The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-04-23
From the New York SUM-
The Man Whose Yoke Was
Not Easy.
BY BRET HARTE.

condition. and the shit showing an extent of
ostentatious surface that is invariably fatal
to the threadbare waistcoat that it partially
covers. He was pale man and l fancied
palsr from his black clothes.
He handed me note.
1t was from certain physician; man of
broad culture and broader experience; man
who had devoted the greater part of his ac-
tive life to the alienation of sorrow and suf-
VOWS of a noble profession; man who
locked in his honorable breast the secrets OF
hundred families, whose face was as kindly,
whose touch was as gentle in the wards OF
the great public hospitals as it was beside the
laced curtains of the dying Narcissa; man
who through long contact with suffering, had
acquired a universal tenderness and breadth
of kindly philosophy; man who, day and
night was at the beck and call of Anguish;
man who never asked the creed, belief, moral
or worldly standing of the sufferer, or even
his ability to pay the few coins that enabled
him, the physician, to exist and practice his
calling; in brief, man who so nearly lived
up to the example of the Great Master that
doctor of medicine and not of divinity.
The note was in pencil, characteriitcally
brief, and ran thus
"Here IS the man spoke Of He ought to
be good material for you.''
For moment sat, looking from the note
to the man, and sounding the "dim perilous
depths' OF my memory for the meaning of
this mysterious communication. The ''good
MATERIAL" however, soon relieved my embar
rassment by putting his hand on his waist
coat, coming toward me, and saying, 'Its
just here; you can feel it,"
1t was not necessary Tor me to do so. In
Hoe i ny,nhn hat c.
had told me of a certainman who was afflicted
with an aneurism caused by the buckle of his
knapsack pressing upon the arch of the aorta
1t was liable to burst at any shock or any
moment. The poor fellows yoke had indeed
been too heavy.
In the presence of such tremendous pos
sibllity think for an instant felt anxious
only about myself What should do; how
dispose of the body; how explain the circnm-
stances OF his taking off; how evade the ubi-
quitious reporter and the coroner's inquest;
how suspicion might arise that 1 had in
some way, through negligence, or for some
dark purpose unknown to the jury, precipi-
tated the catastrophe, all flashed before me.
Even the note-with its darkly suggestive
offer OF good materiaP' for me-Iooked dia-
bolically significant. What might not an in
telligent lawyer make of it?
tore it up instantly, and with feverish
courtesy begged him to be seated.
"You don't care to feel il? ?" he asked a
little anxiously.
ssNo."
Nor see it?"
sNo."
He sighed,a trife sadly, as if 7 had rejected
the only favor he could bestow. 1 saw at
once that he had been under frequent exhi-
bltion to the doctors, and that he was per-
haps trif1e vain Of this attention. This
perception was corroborated moment later
by his producing copy of medical maya
zine, with the remark that on the sixth page
l would find full statement of his case.
Could serve him in any way Z? asked.
1t appeared that 1 could. III could help
him to any light employment, something that
did not require any great physical exertion or
mental excitement, he would be thankful.
But he wanted me to understand that he was
not strictly speaking, poor man; that some
years before the discovery of his fatal COM
plant he had taken out life insurance poll
cy for $4,000, and that he had raised and
scraped enough to leave his wife and four
children destitute ''You see," he added, eff
could find some sort of light work to do,
and kinder sled along, you know-until-"
He stopped awkwardly.
have heard several noted actors thrill
their audience with single phrase. I think
l never was as honestly moved by any spoken
word as that ''untiP' or the pause that fol-
lowed it. He was evidently quite uncon-
scious OF its effect, for as took a seat beside
him on the sofa, and looked more closely in
his waxen face, l could see that he was evil
IDENTITY embarrassed, and would have explained
himself further if 1 had not stopped him.
Possibly it was the dramatic idea, or posi-
bly, chance, but few days afterward, meet
ing certain kind-hearted theatrical manag-
er, asked him if he had any light employ
ment for man who was an invalid. "Can
he walk2" "Yes." "Stand up for fifteen
minutes ?' eyes" "Then I'll take him.
He'll do for the last scene in the ssDestruc-
ton Of Sennacherib' a tremendous thing,
you know; we'll have 1000 people on the
stage" was trifie alarmed at the title,
and ventured to suggest without betraying
my poor friends secret) that he could not ac-
lively engage in the OBSTRUCTION of Sennach-
crib" and that even the spectacle of it might
be too much for him. "Needn't see it at ALL"
said my managerial friend; "put him in
front; nothing to do but march in and march
out. and dodge curtain"
He was engaged. admit I was at times
haunted by grave doubts as to whether I
should not have informed the manager of his
physical condition, and the possibility that he
on the mimic stage, but on the first perform
ance OF The Destruction of Sennacherib,"
which l conscentiously attended, 1 was
somewhat relieved. had often been amused
with the placid way in which the chorus in
the opera invariably received the most astound-
ing information, and witnessed the most ap-
palllng tragedies by the poison or the block
without anything more than a vocal protest
or command always delivered to the audi
ence, and never 10 the actors, but think my
poor friends utter impassveness to the wild
carnage and the terrible exhibitions of incen-
diarism that were going on around him tran
scended even that. Dressed in a costume
that seemed to be the very soul of anachron-
ism. he stood little outside the proscenium,
holding spear, the other hand pressed APP
parently upon the secret within his breast,
calmly surveying, with his waxen face, the
gay auditorium. l could not help thinking
That there was certain pride visible even in
ms placid features, as of one who was con-
scious that at any moment he might change
TINS simulated catastrophe into real terror. I
could not help saying this to the doctor who
was WIN me: Yes" he said, with profess
slonal exactltude, when it happens he'll
throw his arms above his head, utter an eiac.
ulation, and fall forward on his facets a
singular thing, they always fall forward on
their face-and they'll pick up the man as
dead as Julius Caesar"
After that used to 60, night after night,
with sort of hideous fascination; but while
It will be remembered that the OBSTRUCTION of
Sennacherib" had tremendous run, it will
also be remembered that not a single life was
really lost during its representation.
j., 1t was only few weeks after this modest
hrst appearance on the boards of The Man
Win W, an Aneurism that, happening to be at a
alnner party of practical business men, l
sought to interest them with the details of
Ine ABOVE story, delivered with such skill and
patnos as could command. regret to say
InaI, az a pathetic story, it for moment
seemed TO be dead failure. AT last, a prom
inent banker sitting next to me, turned to me
with the awful question: "Why don't your
friend try to realize on his life insurance :" |
begged his pardon; don't quite understand.
80, discount, sell out. Look here-(atter a
pause). Let him assign his policy to me-
IT'S not much of risk, on your statement.
'Well-Pll give him his $1,000, clear"