Weekly Trinity journal., 1879-09-06
AN INVISIBLE WOUND.

NiE'fi ~ 'N'N hoNNNN NllNs MiliC w anu
in the ante. chamber. scnt in word by the
footman that delay for him was danger.
He must be received Immediately.
The doctor threw on his dressing
gown hastily, and had his patient shown
in.
He found himself in the presence of a
man utterly unknown to him, but who, to
Judge by his dress and manners, evidently
belonged to the best society. His pale
face bore traces of great physical and
moral suffering. He carried his right
hand in sling and, in spite of his ef-
forts to restrain himself, from time to
time n stifed sigh escaped him.
You are DR.. X. p he said in a weak
and hollow voice.
4 am SIR
AS | live in the country | have the
honor of knowing you only by reputation.
But | cannot say that l am charmed to
make your acquaintance ; for my visit to
You is by no means an agreeable one.'
Seeing the poor man stagger, the doctor
invited him to sit down.
Il am tired. | have not slept for a
week. There is something the matter
with my right hand-I do not know what.
Is it a carhuncle? Is it cancer ? AT
first the suffering was slight, but now it
is n burning, horrible confined pain, in
creasing in intensity day 10y day. can
bear it no longer. | jumped into my
carriage, and here | nm. | have come to
beg you to cauterize it or to cut out the
painful part, for one more hour of this
dreadful torture would drive me to perdi-
ton
The doctor asked to see the hand,
which the patient put into his, gnashing
his teeth meanwhile from the intensity Of
pain, whilst the physician proceeded to
undo the bandage with every possible pre-
caution.
Above all, doctor. l beg of you not
to attach any importance 30 what you
will see My complaint is so strange that
you will be surprised; but l beseech you
to take no notice Of Tint.
X. renssured the stranger. AS a doc
tor, he was accustomed to all sorts of
sights. Nothing could astoni-h him.
Nevertheless, he was stupeilcd by what
he saw when the hand was freed from the
bandages. Nothing remarkable coald be
perceived, neither wound nor injury. 1t
was Il hand like any other hand. Aston,
ishcd, he let it fall. The Strangers cry
of pain, who raised the injured member
with his left hand, showed the doctor thnt
he had not come with the intention of
mystifying him, bat that his suffering
was a reality.
where is the painful spot p
Here, sir said the stranger, pointing
to n place on tie back of his hand whore
two greatvens met and his whole frame
tremblcd when the doctor lightly touched
it with his finger.
You feel the pain burning here p
Intense'v.'
Does this pressure hurt you? p
The MN did not answer bat his eyes
filled with tears from his excess OF suffer-
ing.
1T is surprising; | sec nothing
Nor | either and yet the pain there is
so dreadful, that feel tempted to knock
my head against the wall,
The doctor took II magnifying glass,
examined, and shook his head.
The skin is full of life. The blood cir
cu!ates here regularly. Underneath there
is neither innamntion nor cancer. 1t is ms
healthy MS any other part Of your body
And yet, it seems to me TINT it is rather
more red there than elsewhere p
Where p
The stranger took percil from his
pocketbook, and traced on his hand n
circle ms large as ten cent piece, with
the remark:
Just there.
The doctor looked. He began to think
that his patient was crazy.
'Remnin here,' he said. In II few
days | will cure YOU
Il cannot wait. Do not thinE me a
madman, manac. You will not cure
me in that way. | feel Internal torture
within the little circle That have traced
with the pencil, and | have come in order
that you may make an exeision there
That shall not do
why p
Because your hand shows no patholog-
ical disorder. / see no more signs of
disease in the place that you indicate than
in my own hand
you seem to think that have lost my
mind, or that am laughing at YOU re-
sumed the patient, as he drew from his
pocket book n bill Of thousand forms
which he had placed on the table, You
see now, sir, that this is no child's play,
and that the service which | expect of
you is as urgent as it is important. |
beg of you to cut out that part Of my
hand
Sir, | repeat to you that not for all the
treasures of the world will you make me
regard as diseased member which is
perfectly healthy and still less will /
cut it with one Of my Instruments
And why not 2
Because such an act would make the
world doubt my professional knowledge,
and would compromise my reputation.
Every one would say that you were mad,
and that | had been sufficiently dishonest
to take advantage of your madness, or
else sufficiently ignorant not to perceive
it,
VERY we'll Then l only demand OF
vou the smallegt pOssible service, i am