Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-04-18
The Leisure Hour.
KILL Or CUR II.
A STORY OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.

"The Major is a capital fellow, Doctor"
| I said, as we sauntered out 10 smoke our
cigars in the garden, after an early dinner;
"but he ought to have been moro merciful
to us wretched bachelors. What, with his
charming wife and that exemplary baby, he
makes il difficult TO respect the tenth COM
mandment."
"You admire Mrs. Layton?' p
admire her! If she were not Charities
wife, should fall head over ears in love
with her. have seen fairer faces; but for
dear, pretty, delicate womanly ways, new
or met her equal"
"You couldn't understand mans thirst
ing for her blood?'
"Good gracious! A wretch, who could
serves to be crucifed."
"And yet for many days she was in dead
| ly peril of her life."
"For her fortune?"
"She had none.'
"Don't tell me Doctor, that an innocent
creature like that could give any one cause
| for revenge"
mo; won't tell you anything OF the
sort"
81 think see. Some one was madly 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; wonder the Ma
jor 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 little rill,
soon to be lost in the blue Hudson, tinklcd
its way through the grounds.
During the war;" began the Doctor, 81
served in the army in the same regiment
with an old schoolmate. He was as fine a
soldier as ever drew sword. Hale, hearty,
and sound in body and mind eager to see
service-and he saw plenty. thought that
he bore charmed life, till one day he was
carried into hospital tent in bad way.
A ball had entered his shoulder, glanced
on the clavcle, (what you call the collar
bone), and had gone-somewhere. That
was all we could tell, for there was no 9th.
err 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 re-
gain his strength, and for nearly three
years lost sight Of him. When the wal
was over, and 1 began to practice as a civ
ilian in New York, I met him again. Blu
how changed! lie was living skeleton
and saw in moment that he had become
| halNt tod TO- otNt,, nn ,I,a
that means? No? Well, throw a buckle
of water into iano, and then light fir
under it, and its strings will not be NOR,
out of tune than an opium m-smoker's nerve
are out of order. He asked mo II he nigh
: call on me mt my Office, and of course / as
, sented; but it was days before he came
and when he did arrive knew that he haC
| been preparing himself for fight will
himself Somo foolish patients come pre-
pared to hide the truth, some TO magnif
their ills. It is part of our business, in sc
rious cases, to examine a mans mind be
foro we ask about his body; an
hardened as surgeon must be, l comics
that the condition Of my poor friend fright
ened me. There was an expression in hi
eye that had never seen In any sane beinl
, and what made this worse, was the cain
y business-like manner In which he spok
He told me that soon after he had (appa
ently) recovered from his wound, he bega
to suffer from pains in his head, which il
creased in severity, till they became so al
- onizing, that he had recourse to opiates
IL alleviate them. But have not come
Is consult you about this he SAID, this ca
to bear-must bear. Would to God that the
were always tearing mel The worst
IN when they are not
or "They leave you very weak3" / SUI
" gested.
"'They leave me- he replied, quite calr
ly, with burning, all but unconqnerab