The Van Buren press., 1873-03-25
MISCELLANY.
Kill or Cure.

The major is a capital fellow, doc
| tor" " said, as we sauntered out to smoke
our cigars in the garden, after an early
dinner; " but he ought to be more mer-
ctu to US wretched bachelors. W hat
with his charming wife and that eXsmpia
ry baby, he makes it difficult to respect
the tenth commandment. "
You admire Mrs. Laytonf'
"Admre her! If she were not Char
lcy's wife, should fall head ever ears in
love with her have seen fairer faces,
but tor dear, pretty, delicate womanly
ways. | never met her equal
You couldn understand mans
thjrsting for her blood 7"
Good gracious A wretch who
could touch one of her goIdon hairs
rough deserves TO be eruciGcd >
And : ct Tor many days she was in
deadly PEI, of her life "
For her fortune
"Shc had none
Don't tel me, doctor, that an inno-
cent creature hNe that could give any
one cause Tor revenge.
"No; won tell You anything Of the
sort
Il think see. Some one was madly
in love with her.
"lf YOU were to guess till this day out
YOU would not Gnd the cause, " said my
friend. Let rs SIT down here, and i
will explain. It's no secret; wonder
the major has not told you y
"Down here was on rustic seat
that the majors pretty wife had made at
the end Of The garden, close to where a
little rlll, soon to be- lost IN the blue llua
son, tnkled lis way through his grounds
"Durilg the war, began the dactor,
" | served in the army, in the same regi-
m-nt with an old schoolmate, He was
as fine soldier as ever drew sword
Hala, hearty, and sound in mind and
body; eager to see .ervice-and he saw
plenty. | thought that he bore a charm
cd life, till one day he was carried into
the hospital tent in a bad way A ball
had entered his shoulder, glanced on the
clevicle (what you call the collar bone
and had gone-Somechere. This is all
we could tell. for there was no other ori
Zee; but whether it had passed up or
down, or taken some erratic course reund
about, such as balls will take, we knew
not, and no probing could find out Well,
he recovered, went north to regain his
strength, and for nearly three years
lost sight Of him When the war was
over. and had begun to practice as a
c william in Nav York, met him again.
But how changed. He was living
skeleton and saw in moment that be
had become habituatod to opium. Do
you know what that means! No! We'll,
throw bucket Of water into a piano, and
then light II fire under it, and its strings
will not bo more out Of tune than an OPT
UNI okers nerves are out Of order. lie
asked me if he might call on me at my
Office, and OF course | assented but it
WAS days before he came, and when he
did arrive knew that he had been pre-.
pairing himself for fight with himself.
Some foolish patients come prepared to
hide the truth, some TO magnify their
ills. 1t is part of our business, in So
rious cases, 80 examine a man s mind be.
fore,wc ask about his body, and harden.
ed as a surgeon must be, ! confess that
the condition of my poor friend fright.
ened me. There was an expression IN
ais eye that had never seen in any sane
being, and what made this worse was
he calm business like manner in which
he spoke He told me that soou after
he had (apparently) recovered from bis
wound, he BEGAN to suffer trOn pans in
bis head. which increased in severity till
they became So agonizInI that he had &c.
course to opium to alleviate them. Bat
navo not come TO consult yOn about
this he said, this can bear--ml~t bear.
" puld TO God that they were always tear
ing me Tho worst is when they are
not
They leave you very weak ? l sug-
.ested
They leave me, he replied, quite
calmly with burning, all snt uncon
anerablr, desire To take human life
am not < nerallr a nervous man.
hut ] started and looked round me for