The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1877-05-10
The Man Whose Yoke was
not Easy.
BY BRET HARTE.

ne was - spare Iuaus anu pulSl-
caIly, an ill-eonditioned man, but at
first glance scarcely q seedy man.
The Indications Of reduced circum-
stances in the male of the better class
are, / fancy, first visible in the boots
aud shirt, the boots Extensively ex-
hibiting degree of polish ineOnsis-
tent with their dilspidated condition,
and tile shirt showing an extent of
ostentatious surface that is invariably
fatal to the thresdbsre waistcoat that
it partially covers. He was a pale
man, and fancied still paler from
his black clothes.
He handed me q note.
1t was from q certain physician q
man OF broad culture and broader ex-
perience 3 man who had devoted
the greater part of his active life to
the alleviatiOn Of sorrow and suffer-
ing man who had lived up 10 the
noble vows OF q NOZZLE profession a
man who locked in his honorable
breast the secrets OF hundred fami.
lies, 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
~ AlCAood a L4dh W 4Of lAAOh6A AOLk
contact with suffering, had acquired
universal tenderness and breadth of
kindly philosophy msn 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 en-
abled him 1.-THE physicisn) to exist or
practice his calling in brief, a man
who so nearly lived up to the exam
pie of the Great Master that it seems
strange am writing Of him as doc
tor of medicine and not of divinity.
The note was in pencil, character
istically brief, and ran thus
"Here is the man 1 spoke OF. He
ought to be good material for your
For q moment 1 sat, looking from
/ the note to the man, and sounding
the ''dim perilOus depths Of my
memory for the meaning Of this mys-
teriOus communication. The "gOod
material" }" however, soon relieved my
embarrassment, by putting his hand
on his waistcOat, coming toward me,
and saying, "It's just here you can
feel it,"
It was not necessary for me to do
so. In q flash / remembered that
my medical friend had told me of 3
certain poor patient, once a soldier,
who, among his other trials and un-
certainties, was afflicted with an aneu-
rIsm caused by the buckle of his KNAPP
sack pressing upon the arch of the
aorta. 1t was liable to burst st any
shock or moment. The poor fellows
yoke had indeed been too heavy.
In the presence of such a tremem-
dous possibility think for an instant
[ felt anxious only about myself.
What l should do how dispose of the
body how explain the circumstances
of his taking off; how evade the ubi-
quitOus reporter and the cOrOner's in
quest how a suspicion might arise
that had in some way, through neg
ligence, or for some dark purpose, un-
known to the jury, precipitsted the
catastrophe, al flashed before me.
Even the uOte-with its Garkly sug-
gestive CffeT of "good material" for
me-looked diabolically significant.
What might not an intelligent law
yer make of it?
tore it up instantly, and with few
erish courtesy begged him to be seat
ed.
"You don't care to feel it ?" be
asked, little snxiously.
"No.u
"Nor see it ~
mo"
He sighed, trifis ssdly, as if had
rejected the only favor he could be-
stow. l saw at once that he had been
under frequent exhibition to the doc
tors, and that he was, perhaps, q trifls
vain of this attention. This percep-
ton was cOrrobOrated moment lat
er by his producing copy Of medi-
csl magazine, with the remark that
on the sixth page would find full
statement of his case.
Could 1 serve him in any way, l
asked.
1t appeared that I could. II 1 could
help him to any light employment,
something that did not require any
great physical exertion or mental ex-
citement, ne would be thankful. Bat
be wanted me to understand that he
was not, strictly speaking, q poor
man that some years before the dis
cOvery of his fatal complaint he had
taken out life insurance policy for
s., 600, and that he had raised and
scraped enough together to pay it up ;
and that he would not leave his wife
and four children destitute.
see," he added, "if could find some
sort of light work to do, and kinder
sled along, you know-until-"
He stopped, awkwardly.
/ have heard several noted actors
h-sI h-a- N eli
phrase. 1 think l never WIS as hon.
estly moved by any spoken word as
that "untiTl or the pause that follow
ed it. He was evidently quite I'M
conscious OF its effect, for as took g
seat beside him on the sofa, and look
mere closely in his waxen face, 1
could see that be was evidently en-
barrassed, and would nave explained
himself further IL 1 had not stopped
him.
Possibly it was the dramatic idea,
or possibly chance, but g few days
afterWard, meeting a certain kind
hearted theatrical manager, 1 asked
him il he had any light employment
for a man that was an invalid. "Can
no walk 9'' SsYes.U "Stand up for Is
minutes ?r "Yes.U "Then I'll take
him. He'll do for the last scene in
the Destruction of Sennacherib'-it's
a tremendous thing, you know; we'll
have 1000 people on the stage" |
was q trifie alarmed at the title, and
ventured to suggest without betray-
ing my poor friends secret that he
could not actively engage in the
OBSTRUCTION Of Sennscherib,' and
that even the spectacle of it might be
/ too much for him. "Neednit see 1t
at ALL" said my managerial friend )
"put him in front ; nothing to do but
march in and march out, and dodge