The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-04-03
KGLL or Care.
A Story of the American Civil War

"The Major is 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
moro IsaaroifrIl 70 -vEotohad hacEe el
ors. What with his charming wife
and that exemplary baby, he makes
it difficult to respect the tenth COM
mandment."
'rYou admire Mrs. Layton ?"
"Admire her If she were not
Charities wife 1 should fall head over
ears in love with her. l have seen
fairer faces, but for dear, pretty, deli
cate, wOmanly ways, 1 never met her
equal.
t'You couldn't understand q mans
thirsting for her blood ?p
"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 fortune ?"
''She had none"
"Don't tell me, Doctor, that an in
nocent creature like that could give
any one cause for revenge"
'tNO. l won't tell you anything OF
the sort"
"I think L see. Some one was
madIy in love with her ?"
"If you were to guess till this day
out you would not find the cause, "
said my friend. "Let us sit down
here, and 1 will explain. It's no
secret 1 wonder the Major has not
told you"
Down here" was on a rustic Leat
that 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
81 served in the army, in the same
regiment with an old schOolmate. He
was as fine soldier as ever drew a
sword. Hale, hearty, and sound in
mind and body ;,eager to see service
and he saw plenty; I thought that he
bore a charmed life, till one day he
was carried into the hospital tent, in
bad way. A hall had entered his
shoulder, glanced on the clavicle
what you call the collar-bone,) and
/ had gone somewhere. This was all
we could tell, for there was no other
Orifce but whether it had passed ul
or down, or taken some erratic course
around about, such as balls will take,
we knew not, and no probing could
find out. Well, he recovered, and
went North to regain his strength,
and for nearly three years I lost sight
of him. When the war was over, and
I had begun to practice as a civilian
in New York, met him again. But,
how changed He was living skel-
eton, and I saw in moment
that he had become habituated to
opium. Do you know what that
means? No well, throw q bucket
of water into piano and then light a
fire under it, and its strings will be nc
more out of tune than an opium.
smokers nerves are out of order. He
asked me if he might call on me al
my Office and of course I Iassented; but
il was days before he came, and wheL
he did arrive knew that he had been
preparing himself for q fight with
himself. Some foolish patients come
prepared to hide the truth, some tC
magnify their ills. 1t is part of Oul
| business in serious cases, to examine
mans mind before we ask about hi:
body, and hardened as a surgeon
must be, confess that the condition
of my poor friend frightened me
There was an expression in his eye
that l had never seen in any sane be
ing and what made this worse wa
the calm business-like manner in
which he spoke. He told me soor
after he had (apparently) recovered
from his wound, he began to suffeI
/ from ina IN
creased in severity till they became 81
agOnizing that he had recourse Il
opiates to alleviate them. "But ]
have not come to consult you about
this" he said ; "this I can bear-mus
bear. Would to God that they were
always tearing me The worst i
when they are not"
"They leave you very weak ?"
suggested.
"They leave me-" he replied, quite
calmly, with burning all but un
conquerable, desire to take human
life."
81 am not generally nervous man
but started and looked around ms
for some weapon of defense. Dom
be afraid, he continued, with a sac
smile, the fit is not on me now.
should not have come if it had been
1 have been nearly starved once ol
twice, not daring to leave my room
I csn conquer my madness now; the
question is, how long I can continue
to do so. feel that it is growing up
on me. I feel my power Of resistance
becoming weaker and weaker-the
craving for blood getting stronger anC
stronger. am like a man who ha:
slipped over q preeipiee, and feels the
earth and shrubs to which he elings,
slowly, slowly, surely, surely, giving
way with him. have brought
lwretched ours out of the street, anC
killed them in nv frenzy. in the hone