Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1879-12-16

certainly not among tnem. Every IdC'
in the lecture room was familiar to me
| locked the door that opened into the
hall way, and then searched the ante
room on the other side of the amphithea
ter. There were dozen or more pa
tents, nervous and detected, waiting fol
treatment and attended by friends hardly
less frightened than themselves But
neither Miss Borgier nor anybody re-
sembling Miss Borgier was Of the number
DR.. Mack now briskly entered by his
private door He glrnced sharply at the
table on which his instruments were ar
ranged, ready for use, and, having as
sured himself that ever, thing was in its
place, began the clinical lecture. There
were the usual miner operations-two OF
three for strabismus, ouc for cataract, the
cxcision of several cysts and tumors,
large and small, the amputation OF a
railway brakeman's crushed thumb. As
the cases were disposed OF, | attended the
patients back 20 the aute-rOom and placed
them in the care OF their friends.
Last came a poor old lady named VIII
son, whose leg had been drawn up for
years by rheumatic affection, so that
the Joint of the knee had oSSifed 1t
was one of those cases where the neces-
sary treatment is almost brutal in its
simplicity. The limb had TO be straight
encd by the application Of main force
Mrs Wilson obstinately refused to take
advantage of auasthesia. She was
placed on her back upon the operating
table, with a pillow beneath her head.
The geniculated limb showed q detection
Of twenty or twenty-five degrees from a
right line. As already remarked, this
DETECTION had TO Be corrected by direct,
forcible pressure downward upon the knee
With the assistance of young surgeon
OF great physical strength. DR.. Mack
proceeded 70 apply the pressure. The op-
Grafton Is one OF the most eXcruciating
that can be imagined. was stationed
at the head of the patient, in order to
hold her shoulders should she struggle.
But | observed that a marked change had
come over her since VIC established her
upon the table Very much aglla,ed at
hr>,. she had become perfectly calm. As
,uc pa,,Ncl iiy toer-. h-r eyes directed
upward with nNcd gaze, the cyclldS
heavy as ii with approaching slumber,
the face tranquil, i, was hard to realize
that this woman had already crossed the
threshold Of all experience Of cruel pain.
had no time, however, to give more
Than a though, To her wonderful courage.
The harh operation had begun. The
surgeon and hi, assistant were steadily
and with increasing force bearing down
lpon the ns,l knee. Pcrhap, the Span
.,n Iuquisl,ioa never devised q method OF
mdlctng ply seal torture more intense
t4an that vli,Itli, woman va, now un-
lr.-1iuy. See, uo' u mr,t!c %; har face
luiyrrd ~- .,i All reSu-
lal.y. her placid
EXPRESSION eu her
suffering, ago
rzi9-. I II in
peaceful S,
~ the udous
force cyrr.-...,. .ei It's
natural ,.t,- elded,
and. with ~.A, .-..- indie
,cri5ablc sou4. %. tue ,rt.caag and
,r.t,ins of the bones a living person.
a sound so frishiiuI thar ..,- seen old
surgeons. with seusIomJies hardened by
long experience, turn pale a; hearing it
,4e crooked limb became as straight as
I,s maze.
C.o,ely following ;h,, horrible sound, l
lrald d ringing peal o. Laughter.
The operating table, in the middle Of
.ne pl, Of the amphithcater, VAS lighted
from overhead. Directly above the table,
a shaft five or six feet square, and closely
boarded on is four sides, led up through
the attic story of the building to sky
high, on the roof. The shaft was so deep
and so narrow that lis upper orihce was
visible from no part OF the room except
a limited space Immediately around the
table. The laughter which startled me
seemed TO come from overhead. Ii heard
BY any other person present, It was prob
ably ascribed to an hys;erical utterance
on the part of thc patient. | was in a
position 10 know better Instinctively |
glanced upward, in the direction in which
the ewes Of Mrs. Wilson had been so
hxedly bent.
There, framed in a quadrangle Of blue
skv, | saw the head and neck of Miss
Borgier. The sash of the skylight had
been removed to afford ventilation. The
young woman was evidently lying at full
length upon the fiat roof. She com
manded a perfect view of all that was
done upon the operating table. Her face
was flushed with eager interest, and wore
al expression Of innocent wonder, not un-
mingled with delight She nodded mer-
rily to me when | looked up, and laid a
finger against her lips, as if to warn me
to silence. Disguised, | withdrew my
eyes hastily from hers. Indeed, after my
experience of the previous evening, did
not care to trust my self-control under
the influence of her gaze.
As DR.. Mack with his sharp scissors
cut the end of a linen bandage he whis-
pered to me: This IS without parallel.
Not a sign OF syncope, no trace Of func-
tional disorder. She has dropped quietly
into healthy sleep during an intlction OF
pain that would drive strong man mad.
As soon a. rel ased from my duties in