Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1873-06-17
Kill or Cure.


DOCTOR. | said, as we sauntered out
to smoke our cigars in the garden,
after an early dinner "but he
ought to be more merciful to us
wretchcd bachelors. What with
his charming wife and that exemp-
larry baby, he makes It difficult to
respect the tenth commandment"
"You admire Mrs. Layton 2"
"Admire her! If she were not
Charles wife, l should fall head
over ears in love with her. l have
seen fairer faces, but for dear, pret-
ty, delicate womanly ways, l never
met her equal"
"You couldn't understand a
mans thirsting for her blood 2"
"Good gracious! A wretch who
could touch one of her golden hairs
roughly deserves to be crucified."
"And yet for many days she was
in deadly peril of her life"
"For her fortuneY
"She had none"
"Don't tell me, doctor, that an
innocent creature like that could
give any one cause for revenge =
"No; | won't tell you anything
Of the sort"
81 think / see, Some one was
madly in love with her -
"lf you were to guess till this
day out you would not find the
cause" said my friend. "Let US sit
down here, and ] will explain. Its
no secret; wonder the Major has
not told YOU
"Down here" was on rustic seat
that the Majors pretty wife had
made at the end of his garden,
close TO where a little rill, soon to
be lost in the blue Hudson, tinlded
its way through his grounds"
During the war;" began the
Doctor, IL served in the army, in
the same regiment with an old
school-matc. He was as fine a sol
der as ever drew Il sword. Hale,
hearty, and sound in mind and
body; eager to see service-and he
saw plenty. l thought that he bore
charmed life, till one day he was
carried into the hospital tent in a
bad way. A ball had entered his
shoulder, glanced on the cavicle
(what you call the collar-bone) and
had gone-somerhere, That was
all we could tell, for there was no
other orifice; but whether it had
passed up or down, or taken some
erratic course round 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 l lost sight OF him. When
the war was over, and | had begun
to practice as q civilian in New
York, l met him again. But how
changed {! lie was living skeleton,
and l saw in a moment that he had
become habituated to opium. Do
you know what that meansl No
Well, throw a 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
atlice, and of course / assented /;
but it was days before he came, and
when he did arrive / knew that he
bad been preparing himself for a
fight with himself. Some foolish
patients come prepared to hide the
truth, some to magnify their ills. 1t
is part of our business, in serious
cases, to examine a mans mind be-
fore we ask about his body, and
hardened as 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
was the calm business-like manner
in which he spoke. lie told me
that soon after he had apparently
recovered from his wound, he be-
gan to suffer from pains. in his head,
which increased in severity till
they became so agonising that he
had recourse to opiates to alleviate
them. But / have not come to
consult yen about this he said,
this / can bear-must bear. Would
TO God that they were always tear
ing me! The worst is whcA they
are not
"They leave you very weak Z"
suggested.
C~'-They leave me-" he replied,
quite calmly, with brraing, all
but unconqrerable, desire to take
humae hfe., - ~~f
Ss'-I am not generally a nervous
man, but l started, and looked
round me for some weapon of de-
fence. Don't be afraid, he con-
with sad smile, the iit is
not on me now. i should not have
come II II had been. i have been
ooar1x, sforxcd oncc or fuice NOT