Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-03-13
Miscellany.
KILL OR CURE.

''THE Major is a capital fellow, Doc
tor, p" | said, as we saantered out to smoke
our cigars in the garden, after an early
dinner; "but he ought to be more merci-
full to Us bachelors What with his
charming wife and that exemplary baby,
he makes 1t difficult to respect the tenth
commandment
you admire Mrs Laytoni"
Admire her! If she were not Char
les wife, | should fall head over ears in
love with her. | have seen fairer faces,
hut for dear, pretty, delicate womanly
ways, | never met her equal"
You couldn't understand q mans
thirsting for her blood?"
Good gracious A wretch who could
touch one of her golden hairs roughly
deserves to be crucifed."
"And yet for many days she was in
deadly peril of her life"
''For her fogtune?"
"She had none"
Don't tell me, Doctor, that an inno-
cent creature like that could give any one
cause for revenge"
'No; | won't tell you anything of the
sort"
al think see. Some one was madly
in love with herr"
"If you were TO guess till this day
my friend. "Let us sit down here, and /
viii explain. It's no secret; l wonder
the major has not told you"
Down here" was on rustic seat tha!
the Majors pretty wife had made at the
end of his garden, close to where little
rill, soon to be lost in the blue Hudson,
tinkled its way through his grounds.
During the war" began the Doctor,
Il served in the army, in the same regi-
ment with an old schoolmate. He was
as fine a soldier as ever drew a sword
Hale, hearty, and sound in mind and
body; eager 10 see service-and he saw
plenty. | thought that he bore charmed
life, till one day he was carried into the
hospital tent in bad way. A ball had
entered his shoulder, glanced on the ciavi-
Gle (What you call the collar bone), anu
had gone-Some,chere. That was all we
Could tell, for there was no other oritice:
but whether 1t had passed up or down, or
taken some erratlc course round about,
such rs balls will take, we knew not, and
To probing could find out. Well, he re-
covered, went North to regain his
strength and for nearly three years lost
sight of him. When the war was over,
ana / had begun TO practise as a civilian
iii New York, | met him again. But how
changedl He was living skeleton, and
saw IN moment that he had become
habltuated to opium. Do you know
what that means? No? Well, throw q
bucket OF water into a piano, and then
light fire under it, and its strings will
not be more out of tune than an opium
smokers nerves are out of order He
asked me if he might call on me at my
Office, and of course | assented; but il
was days before he came, and when he did
arrive | knew that he had been preparing
himself for fight with himself. Some fool
lsh patients come prepared to hide the
truth, some to.magnify their ills. 1t is part
OF our business, in serious cases, to examine
mans mind before we ask about his
body, and hardened as surgeon must be,
/ confess that the condition of my poor
friend frightened me. There was an ex-
preston in his eye that had never seen
IN any sane being: and what made this
worse was the calm business-like manner
il which he spoke He told me that soon
after he had apparently recovered from
his wound, he began to suffer from pains
III his head, which increased in severity
tlH they became SO agonizing that he had
recourse To opiates to alleviate them.
But have not come to consult you about
ms, he said, this can bear-nttSt bear
would TO God that they were always tear
ING me! The worst is when they are
not
M They leave you very weak?' sug-
ihey leave NE, he replied, quite
caiihly' ,rah a burning, all 5n unco,l-
e1aqHerGdSe, desire 10 toke human life.'
am not generally nervous man,
but started, and looked round me for
some weapon of defence, Don't be