The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-06-09
UHARLES DICKENS ON HIS REOENz
.! SICKNESS.
A Fly-Leaf I'm q Life.

=! g. SICKNESS.
,.ft A Fly-Leaf I'm q Life
Once upon time (no matter when) I was
engaged in o pursuit (no matter what) which
could be transact, by myselt alone; in which
could bavS no helu; which imposed q oon-
8tRnt STRAIN on the attention, memory. obser-
vatlon and physical powers; and which lnvolv-
ed en- almost fabulous amount of change OF
place and rapid railway travelling. had fol-
lowed this pursuit through an exceptionally
trying winter IN an always try ing climate, and
had resumed it in EN- 9Tand after but brief re-
p9se. Thus it came to be prolonged until, at
lepR,h--and, as It seemed, all of q student
30 wore me out that could not rely, with my
usual cheerful conf ience, upon myself to
achieve the constantly recurring task, aud be-
gan to feel (for the first time in my llfe) giddy.
Jared, shuken, faint, uncertain of voice and
sight and tread and touch, and dull Of spirit.
The medical advice l sought, within few
Being accustomed to observe myself as curious
rs If / were auOther man. aud AnOwing the ad.
vice to meet my only need, instantly halted
h my pursuit oswhloh speak, and rested.
NY intentl IN WIS to lnterpose, as it were, q
1y-leaf IN the book Of my lie, in which moth
ing should b. written from without for a brief
season OF few weeks. But some very singu-
lar experiences recorded themselves on this
same fy~leaf. and am gong to relate them
literally. repeat the word. literally.
My first odd experience was OF the remark
gene
raj mind aud one Mr.. Merdle's. as I find 1t re-
corded IN work Of fiction called ''Lttle Dor :
Iitt." To be sure, Mr.. Merdle was q swindler
forger and thief, and my Calling had been Of
less harmful (and less remun erative) nature;
but it was all one 70. that.
Here is MIR. Merdle's case: -t.s
''At frat, he was dead Of all the diseases that
ever were known. and OF several br IN new mala-
dies lnventeA with the speed of light to meet
the dema..d OF the OCCASION. he had conceal
Cd dIopsy from lAfancy; he had inherited
large estate OF water on the chest from his
grandfather; he had had an operation perform
cd upon HIM every morning OF his life for
eighteen Years; he had been subject to the ex-
ploslon of Important veins in his body after
the matter with h g lungs;he had had something
the matter with his hearl he had had something
the matter with his brain. Five hundred ppo-
pie who sat down to breakfast entirely unn-
they bad doue breakfast. that they privately
and personally knew Physician to have said to
MIR. Merdie: You must expect to so out some
day like the snuff Of a candles; and taat they
knew Mr. Merdle o have said to Physlcian: "A
man can die but Once.' By about eleven o'clock
In the forenoon. sOmefhlng the matter with
The brain became the favorite theory against the
field; and by twelve the something had been
distinctly ascertained to be PRESSURE
Pressure was 80 entirely satisfactory to the
public mind, and seemed to make every one so
comfortable that 1t might have lasted all day
but for Bars having taken the real estate Of
the case into court at halt.past nine. Pres
Aures hlwever. so far from being overthrOwn
by the discovery, becam. greater favOrite
upon Pressure, IN every street /; all the people
who had tried to make money and had not
been able to do it, SAID. There you we're You
no sooner began to devote yourself to the pur-
Idle. people % improved the Occasion @ in similar Jar
manner. See, said they, what you brought
yourself to by work. work, work You per-
sisted IN working, you overdid it Pressure
nd Rnp
sideratlon was very potent in many quarters,
&nt nowhere more 30 than among the young
clerks and partners who had never been in tue
slightest danger 81 ovara0og IT, These
hoped they never, would forget the; warning :as
long rs they lived, a1d that their conduct
might,b6 so regulated as to keep of Pressure,
aud .pfeserve them q comfort to their friends
JoE Nany years" '... 4 N4
JabG tds ease If had only known it-when
1 Was quietly backing IN the sunshine IN my
But While go rested, thankfully recovering
every hour, had experiences more odd than
this. I had experiences OF spiritual coaceit,
tof which, as giving me new warning against
grateful to the supposltlon that was too far
gone to protest against playing sick lion to
ally stray donkey with an itching hoof. All
sorts OF people seemed to become vicariously
nnoompromlsing warning that was q Heath
On, on the conclusive authority Of field
preacher, who, like the most Of his ignorant
and vain, and daring class. could not construct
Atolerable sentence IN his native tongue or
Pen . fair letter. Thus inspired individual
called me TO order rOnndly, and knew in the
9reest and easiest way where was going to
1aahloa myself on h,s bright example, and was
ON terms of blaSphemous confidence with
the Heavenly Host. He was in the secrets
ct my I.iieart, and in the lowest sounds
tngs OF my soul-hel land could read
the DEPTHS of nv nature batter than
his a B e., and could turn me inside out, like
bis own canlnav glove. But what is far more
'6xtrsordinary than this for suoh dirty water
na tNbp,s could alone be drawn from such : snail
low ana muddy snurce-I found from the in
formation OF o beneficed Clergyman, OF whom
! never heard and whom never cav, that L
bed not. as rather supposed I had, lived
life OF some reading. contemplation and in
quiry; thai had not studied, as 1 rather sup
posed had TO ln"u.cae some Christian les
sons In b'oks; that had never tried. as I
1atner supposed l "ad. TO turn o child or two
tender.y coward the knowledue and love Of our
saviour siaat lad never had, as rather cup.
posed bad Lad, departed friends or stood
Desi 10 open graves; out that had hved life
needed this ',check. oveimuoh," aud that the
way to turn 1t o account was to read these
sermons and these poems. lnolosed. and writ
fnay Be nsdefsiooo that rsisto % iaSt, j. Des ,eg
own unconsDerclai experience. and no vail,
i magln'ngs The docnments IN proof lie near
1y haud.sI t'SsN s..sT ~
Al ON odd entry N the Hy-leaf OF more
entertaining character. was the wonderful per-
sistapce sith wb,cb lnpa ~ mpAth,Eers assuna-
"a tba. I had injurlously coupled with tho 60
suddenly relipqulshed pursuit those personal
Bis With ". and most plainly rapoasibie Of
bSfnX mtfntained alonk with IT. AS afl that
exsfsis6e Ali that cold bathisR. ihA thAg sslnia
and @eAsharsiail that uphill trsining alb that
eyscythise else. say. which. II usually oarmodH
abONt hy sZnraes tEalns IN q portmanteAu and
hat boz, xIid partak6 0 under flaming f6W of
9aA lights IN the oor6psny Of two thonssDd
people. Shis asauming Of whole case against