The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-10-17


above the knees When he ha(
% %,s done l was as helpless as a roastec
: turkey.
81 Then | was turned over CAREFUL,
and tenderly, and for the first tim'
e saw my assilant
He was a gentlemanly looking
$ man, dressed in black coat and waist
coat, gray trousers and neckcloth
Il His hair and whiskers were just
turning grizzly, his chin and upper
: lip were clean shaved. His forehead
was high, his eyes were prominent
n and fixed in their expression, his
nose aquiline, his mouth slit. He
was of middle height,spare but wiry,
> indeed, his muscles must have been
/ exceptionally elastic and feline, for
t you would never nave Thought, to
f look at him, that he could stow him
Iself away so completely under the
y seat of railway carriage.
He contemplated me, with his chin
5 in his right hand end his elbow in
his left hand, and said thoughtfully.
"Just so. All for the good of So
ciety in the long run-an admirable
> sentiment, my dear sir; let it be a
consolation to you, if 1 should cause
: you any little annoyance"
He took a shagreen spectacle case
I from his pocket, wiped the glass
carefully with a silk handkerchief,
) and adjusted them on his nose.
Then he produced an obIong box,
! which he unlocked and placed on
lone of the seats. After which he sat
) down quietly in the position l had
Occupied five minutes before, a posi-
tion which brought him directly
over my head and chest as I lay su-
lpine and helpless at his feet.
"Do you know anything of anato-
lmyw he asked. was as completely
lin his power as a witness in the
cross, ,eXaming counsefs, and pru-
Idencc dictated that should be
equally ready to answer the most
frivolous and impertinent questions
with politeness. l said that l did
mot.
"Ahr' he said. "WeIl, perhaps
you may have heard of the spleen?
IExactly. Now, science has never
Iyet been abe to find out the use of
IEthat organ, and the man who be-
lqueathed that knowledge to posteri-
,lty would rank with the discoverer
Iof the circulation of the blood, and
confer an inestimable benefit on hu-
: manity for the remainder of the
worlds lease. I propose to dissect
you"
"You will not get much glory by
that" said /, seeming to take this
Outrageous practical joke in good
Ipart. "An ungrateful generation
Imay or may not profit by your dis
: ,coveries, but it will infallibly hang
you"
"Not So" he blandly replied. 'I
Jam surgeon, who once had very
considerable practice, but I had to
stand my trial for an experiment
that proved fatal on one of my pa
tients. The jury, unable to under
stand the sacrifices which an earnest
inquirer is ready to offer at the
Ishrine of science, declared me mad,
. and l was placed in confinement.
| You see 1 can act with impunity."
And he opened the box. | broke
Iout in cold sweat. Was it all real?
Could the man be in earnest?
"But," said I, ''surely you can get
dead bodies to dissect, without hav-
ing resource to crime. And again :
Iif generations of anatomists have
failed ia twenty thousand investiga-
Itions, to discover the use of the
spleen-if you yourself have failed
hitherto-why should you suppose
this one attempt should be more
successful than the others?"
Because, my dear sir" replied he,
with the smile of one who has
caught a bright idea, "all former in
vestigatioBs, including my own, have
been upon dead subjects, while l
propose to examine your vitals with
q powerful magnifying glass, while
they are exercising their normal
functions"
what" l gasped, "you viii never
have the barbarity-" And here my
Evoice choked.
"Oh, yes; l have conquered that
prejudice against inficting suffering
which is natural to the mind, enfee-
bled by civilization. For many years
I secretly practiced vivisection upon
animals. l once had a cat, an ami
NAL very tenacious of life, under a
scalpel for week. But we have no
time to waste in conversation. You
will not be put to any needless suf-
lfering; these instruments are not my
own, blunted for want of use; / took
the precaution of borrowing the
case from the gentleman under
whose care was placed before max
ing my escape"
While speaking thus, he took Out
the hideous little glittering instru-
ments and examined them one BY
one They were of various appall-
ling shapes. and gazed upon them
with the horrible fascination of a
bird under the power of snake. Of
one only could tell the use-a thin,
trenchant blade, which cut you al
most to look at it. He lmelt across
me, arranged his implements on the
seat to his right; laid note book,
lpencil and watch on that to the left, !
and took off his neckcloth and collar
murmuring:
"The clothes are very much in my
way; wish that you were properly
prepared for the operation"
1t flashed across me in my des-
pair that had heard of madmen be-
| ing foiled by an apparent acquies-
cence in their murderous intentions.
AFTER ALL" l forced myself to say,
"what is ones life to the benefit of
the human race? Since mine is de-
manded by science, let me aid you.
Remove these bonds and allow me
to take off my coat and waistcost."
He smiled and shook his head.
"Life is sweet; l will not trust
lyou," he said, unfasteniDg my waist
coat and turning back the lapels as
far as he could. Then, taking pair
of scissors, he proceeded to cut my
shirt front, so that presently my