, 1843-11-11
TFor the Radical ]
A Chapter from the unpublished Life OF
Peter Speu, Esq.

bADAAS " w.
nrehepsion of mourning the charge Of
vanity in publishing an account OF a mis-
fortune of my existance, together with
some reflections growing out Of it; and l
conceive also, that the cause Of suffering
humanity may be subserved by the same.
1t was my misfortune Of late TO fall I'M
der the suspicion of i'll health. The
charge was confirmed by Che testimony
of = knight of the lancet, and was con-
demned to confinement in bed, TO live on
air. chameleon like, or tantaliZo the stem
ach with broths and 'yarb drinks sur
rounded by all the paraphranalia Of a
sick room. And tkis was but the be-
ginning Ofny punishment. 1t was per-
feet bliss compared with what followed.
l was further subjected to the discipline
of bleeding, bli~tering, Puking, purging
and sweating, with all their dclec!a5le
concomitants.
The above, 4 would suppose, was
punishment enough for that violation CT
what the doctors call the organic laws,
which ~produced the disturbance in my
obody corporate" which caused me, in
in sensation, TO pass through all the eli
mates from the friSiI to the torrid zOne
in ~tweny-fou7 hours. But comparative
", even this, was only the beginning Of
trouble.
After tossing and rolling through the
night, with the fires oftophet burning in
nv brain and stomach, and molten lead
running il my v@eins, with now and then
a spell Of fttal slumber, in which 1
would imagine that after walking an end
less distance oyor burning sands and
among br;ars and ,horns, I approached >
bubblinC fouu;aiu. from which / was dri
ven by loathsome reptiles. Turning 4
way in utter despair and perishi!c with
misunderstanding the tormcn,s Ct the
damned. ! would make other Efforts 20
find water with SINH. results. Finally,
at break Of day the fever abated, a NOS
tire came on NY skin, l fell into a balmy
sleep, and M fancy transported me into
an earthly elysium. inst then, in the
midst of this happiness, the rude tramp
of thick soled boots came betting NJ 20
nv bed, regardless Of the whispered re-
guest of NY wife, to be seated ngar the
door, and LawIei ont il a steHtori2n
voice, good morning Nr. Syew, how DO
Won DO this morning." awake TO the
painful reality Of my s;tuation,-the sud
den start excited my brain, and soon, for
ty sIelge hammers appeared to be beat
Ing inside ny skull.
/ thought then, and think still, that
such u~ncul!iyatcI br@i!s, though they
have the appearance Of men, ought TO be
stabbed with mules, fed on fodder, and
cusried down with hickory wilhcs till
they should learn common sense, good
manners, and sympathy for their fellow
mor,als in affection.
How easy to ascertain whether a sick
person is il a condition TO receive visits
before attempting to enter the apartment.
How many lives have been lost by ne
g~lccting TO do so.
The day passed-to me an eternity
but little abridged. Night came, when
promised myself the sleep FOX want Of
which l was dying. A host of neigh
bors, from kind motives, assembled to
take care of me during the night.
My house, unfortunately, like too ma
nv others in new countries, was built by
aman who never expected to be sick or
have more company than one room could
accommodate. Some three or four men
were soon asleep, on beds or pallets, in
my room. Two sitting up. kept each
other and myself awake by talking. At
my request this was stopped, when be-
gan to doze. Soon 1 was aroused by
the snoaring Of the sleepers-at first, a
bout as loud as the puff Of steam boats
which soon, to my nervous ears grew
loud as thunder, with occasional almost
snorts, like little earthquakes.
l had no other apartment 10 put them
in-feIt that it would be a breach ofhos-
pitalty to send them home in the night,
and an indignity to put them in the kitch-
en- with the servants, but | heartily