A FAMILY OF LUNATICS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 11340, 5 October 1898, Page 1

A FAMILY OF LUNATICS.

Quite a family of lunatics has taken itself off, and nobody knows where it is to be found. It is an odd story. About a week ago (says tbe Paris correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph) »bo tenants of a usually very gui t, iionse were awakened in the dead of nigbt by loud cries of <' Help 1 Murder ! ' which were repeated again and again. They rose in alarm from tbeir couches, and proce ding to the door of the flat whence the screams emanated, thumped and rang until it was opened. The apartment was occupied by a family consisting of a business man, bis wife, and their two children, a girl and a boy, aged 15 and 14 respectively. Making bis appearance, with pallid face and unkempt locks, the father exclaimed, in reply to their anxious questions, •' It is my wife, who has gone mad through bestowing too much attention on hypnotism, and who wants to kill me." Later on tbe lady, questioned in her turn, averred that, on the contrary, it was her husband who was bereft of his s nses ; and to complicate matters, when the children were interrogated they also differed in their answers, the one maintaining that it was the father who was out of h ; s wits, while the other stated with equal energy that the mother was in that distressing predicament. Comparative tranquillity had reigned in the dwelling for a day or two., when suddenly, in the small hours of the morning, the man of business, attired only in a light and airy garment, dashed franctically dowdf the staircaße,-and bolting to the office of the Police Commissary of the district rushed in wringing his hands and shouting,' " My wife is slaying me ; she is going to stab me with a dagger."' The official, who was already acquainted with the queer situation, hurried off to the at ode of this peculiar family, and had nearly reached the door when ft was opened slightly, and a moment afterwards a loud report resounded and a bullet whizzed by bis ears. Being a patient as well as a prudent individual, the commissary deemed discretion the better part of valour, so instead of laying siege to the fiat, he resolved on establishing a blockade, and four policemen were. stationed on the staircases with orders to capture the lady and her children if they should attempt -to effect a sortie. The .agents of the law were relieved in turns by their comrades, and so this went on for a couple of days, at the expiration of which the official was considerably puzzled . The family appeared to be holding out gallantly, so it was decided that the door should be broken open. Then it was discovered that the birds bad flown . The trio had let themselves down from a window on to tha roof of an outbuilding, and with the help of some workmen had contrived to effect their escaj c. As if this was not enough, the father, who bad been detained in custody for his own good, has also managed to slip away, and tha police are now searching in every direction for -this decidedly scattered family.