New York City, Oct 13, 1909
To J. L. Harrison; in Princeton:
Mr. J.L. Harrison, – I write to you in hopes that you will shine
some light on to my husband Charles’ last day. I recently spoke
with Mr. Hendrik Alberts, whom I believe you are familiar with,
and he mentioned that you had met Charles the day before he was
abruptly taken from us.
That evening he came home a little past eight and had one of his
episodes. He became very angry; more upset than I had seen in
recent memory. He was yelling about the past coming back to
“pick his bones” and that they were haunting him. I brought
him the laudanum the doctor had prescribed and began singing
softly to him and stroking his arm to bring him back. His
thrashing continued for some time even after taking his medication.
There were several things he said that caused me some alarm. He
had mentioned your name and said that you were carrying his demons
with you. He twisted and struggled away from me and said that you
were the eyes and the mouth of the beast, and though this beast
was a common fixture in his tantrums, you were not.
I know my husband was very ill and he was frequently taken by fits
of madness, but whatever you had said to him agitated him greatly.
It has bothered me for days and I mean to let Charles and his
memory rest, but this new revelation has worn away at me and led
me to write to you. Please, what did you say to him to cause such
a panic and to lash out at you in this manner and do you have any
information that could shed some light on what had befallen him?
