Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-07-16

! OF IaLe years IL ndu Ouly ueeu use' 90 WV.
house. Here the young men had dug a pit
under the floor, had arranged a good table,
and had furthermore closed the single win
dow, and set broad sky.light in the root.
1t was during the week before Christmas
that my students told me they were ready. l
asked them whether their subject had come
from London.
! "Never mind" said Gordon. "We've got
one."
| "Hss it been procured about here ?" asked,
a little uneasily.
! "No,' they both said, in breath. "lt
came from place long distance from here. u
"Very WE'LL" said I, Il will be with you
this afternoon"
And that afternoon l went The dead
body lay upon the table, covered with large
blanket, and in the small CRATE was fire enough
to make the place comfortable, without pro-
ducing heat enough to endanger the tissues
of the subject, some of which they might
wish to keep two or three weeks, if possible.
ave amt over and above pleased with our
purchase, Doctor" said Gordon, as l moved
toward the table, after having warmed my
hands. eve expected little better subject
than this. However, it's better than nothing"
And as he spoke he threw off the blanket,
leaving the corpse fully exposed.
I shook my head with disappointment a
more attenuated body had never seen. 1t
seemed as though skeleton, with single in
tegument drawn over it, was all there was be-
fore US.
II declare, boys, you'll get but little idea of
the development Of the tissues from this affair.
You will find the tendonous connections in
TACT and, maybe, you'll find"
had placed my hand upon the head Of the
subject, and had turned the face toward me
as | spoke these words. [ had been about to
remark that they might find muscle enough
for demonstration, when those features at
tracted my attention, and arrested my speech.
"What's up, Doctor?" as I came to this
sudden stop. us it anybody you know"
Up to the moment of this question had
recognized nothing but as the last words
dropped from his lips, the truth flashed upon
me.
"I saw the man once," I said. II was
called in consultation upon his case five or six
weeks ago. He lived in Bartondale, and his
name was Ebenezer Varney."
"What p exclaimed one of the young gen.
tlemen "old Varney, the drover? Mercy !!
couldn't all his gold keep more flesh than this
on his bones? Yes; I know him now. 1t is
the old fellow himself; and here's the end Of
the wealth he's been heaping up so carefully
and so persistently"
"Doctor doctor Williams" cried Stearns,
"what do you find in that face that binds you
SOP"
"Gentlemen," said I, having made an end
of the reverie into which l had fallen, 81 was
thinking of that consultation that I told you
of. There was something very mysterious in
this mans case, and am determined now to
investigate it. Mr.. Gordon, you will ofcourse
wish to overhaul and remove the abdominal
viscera first so I will thank you if you will
take the knife, and give me the stomach and
bowels as soon as you can"
"Eh! What's up now 7"
"Ask me no questions. You shall know
all in good time"
I may as we'll state the case plainly at this
point as at any other. From the first, [ had
held strong doubts concerning the character
of Ebenezer Varney's disease. 1t did not
look to me like consumption. That terrible
nausea of which the sufferer complained
which afflicted him continually-was not an
attendant upon any form of consumption.
suspected poison. And knew of but one
poison that could be administered without the
patients knowledge, and which could produce
such atrophy as was present in this case-and
that poison was antimony-probably the
protoride.
1t is not my purpose here to enter into
detailed account of the manipulations neces-
sarv to the result have in view. Suffice it
for me to say that in the end we had thick
ring of metallic antmony in the tube of the
apparatus, showing clearly that this poison
had been freely administered; and from
quantity obtained, it struck me that toward
the last the doses had been increased.
Having pledged my students to secrecy,1
told them the story of my visit to Mr. Var
ney, and then gave them lecture upon the
nature of antimony as a poison. They had
no doubt read of instances of slow poison,
where the fatal poison had been administered
in minute doses, gradually destroying life, and
so gradually that the patient seemed to be dy-
ing of lingering disease; and they might have
supposed the said slow poison was some Won
dertul invention, akin to the concoctions of
those famous alchemists Of olden times. But
simple protoxide Of antimony would do the
work as we'll as any thing yet found in the
whole range oftoxicology. And Furthermore,
an expert might have administered the poison
so that but little, if any, traces could have
been found but in this case the poisoner was
evidently in hurry.
And that is all that the reader cares to
know of the mortal body of the poisoned man
only, I will say, that I found the resurrection
man who furnished the corpse, and from my
own pocket paid him goodly sum to re-
turn the remains to the place whence he took
them.
As soon as could do so, l called upon DIR.
Turner, and asked him about his patient in
Bartondale.
"Poor fellow" said Turner; he hung on
some time after our consultation, but could
do nothing for him. 1t was evidently case
of galloping consumption
"Did you hold a post-mortem ?"
"No. wanted to but his friends wouldn't
allow it. They couldn't bear the idea of hav-
ing his body cut up so.'
"He left a considerable property, didn't
he?"
"Yes; twenty thousand pounds, the admin
istrators say; but it is more than that"
"Who are his heirs?"
"Hs nephew is his only heir-Adam Var
ney. You saw him when you were there"
'And saw his wife, too ?" said.
"Yes," replied Turner. She nursed the
old man through his entire sickness; only once
in while Mrs Downing came in to relieve
her."
"Who is this Mrs Downing?"