The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1874-12-09

, ""N HopH WV 80 'y "
he looked at my keen instruments
again and the CLEAN came back to
him. and J felt Us one might feel
in the power ola lion, as he re,
piled:
"Scicnce, my dear doctor ;
science is everything. All lesser
considerations must give way to
science. Our marriage and do.
mcstic relations in this life are, at-
ter all, but demonstrations Of sci
ence."
: Ho then took 4 poker, and stuck
tho end of it in the red hot stove.
What horrible torture WAS he pre-
pairing for me! O, heavens could
nothing move this maniac from
his hobby Of science ?
"You see, DOCTOR" he said, II
am studying the human heart and
its vital forces, and you can un-
derstaud how necessary it is that
life exist in it for the purpose of a
satisfactory investigation. | am
now heating this poker to q white
heat, and shall slowly approach
your heart with it, and particular
ly note it's pulsations, until, by
plunging the hot iron into it, un-
less 1t ceases TO beat. All, that
will be splendid triumph OF sci
cnce. Harvey discovered the cir
culatlon of the blood, but'he never
ran red hot iron into living
human heart"
1t was the awful moment Of my
existence when he drew that iron
from the fire at white heat and
began slowly descending its point
to my naked breast and heart,
which would cease to beat as
the white heated, Kissing iron
would be buried into its quiv-
ering valves. 0, my reader,
may you never have such mo-
ment Of intense agony, not even
when you rise on tho morning of
the last day.
"Ah, me-" said he suddenly. II
had forgotten a most important
part of the investigation. Have
you a pulsimeter? I desire to
note the exact pulsation of your
heart"
A ray ofhope lit up my soul at
this inquiry, as slender chance
of salvation presented itself, just
as drowning men catch at straws,
and I replied:
"Yes, doctor, you will find q
very fine one in that closet to the
right; the door has q combination
lock turn the knob three times
forward and twice backward, and
it will be unlocked. You will find
the pulsimeter on the upper shelf"
In this closet I had wonder-
strong spring and connection with
full skeleton, so arranged with
the door and lock, that any one
opening tho door by the knob
would be caught in the arms of
the skeleton, and held with an
iron grasp, 50 that no man with
ordinary strength could get away
The maniac placed the iron
again to the stove to regain it's
white heat, and went to the door,
turning the knobas l had directed
him. In my young days l had
practised vcntriloquism, and just
as he opened the door and the
skeleton grasped him in it's cold,
deathly embrace, I threw my
voice in.o its rattling jaws and
exclaimed in sepulchral tone:
"Ah, my fine fellow, I have you
at last, have /! One BY one l
gather you in! Come with me-
I'll give you some practical de-
monstrations of science"
With an unearthly yell of ter.
ror he broke away in his strength
from the skeleton, and with q
deathly fright in his cleaning ego
he rushed with streaming hair
down tho steps, and the slamming
of the front door came family up
to me, and then know no more
until the servant girl came home,
and searching for me, fouud me
tied upon my dissecting table,
from which she rescued me, and
l slowly recovered from the fear
fuI nervous strain.
About Il month after this OCCUR
renee, l saw an account Of q body
having been found lu the water at
one of the East river docks. The
inquest was death by drowning,'
supposed to be accidental or sui
cidal. The body was taken to
the Morgue for recognition. The
description attracted my attention;
I went to see it, and requested
that if not recognized and claimed,
| might have the body for the dis
secting room, as it was such o tine
specimen and l now have in my
room the magnificent skeleton of
John Dalhousie, VI. D., Nc. IS,