38 
Kaspar Hauser. 
it the shock gave momentary strength. He saw a dry spot in the 
farther corner, and lay down there. Just then he heard the City 
bells ring, for noon, and said to himself : 
“Here I am all alone! Nobody can find me, and I must 
soon die !” 
The thought filled his eyes with tears; then sickness came over 
him, and he fainted away. 
Dinner was ready; but Kaspar, usually punctual, did not 
appear, and Mrs. Daumer went upstairs to call him, He was not 
in his room, but his coat hung on the wall, and she knew he must 
have gone to the privy. She went down to the court, but he was 
not there, and she was about to go upstairs again when she 
noticed blood stains near the cellar, and on lifting the trap saw 
drops upon the steps below.  Hastily descending, she perceived 
the white heap in the farther corner, and called to the servant to 
bring a light. The girl waded through the water and cried out : 
“ Here is Kaspar, lying dead !” 
Help was summoned, and Kaspar was carried to his bed, where 
he lay two days and nights in fever and delirium, becoming at 
times so violent that it required the strength of several men to 
hold him in bed. During this period he frequently cried out in 
broken sentences, which served to explain the mystery to his be- 
wildered friends: 
“ Mother—tell Professor-—man struck me—black man—tell 
mother—can’t find room—hide in the cellar—tell the Mayor— 
take the man away !—the man is coming !—he will murder 
me !—I love everybody—I don’t harm anybody.—Help me, 
Frau Binder |—Why does he want to murder me ?—-I want to 
live !—You kill me before I know what it is to live !—Tell me 
why you kept me in prison ! ” etc. 
The physicians found that the gash in Kaspar’s forehead must 
have been produced by a very sharp instrument, used with con- 
siderable force. The wound was not in itself dangerous, and 
most persons would have recovered from it in a week, but the 
shock to Kaspar’s sensitive nerves was so great that he remained 
Il twenty-two days. The assassin, doubtless, supposed from 
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