hi^ov Di-cu-lim i» !).•]>: .—V Im | which hn-. excited a. yood de.il ot public mtciest onmvount o the ollicial position of the defendant, uud the altentioi recently called to tho sublet of priion discipline, bus bix'i brought to a close, iifli>r 1 i-l ><ji tluee d.n-, m the Court o Queen's Bench in Dubliu 'J he j>l tint tti >.a-> Mr l'mli, i civil engineer, who w.m rmunutteil l»>r tlobL to tlie Foui Courts' Marsh alsea, in June last, and the defendant was Ml Caulfield,thegovernorol th pruu'i hi Aunusthisl thoplamt ifl complained verb.il] \, and bv letter Unit his rooms were- duty and the sanitary state ot the pr.aon was shainefulh neglected Tho deputy-marshal 1 and local inspector visited him und dissented from his statements, and one of the hatchmen, whom he asked to bring a, complnint to tho governor, whistled at hrni, and remarked that it would bo " a nice message to briny to a gentleman." At length tho governor himself, with his deputy and two hatehmen, called to sec the rooms and an altercation ensued between them. The defendant charged him with injuring the panel of the dour, on which he had written a word with his finger to show tli.it il wn» covered with dust The plaintiff denied that lie had injured it, and when the charge was leported he said it was a "great untruth." The defendant became indignant, and threatened him with cell punishment. lie warned the defendant that he would indict it nt his peril. Altar some time the governor •ent for him, but he did not go, and subsequently, meeting Mr OauMield in the) .ml, was told that he had been sentenced to six hours' confinement, the defendant adding in a loud tone, in presence of other prisoners, " I will teach you to bo r.'spectiul sir.' He was according y removed and locked up in a small empty cell, lighted onh iroin the top, and which he snore was badly ventilated «nd in a filthy condition, though other witnesses contradicted him. For this imprisonment he brought an action, and claimed £1,000 damages. The defence was that he mlnnged the prison rules, and that he was empowered to punish him, and justified m doing so. lit the course of the trial the report of the Hon Mr BourLe, Inspector of Prisons, was referred to, in which it was obsened that tho disciplmo of the prison was rather la\. The Chief Ju-ticc, in charging the jurj, hid it down that to justify his imprisonment tho words u»ed In the pluntiU'must have been violent, abusive, and calculated to cause a broach of the peace. If a case had been established within the rules, however arbitrary they might be thought, the defendant would be protected, but if not, ho exceeded his authority , and was liable for the consequences. The jury found for the plaintiff, with £1 0 damages, and costs. Our correspondent (X. Z. Herald) at the Bay of Islands relates the follow ing desperate attempt at assassination :—: — A tragedy occurred on the beach on Tuesday night, which h&s filled our minds w lth horror, and has caused a theme for general comment. About nine o'clock in tho evening, when several of the officers of the Rainbow were standing upon Vilcoq's wharf, two ef the crew, Epwright and Fisher, approached Mr Garritly, the fourth mate, and Epwright, receiving a knife from Fisher, made a stab at Mr Garritly, inflicting a frightful wound m his left arm beneath tho shoulder, from « h icli the blood gushed out in a stream so copious n s to render almost hopeless his chance of recovery. lie had, hon ever, sufficient strength to reach Dr Ford's close by, where his wound was attended to, and it was found that a principal artery had been severed. During tho night he remained in a very critical condition, and his life was inmost despaired of ; but I am happy to say that he has since rallied and now Bcems m a fair way towards recovery. After stabbing Mr Garritly, Epwright handed Fisher back his knife, who then secreted it in the shinglo on the beach, where it was after* ards found by Constable Donovan. Tho blow was evidently aimed at tho region of tho heart, and had Mr Garritly not turned slightly round when he saw the ruffian's hand uplifted, there is little doubt the attempt would have been instantly fatal. This affair seems to have been deliberate and premeditated, as both Epwright and his mate Fisher came ashore with knives secreted about their persons, ono of which had been sharpened on both edges for the murderous act. Constable Donovan promptly made his appearance on the scene, and secured the rufllau Epwright, while Mr James Macfarlane, tho American Consular Agent here, secured Fisher, m whose boot a knife was found concealed, ami both men arc now ty ing in gaol, whence no doubt they will be remanded to Auckland to answer for the crime. From some remarks which were overheard from Epwright, it appears that ho had also singled out Mr Macfarlano and Mr Rogers, the first mate, as his victims had he fallen across them. I understand Mr Garritly is deservedly held in high estimation by tho ereiv, and ho reason as yet but wanton bloodthirstmess can be assigned for this dastardly attack. By judicious flooding in irrigation the yield of grass land may bo doubled ; but by Hooding at improper seasons tho grass may be destroyed. Wator should not be permitted to lie on grass more than two days at a time, nor moro than two inches in depth, and not at all during the winter. If the land is to bo seeded the coming spring, the water may bo turned on at sundown as soon at the grass has becomo well started, and chiring the dry spells weekly, or bi-weekly if rains occur. It should never be turned on while the soil i* heated during the day time. When the grass has well covered tho ground and it is nearly ready for cutting, no water should bo given for two weeks before the hay is made. When that is douo, watering should bo repeated as before until another cutting is ready. No water should be given for a month previous to tho winter, as it is very injurious during frosts. The aftermath should be permitted to die down on tho meadow on the approach of wmter, as a protection to the roots from frost. Under such treatment four tons of hay has been gathered from one acre. Such a meadow would be improved also by underdraining with the irrigation. The feat of walking 1000 miles in 1000 hours is about to be attempted in Christchurcli. Tho aspirant foi- pedestrian honors la^a Mr Wiltshire, and tho scene of undertaking is in Mr Wilson's paddock, Madras-street. lie will commence on Wednesday evening next, at 8 p.m., and will, if the fates are propitious, accomplish his task in five weoks six days and sixteen hours from that date. We wish him a good deliverance, but must, candidly speaking, congratulate ourselves that it is rather he than we. — Press. Tho Sioux Indians are very observant. One of Spotted Tail's followers, who speaks a little English, seeing one of the servant girls of an hotel in New York taking off her chignon, exclaimed, " llo\v ! White woman raise her own scalp? Indian no good here! " The gentleman so often spoken of in novels who riveted people with his gaze, has obtained employment in a boiler manufactory, with extra pay on account of his peculiar faculty. Dk. Bbight's Fhosvixodyne. — Multitudes of people arc hopelessly suffering from Debility, Nervous and Liver Complaints, Depression of Spirits, Delusions, Unfltness for Business or Study, Failure of Hearing, Sight, and Memory, Lassitude, Want of Power, &c, whose eases admit of yiermanent cuaa by the new remedy Phosphodyne (Oxome Oxygen), which at once allajs all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and life to the enfeebled constitution, and rapidly cures every stage of these hitherto incurable ahd distressing maladies. Sold by all Chemists and Storekeepers througout tho colonies, from whom pamphlets containing testimonials may bo obtained. — Caution Be particular to ask for Dr. Bright's Phosphodyne as imitations are abroad; and a\oid purchasing single ottles, the genuine articlo being sold m cases only. — Auvt.