The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1879-08-29
AN INVISIBLE WOUND.

ers of PeSth, DIR. H., was called upon
one morning to receive ut an early hour
q visitor i'm great haste, who, while wait
ing in the ante-chamber, sent i'm word
by the fOotman that delay for him was
danger. He must be received imme-
diately. @
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, evil
IDENTITY 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
efforts to restrain himself, from time to
time stifed sigh escaped him. Seeing
the poor man stagger the Doctor invited
him to sit down.
II am tired. l have not slept for a
week. There is something the matter
with my right hand-I do not know
what. Is it carbuncIe? Is it cancer?
At first the suffering was slight, but now
it is a burning, horrible, continual pain.
increasing in intensity day by day.
can bear it no longer. l jumped into
my carriage and here l am. l 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 perdition!''
The Doctor asked to see the hand,
which the patient put into his, crashing
his teeth meanwhile from the intensity
of pain, while the physician proceeded
to undo the bandages with every posi-
BILE precaution. f.,r.. .T.....
"Above all, Doctor, beg of you not
10 attach any Importance to what You
will see. Ny complaint is so strange
that yOu will be surprised, but I beseech
Of You to take no notice Of it,
~" Where is the painful spot? 1t is
surprising. see nothing"
:. :" Nor either; and yet the pain there
is so dreadful that / feel tempted To
knock my head against the wall.
The Doctor took magnifying- glass,
examined, and shook his head.
s'The skin is full of life. The blood
circulates very regularly. Underneath
there is neither Inflammation nor cam
Ger. 1t Is as healthy rs any other part of
your body" ....
And yet il seems Ia me that il is
rather more red there than elsewhere"
Whcre?''
y The stranger took u pencil from his
pOcket-bOok and traced on his hand 4
circle rs large rs a ten-cent bit, with the
remark, - just here
The Doctor looked. He began 10
think that his patient was crazy. :. Re-
main here,'' he said. :. In few days
will cure You. The Doctor saw To his
establishment that his strange visitor
spoke seriously. He took off his coat,
turned up his shirt-sleeveS and took a
bistoury in his left hand. A second
more and the steel would have made
deep incisiOn in the flesh.
"StOp!' cried the Doctor. who was
afraid that his patient through unskill-
fulness might open some important vein.
+" Since you judge the operation indis-
pensable, 50 be it, .., .r.y
He took the bistOury, and holding in
his left hand the right hand of the pa
tient he begged him to turn away his
head, some people not being able to bear
the sight of their own blood. .....
ut is unnecessary! On the contrary,
II is who will indicate how deep down
you must cut" .Et
In fact, he watched the operation to
the end with the greatest possible COM
pos,lre, indicating how far it was tn 10.
The Open.hand did not even tremble in /
the Doctors hand, and when the little
piece of round flesh was cut out he heav-
ed deep sigh, like one who experiences
q feeling of immense relief.
"The burning pain has ceased?''
It has quite gOne," said the stranger
with smile. IS The pain has entirely
ceased, as if it had been taken away with
the part cut ont. The slight pain occa-
stoned by the bleeding is, as compared
with the other, like refreshing breeze
after an Internal heat. 1t does me real
" good to see my blood flow. Only let !
it flow, il does me 80 much good"
The stranger looked with delight at |
the streaming blood. The Doctor was
obliged to insist upon dressing the
wound.
While no vras hindinO II nm tho ma.