The Hickman courier., 1878-09-13

tasmagOrla, in the form of endless prC
cessiOns Of men. women aud beasts. eae
looking and leering at me, and mockin
my suferings, pass along in endles
array. know il Is the result of opium
given 10 deaden the terrible torture i
my abdomen, but the drug does not sue
ceed in mitigating It tOany extent Mex
day, so my ntrse Informs me, I asks,
her more than a thousand times, "Wha
have | done to be thus punished ?" Th
pains which, in the first stages, had beer
Z somewhat Obtuse, now became acute
and l shout alOiid IL intolerable agony
The pain in my head feels as thOHgi
! there was an iron frame on it, which
I was crushing in the bones, till my
tortured eyes seem bound to Jump out
/ Of their sockets The bloody dischaTge
from my mouth and nose continues,
/ and glance at the mirror on a chair al
my bedside shows that my features have
5 &C. llised 2 striking resemblsElce to an
n ye gft ttf -,6bisisoss swert'4 ~. y,
says Mrs. Delaney, with CHARMING ssri-
pathy.
l learn from her that = fatal symptom
of yellow jack is a universal bleeding
from the pores Of the skin, an .,
when this makes its appearance re
patient may as well throw up the
sponge. tell her boastfully that blood
sweat or black FoInit hes no terrors Tor
mel would just as soon nave both OF
them together. She says Shut up
but says it softly, and endeayors 10 ar
range the sheet in which my tortured
form is partially enwTapped. The con
tact Of the mere cloth upon my a0do-
men makes me shrek with agony.
rise from the bed frantically and APP
proach the window, and my burning
eyes are saluted by funeral procession,
preceded by hearse with noddlng
plumes. Shocked, in spite OF reckless
ness born of fierce pain, i lie down
again, but no position gives comfort.
The fiery heat which consumes my aodo-
men Is supplemented with horrible
pains in my loins, thighs, calves, knees,
ankles and even toes, which teei as
though scraped by a razor and thea
gnawed by dogs sharp teeth.
The pain in my bead becomes more
intense. and so does the agony in every
part of my body. No position gives
ease. Nv stomach and bowels have a
burning heat. as though scalded by
boiling water or scorched by Goals of
fire. and I shrek, and blaspheme, and
curse nv nurse and landlady for not
adequately assuaging my thirst. / lie
on NV back or side, with knees drawn
M. and obiurgate God and man.
Then there slowly comes a change.
NV skin. which during the first three
davs was hot and dry, and afterward on
the fourth dav, slightly moist, now per
spires freely. Worn out, | lie gasping
and eroanIng, and still afflicted with
pain and thirst The doctor Is sum
moncd. and comes with his brown, gen.
teel assistant. and saws he rather thinks
I will be all right in a few days. He
/ looks pleased, and so does his assistant.
/ Mrs. Delaney Is cool and unmOyed. As
night approaches she lights the gas (the
/ lights does not hurt my eyes at ali) anC,
/ lets down the curtain, and, seeing that
/ I am tolerably quiet, asks If sae ear
I leave me for half an hour. ] groaT,
assent, while my heart jumps with eNi
pectation. Her toilet Is easily mace
and she is gone.
and beer round roh ti,t trs wsTer 5'iiifaalbtA 5ifabtA
/ Curses on her. she has taken il away
/ fall back in profound despair. In the
( silence of the night ! hear the noisy ex
carnations of card-players in the little
/ cofee-house on the corner across the
. n
/ I deliberately slide out Of bed and lie
/ prone on the carpet Then | roll slowly
/ toward the door. tacking round the
table and my nurses chair so ar to save
/ exertion. Then / turn the handle, and
/ the door opens toward me. No fear OF
being discovered l and my nurse are
She only occupants of the house, and
/ she is out.
am attired in simple costume con
! sisting of only one linen garment, while
/ around my neck is a cloth stained with
blood from my mouth. | descend the
stairs which lead to the side-door in the
primitive manner of a child of ter
months, and unlock the door leading tC
the side of the house.
Across the narrow street--it is scarcely
twelve feet in WIDTHS the One-stOry
/ coffee-house. The saloons of New Or
leans are generally called coffee-houses
and many of them keep the fragrant
decoction of the bean of Yemen Away
on hand. This coffee-house is simply ;
tenth-rate bar-room, frequented prin
cipally by dagos," which generic It'll,
takes in all men of Spanish extraction
engaged in fishing or bringing fruit o.
vegetables to market from points on th'
river. The landlord, a villainous-look
ing " dago." with a dark, pallid fac'
like a Lascar, is playing cards will
three of his customers, with all the
heat and noise peculiar to gamblers o
the Latin race. | see them through :
stationary wooden blind, which par
tally conceals the shabby bar and th'
arrav of bottles and decanters reflected
in a cheap, dirty mirror. l make my
wav over the pavement on my hand
and knees. / pause unobserved unde
the veranda of the GROCERY, ana gaz'
with feverish desire on something which
stands on the counter. My head burn
fercely with my unwOnted exeruon
Finally, with a supreme effort, L stagge
across the room to the bar, lift up th'
battered pewter ice-pitcher to my lips
and commence drinking. To my dyinl
day l viii declare that draught th'
sweetest ever drank by man.
The next moment there was hurried
movement. Two of the men ran oul
with howl of horror. The LANDLORD
snatched the pitcher from my lips, anC
his companion seized me in his arms
These dagos are not afraid of yellow
fever | caught q sight of a yellow
faced demon in the mirror at the sam'
time, and then all was dark. :
NOh Sdits 41OCbuIr L Mol l "
nothing for him He can die"
" Well, think you had better stay
You have no right to leave him.
What could I do? Sure, Johnn,
had been arrested for batin' an English
man, an only slipped down to see hir
and give him money to pay his fine. .
had a relapse. Ninety-nine doctor
out of hundred will tell you that
relapse means death. Two weeks to
day after my first attack l felt an over
powering nausea in my stomach. an
my mouth filed. Ny nurse said not
word, but turned deadly pale. As
saw an inky substance before me il
the basin | said lightly: "This is th
black yomit, isn't itT' No answer.
! repeated the question, and Mrs. Delane
/ put up her apron, like a true Iris
; dame, and took refuge in tears. "Bah
: said ], with sinking heart, thoug
: feeling singularly free from pain e" th
black vomit can't kill me-"
, Mrs. Delaney, after few sobs, strik,
: a bell on the table twice. and slips dow
; to the door. A little darkey from oy,
the way receives her message, and in
little while my landlady come in. The
: comes a clerical looking personage. wit
, Dundreary whiskers and blue ewes. wl
, says that he understands the broth,
belongs to the Presbyterian faith. III
doctor also makes his appearance. an
a brushes everybody aside, touches m