Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1869 — The Skeleton Hand. [ARTICLE]

The Skeleton Hand.

Yielding to a miserable habit had ruined me. It had blasted ury prospects, destroyed my bnsiuess, alienated my friends, and brought me down to the lowest point of existence. The habit altogether overcome me. In vain I struggled against it. The imploring looks and words of my wife; the sight of my wan-faced and emaciated children turning their eyes to me, the author.at once of their being and of their misery; the spectacle of the proud home and broad lands, once mine, but now in the hands of strangers—all these, which might well have stung to madness or driven to despair a less degraded being, reached me not, nor affected lm. in the depth of my degradation. I had reached a point at widely no motive that ndglit be urged could any longer affect me. One evening 1 was sitting in niy miserable borne. The children Were asleep in bed. They had cried themselves to sleep in hunger. My wife sat opposite to me ou the other side of the wretched .tire-place stitching some rags of clothing. 1 w-ir sullen and silent.. At last 1 felt a craving for the stimulus that now was necessary to my life. - Kising, I walked to the cupboard where it was kept. My wife knew Well my intention. She followed me with her eyes. I went there desperate and careless—only eager for the gratification of my appetite. I reached forth my hands, tremblingly seized the battle, and ■was about raising it to my lips. lint at that very in staTiT, jniFTltr the bottle touched my lips, I felt a terrible sensation. It nBM4U4i «nHt b«d gtwpetVmy throat. “Wife!” I cried in a fierce voice. “Hag! do you dare?” and turning with clenched fist, I struck at what I supposed was my wife.— .For I thought that slue Was trying 'in this violent way in desperation to keep me front drink** Hut to my surprise I saw my wife sitting by the fire-place with her work in her hand, lookiug at me in wonder.

It could not have been her evidently. A terrible feeling passed through mo. ‘Shuddcringly I raised my hand to sees what it was that was at my throat, or if there was any thing there at all, which seemed to be "grasping me so tightly. , Horror of horrors! As 1 raised my hand I felt the unmistakable outlines of a bony thumb and bony fingers pressing against my flesh. It was a skeleton hand that clutched me by the throat. Aly hand fell down .powerless by j*ipy side; thu bottle crashed on the floor. My children aVokc pt the noise, and wife and children all stared at me withrwhUe faces. There I, trembling in every limb, stood transfixed with terror, the awful feeiihg of the supernatural now fully possessing me. Unable to speak I gasped with fear. J drew ftwnyjny body, but my bead was Still held by thpjflsunb.dread and iuvisibf* ftowef. 'I could not .move Thai, in v . * f <Ai: ; Unspeakable horror filled me.— NonoJjut those i|ho have experienced something like this know what it is to have.wuch fi'clings. The btjf}j' uctms 'paralyssed, white the , mind sdems to bo endowed with exiraprdinary activity, and thus powSeases n«w cajraeil4c« for HuflVriug. But «Up«t IW* tho grasp tel at;

1 1 daggered hack, the grasp ceased J altogether, and I drew off to another corner of the rooni, endeavoring to go ns'fav as possible from the placo where this mysterious thing had seized me. Soon my wife and children turned away, tho former to work, the latter to sleep. They knew not what it was that had affcctod me, but concluded that it was some pain arising from sickness or sudden faintness.— 1 did not speak a word, but resumed my former seat. And now, gradually, my craving returned. Yet bow could I satisfy it? My bottle was broken. It lay in fragments on the floor. All my liquor was gone. What was I to do? The craving became irresistible. I bad to yield. So I took my hat, fumbled in my pockets and found a few cents, and taking an old bottle- thfit lay in a corner, I went forth into the darkness, It was not without some feeling of trepidatiort that I entered the dark passage-way. Fear lest the same Thing of Horror might return agitated me. 15ut I passed on finharmed, and reached my old resort, where 1 laid my bottle on tho counter. The clerk soon filled it. With an irresistiblo impulse I clutched the bottle and rushed forth to drink the liquor.

I hurried off for a little distance and -camo to the head of a wharf.— Here, unable any longer to resist my craving, I pulled out the cork so aS to drink. It was very dark. No one was near me. In the distance arose the low 7 hum of the city; ont'in the harbor might be heard the noise of sailors and boatmen. I had a general idea of .this as I fttood there, though all my thoughts were concentrated on the bottle. At last I raised it to my mouth. Scarce had the bottle touched my ’lips When again I ex-perienccd that terrible feeling. •' iTf 7 My throat was seized; this time more violently, more fiercely, as if s(sme power which had already warned me, and was enraged at having to repeat the warning. My Threat was compressed painfully in that fierce gripe; there was anger in it. A thrill of horror again shot through me. Again the bottle fell from my trembling hands and was crushed to fragments upou the stone pavement Again I raised my hands to my throat, though in deadly; fear; but the motion was mechanical—a natinvoluntary effort to tear -Trwrrr tht 7 thirtg that had—scizcd-nty-throat —to free myself from ill£. paill of that mysterious grasp. Again then I raised my hands, and again I felt there under my touch, plainly and unmistakably, the long, hard, bony hand which I had fflt before. One touch wns euougli. My hands fell down. I tried to shriek, but in vain. I gasped for breath, and thought that I would be suffocated. But at length the grasp slowly and unwillingly relaxed. I breatf led more freely. At length tho touch

