The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-09-08

/ O"AAs "eho ctAlOoty luO Il oCut LILO kuOuOy
to SHELDON, and when he wrote in re
turn. he said he wished I would 90
down oftener, as he felt it very trying
to be there by himself; but did not e
down for some weeks, not, indeed, unit
he wrote for more money.
'.Ishall always remember the day oil
that visit; it was lovely afternoon to.
ward the end of May; every tree,
hedgerow and field was in its brightes,
green, and blossoms were hanging
everywhere; the birds were twittering
on every bow, and every cottage roof;
the sun was shining brilliantly. SO, as !
walked through the quiet roads from
the station, and drew in the balmy air,
or fingered at each turn of the road to
admire the soft beauty of the country,
thought that would almost consent
to be the invalid myself, to live in so
peaceful spot; especially as, SO far as
could judge, he was having consider
ably the best of it. In my letter to Jem,
wherein L had again murmured strongly
at the expenses, | had told him by what
train l should travel and that 1 should
walk in. SO expected he would meet me;
but he did not make his appearance
until l was just entering the village, and
then I saw him lying on bank by the
roadside smoking. As drew near he
rose Slowly, and was again panied to
see how i'll he was looking; his whole
air was that of WORKOUT. detected
man, of one used up physically and
mentally. He did not brighten up and
meet me with smile, as was his wont,
and so 1 said: What is the matter
with you, old fellowP' BILL said he.
seriously, Il shall chuck this up. 1
have had about enough of it. Enough
Of l began. Enough of this precious
Tobbs,' continued he; L have not been
in bed for three nights running. am
blest if l don't believe he keeps us up
on purpose. He can sleep like a pig
every afternoon. Ican't, and it's kill
ing me- How does he seem now?' 1
asked. oh. I'm hanged if 1 know
retorted SHELDON, quite snappishly;
'he does not seem to get any
worse or better, and here have I
been at a job which must be a
good deal worse than slavery, for the
best part of two years Talk about the
policy! Pm hanged if l would go
through it all again for half dozen of
'em. You will have to get some one
else, Bill, and you may bag the whole
of the money for yourselves. when you
get it. Pm of, as soon as you get suit
ed But look at all the money he
has cost me- l said. thoroughly stag
gered at hearing such language as this;
l have spent about seven hundred
pounds in following this speculation.
Do you see any change in him at all
does he eat and drink as much as ever?'
Eat and drink exclaimed Jem. who
seemed perfectly exasperated at the
question. Eat and drink! am con-
fident that Daniel Lambert in his best
days was baby to him. Why, sir! think
of a man after such night as he has
had-only kept alive, Mrs. Pye says, by
half pint of brandy in small glasses at
a time, and two shillings' worth of jelly
that man. say, that you saw
at deaths door at two O'Clock, eating
nearly pound of rump-steak, little
with mushrooms, for his
breakfast at eight! Yes. sir; then after
a tolerable lunch, with two glasses of
sherry, he had slice of salmon, fol-
lowed by veal outlet, ham and lamb
chops with peas, for dinner. finishing
up with apricot tart. It's awful! it's
l shall chuck it up. 1
have heard you talk of going abroad
with the money when you get it; well,
when you do send me a fifty-pound note
for myself, and l will emigrate some
where, too. Not one instant's rest or
comfort or peace have l had since 1
hooked myself to this detestable cor
Jem had worked himself up
into quite a passion by the time
we arrived at the house, but
could not rouse my spirits sufficiently
even for that; l grew more depressed
the more thoroughly in earnest he
seemed. As we reached the house the
door opened and gentleman came out;
it was the doctor, and Jem said, bitter
ly: You had better walk little way
with Doctor Bump, and see if You can
make anything of him-I can't. l
really thought this was not bad advice,
so l spoke to the doctor-who knew me
of course, as l had seen him several
times and asked him if l should be in
truding if walked few yards with
him. He was pleased at my request,
and explaining that his carriage was
waiting for him at the end of the vii
lage, invited me to accompany him in
that direction. l thanked him and d.
rectly we left the garden made direct
inquiry as to the state OF our poor friend,
Mr.. Absolom Watts-I could hardly get
this out-did he think there was any
chance of his lasting much longer.
: Ahemr said the doctor, who had
round mellow voice which was very i'm
pressive; Il assure you. Mr.-A--A-
Streamer,' 'Anstream,' corrected him.
+. Exactly; Lambscream,' continued DIR.
Blump, assure you that in Mr. Watts
have one of the most interesting cases
of all that ever came under my care.
His symptoms are such that crisis may
be looked for at any time, yet, on the
other hand, his vitality is of so tenacious
a character that there is no saying how
long it may hold out But do you
think, SIR asked, that his disease
must necessarily have an early and
fatal termination?' I'VE will hope not
he replied, but of course there is no
certainty in these diseases Mr.-A-
1t is one of the most in
teresting cases. From this point he
went on as before. and SO he did, let me
vary my questions as would, until we
parted. saw him into his carriage, and