Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1874-04-09
KILL OR CURE.
A Story of the American Civil
VVnr.

A Story of the American Civil
"The Major is capital fellow. Doc
tor" l said, as we sauntered out TO
smoke our cigars in the garden. after
an eaFly dinner, "but be ou. hit TO be
more merciful TO US wretched bache
lors. What with his charming wife
and that exemplary baby, he makes it
difficult to respect the tenth command
ment"
"You admire Mrs. Layton?"
admire her! If she were not Char
lies wife | should fall head over heels
in love with her. have seen tairer
faces, but for dear, pretty delicate wo-
manly ways never met her equal"
"You couldn't stand under a mans
thirsling for her blood y
"Gotd gracious! A wretch who
could touch one of her golden hairs
roughly deserves to be erucifed."
"And yet for many days she was in
deadly peril of her life"
"For her fortune2''
"She had none -
Don't tell me, Doctor. that an limo.
cent creature like that could give any
one cause for revenge"
mo; | won't tell you anything OF
the sort "
al think I see Some one was mad.
l., -, loyo Nth har -
"If you were to guess till this day
out you would not find the cause" said
my friend. Let US sit down here,
and l will explain It's no secret; |
wonder the Major has not told you .
down here was on a rustic seat
that the Msjor's pretty wife had made
at the end of his garden, close to where
a little rill, soon to be lost in the blue
Hudson, tinkled its way through the
grounds
During the war;" began the Doc
tor, 81 served in the army in the same
regiment with an old schooImate. He
was as fine soldier as ever drew sword !;
hale, hearty and sound in mind and
body; eager TO see service, and he saw
plenty l thought that he bore a
charmed life, till one day he was carried
into the hospital in bad way A ball
had entered the shoulder. glanced on
the clavical (what you call the collar
bone), and had gone-s0mewhere
That was all he could tell, for there was
no other orifce; but whether it had
passed up or down or taken some er-
ratio course round about, such as balls
will take, we know not, and no probing
could find out. Well, he recovered,
went North to regain strength. and for
nearly three years lost sight Of him
Wien the war was over, and when |
had begun to practice as civilian in
New York, ! met him again But how
changed! He was living skeleton.
and saw in a moment that he had be-
come habituated to opium Do you
know what that means? No? Well,
throw bucket of water into a piano,
and then light a 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 nv Office, and of course |
assented; but it was days before he
came, and when be did arrive knew
that he had been preparing himself for
a fgh: with himself. Some foolish pa
tients come prepared to hide the truth,
some to magnify their ills 1t is part
of our business, in serious cases, to ex
anime a mans mind before we ask
about his body, and hardened as sur
geons must be, / confess that the con
dition of my poor friend frightened
me. There was an expression in his
eyes that | mad never seen in any sane
being, and what made this worse, was
the calm, business like manner in
which he spoke. He told me that soon
after he had (apparently) recovered
from his wound he began TO suffer from
pains in his head, which increased in
severity till they became so agonizing
that he bad recourse to opiates TO allie
viate them. But have not come to
consult you about this he said; this
can bear-must bear. Would to
God that they we're always tearing mel
The worst is when they are not
"'They leaYe you very weak, / sug'
gested.
"'They leave me- he replied, quite