was no longer felt. I paced the streets for a long time. At first every vestige of my appetite had been driven away by the horror of .that moment,. As time passed it began to return. Once moro 1 felt the craving: True, the fear of another attack was strong, and for a long time deterred me; but at last the craving grew too strong for the fear. ! Nerving myself up to a desperato pitch of resoHftTon, I rushed back to the shop where i had last purchased the liquor. “See here!” I cried; “I’m crazy for a drink; I broke that bottle! Give me a glass, for God’p sake—only one glass!” Something in my face seemed to excite the man’s commiseration. He poured oht a glass for me in silence. Ytitli trembling eagerness I reached-out my hand to seize it.— With tnimblihg baud I raised it toward'rity lip*.-. The grateful fumes already entered my nostrils. My lips already touched the £dge of the glass. 1 1 Stiddetily my throat was seized with a tremendous grasp". It was as though the PoivC’f tvhlcli 1 was tormenting me had become ch : ragod by my repeated acts ol Opposition, and wished now Jay this final act to reduccyue to forever , ;

It was as if this Power was using with mo the means of ooeroion which one uses witji a dog, viz: beat him for each offense, and each timo harder till he is cured. This time tho grasp was terrible, it was fiercer than -ctor;, (jilick, impetuous. In that droad grasp my breath peased. I struggled. My senses reeled.— I raised my hands in my despair. I felt again the,bony fingers. I moved my hands along bony arms. ‘ • ' In my madness I struggled. I struck out my fists wildly. They struck against what seetned like bony fibs. , ' The time during which I thus struggled seerfied endless. The horror that was upon roe can not be told. At last all sense left me. When I revived I found myself lying on a rude bench in tho bar.— It was early dawn. No one was near. All my bones ached. I rose up confusedly, not knowing at first where I was, but soon, tho .terrifio event which had overpowered me came to my memory. < I rose to my feet, and tried to get out. The noise that I made awaked some one insidp. called out to me. „

“Hello there! Are you off?” “Yes,” I said. “Wait, I’ll let you out.” He appeared in a short time. “You had a bad turn,” said he, not unkindly. “You’d better take care of yourself, and not be out atnigbls,” I thanked him and left. When I reached the house my wife waked up and looked half fear- ! fully at me. Amazement can\e over her face us she saw that I was sober. I kissed her and sat down in silence. She looked at me in wonder.— Tears fell from her eyes. She said j nothing, but I saw that she was I praying. i As soon as the shops were opened j I went out and managed to procure ! some food which I brought to the ’ room. I then left to go to m.y em- ! ployment. Through the day I felt an incessant craving, but my horrt>? was so great that I would far rather have cut my throat than risked having that hand there again. As the days passed the horror remained undiminislied. It was .simply impossible for me to seek for intoxicating drink. I dared not. My wife said nothing. I saw however, by her soft eyes, the gentle joy of her face, and.. the . »weet, 1 loving smile u'ith whiqh she welcomed mo home, how deeply this ehange in roerhad affected her- . Weeks passed and gradually tho s VMS was the remembrance of that dread exof mine that the horror remained fresh and unabated. To relapse was impossible. I dared not.. Thus forced to be sober, my cumstauces improved rapidly.— There was no longer any danger of want. Comfort came, and peace, and hope, and pure domestic joy.

Remorse for the sufferings winch I had caused to my sweet wife made me more eager to make amends for the past, that so I might efface bitter memories from her mind. The revulsion of feeling was so great for her that she forgot that 1 had ever been other than kind. I made no. parade of reform. I made no promises, and no vow. Nor did she ever allude to the change. . She showed herjoyinher fa'co aud manner. — She accepted the change when it came ami rejoiced in it. I still felt an anxious desire to get to the bottom of this mystery, and onoc I*told the whole story to my medical man. He was not at all surprised. Doctors never are. Nor are doctors ever at a loss to account for. anything. “Pooh/’ said he indifferently.— “That’s oornmon enough. It was mania a potu. The brain, you know, becomes congested, and you see and feel devils and skeleton?. Cases like yours are common enough*” To me, however, my caso seemed very uncommon, but, whether it be' so or not, my case lias resulted in my salvation- And never will I cease, even amidst my horror, to be grateful-to that Power which came dbwn clothed in {error ’to snatch me ffoßi ruin with that Skeielan Hand. W It id reported that the Mexioan Mission bai been tendered to Gen. ftickles.’ ' **a- i' ‘■'l':. \