One of the strangest stories of false imprisonment comes from
France. A woman was sentenced to imprisonment for life for
having caused the death of her husband and brother. The three
had lived together at Malaunay, near Rouen, in a cottage. The
lower part of it was used as a shop. When the woman was sent
to prison, other people occupied the shop, but the new tenants
suffered, the man from fainting fits, his wife from nausea,
from which she died. Another couple tried their fortune, but
they, too, were overcome by the “spell of the accurst place,”
as they supposed. They were subject to fainting and loss of
memory. At last a scientific examination of the premises was
made. Then it was found that adjoining the shop was a lime-kiln.
In a wall dividing it from the cottage were many fissures, so
that whenever lime was burned monoxide of carbon escaped into
the inn. This was the secret of the deaths for which the woman
was suffering. She was brought out of prison after six years of
servitude.
While we should not put the blame for our sins on circumstances,
we should remember that much which we condemn as sin would, if we
understood it, be excused as due to circumstances that involve no blame.
(455)
=Circumstances, Making the Best of=--See CONSERVATION OF REMAINDERS.