The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-10-24
ODD PATHS TO THE GRAVE.

as he studied the rings of smoke from his
after-dinner cigar. You talk of murder
always revealing itself-of the restlessness
of the murderer till his secret has been
told-his terrible dreams by night-his
nervous starts when one addresses him sud-
denly. All sentimental fancy, my dear fell
| low! could name murderers at this mo
ment, men and women too, who know that
their hands are red, yet sleep just com
fortably as you or !, and are not in the
least troubled by the fact.
''Let me give you case. Less than
year ago was called to the sick room of
an old gentleman who had amassed a hand
some fortune in business and retired. His
wife was still living. and he had one son
very meek and pious young man of 30
who was apparently devoured with anxiety.
The old gentleman $ case was one of senes-
cent anemia merely, combined with the
nervous exhaustion and tendency to col
lapse attendant upon such cases i'll old age.
There was ten years life in him, properly
managed though at the moment he WAS
very low, and required most careful hand
ling from nurse and physician. He was
half comatose when | first saw him; but
with little judicious use of stimulants his
senses returned, and he was enabled to
speak feebly. As the young man was very
anxious, after prescribing regular doses of
beef tea and brandy, and telling him how
to administer them, | cautioned him that
his fathers heart was very feeble in its ac-
ton.
Mind, | said on no account must the
old gentlemans head he lifted from the
pillow an instant. or | will not be answera-
bic for the consequences. Then explain
ed to him that, while the brain was level
with the body. and the blood had only to
be propelled horizontally, the heart was re-
lieved of the greater part of its ordinary
work-that of lifting the column of blood
necessary to supply the brain and spinal
marrow to the height of about two feet.
Your father is so exhausted, | added for
the information of this exemplary son,
that he will probably die instantly If my
directions are not carried out. Ii they are.
he will very likely recover, and live for
some years yet will drop in again in the
morning.
when called the next day, between II
and 12 o'clock, there was Grape ON the door:
and the young man told me. with the pro-
foundest sorrow depicted on his visage,
that the old gentleman had expired in his
arms about two o'clock at night In other
words. the very directions ! had given to
the young man had furnished the clue upon
which he acted to obtain possession of his
fathers fortune few years in advance of
his natural death from old age. Did he
mean it? Something can't just say
what-a shade OF suppressed exultation in
his manner, perhaps, assured me that such
was the case. And will you believe it,
Knowing that suspected him of being
murderer-for did not conceal my wrath
the young man disputed my bill, and |
had to collect it by legal process. ! got it
though to the last nickel.
TN give you another case in which
fatal termination was averted by prompt
action on my part The patient was
married woman, subject to such violent at
tacks of neuralgia that | was obliged to
resort to hypodermic injections of morphia,
and plial of Magendie's solution was
kept on the mantel in the sick room. One
afternoon | was called in great haste,
found the woman half mad with pain,
hastily filled the syringe from the phial
and injected the contents into her arm. |
had habit of blowing through the needle
after using it, to expel the solution and
prevent corrosion of the thread-like pas
sage When l took the end between my
lips, noticed sweetish taste very unlike
that of solution of morphia.
Puzzled by this fact / tested the con-
tents of the phial to satisfy my scruples,
and mark the discovery | made. Instead
of morphia. it contained saturated water
and glycerine solution of carbolic acid.
Unless acted promptly, before the solu-
ton was diffused in the circulation, my
patient had not more than ten minutes to
live. In FIVE seconds | had laid open the
puncture with sharp Scalpel, squeezed
and sponged the incision, removed the
greater part of the carbolic acid from the
pocket formed by the rupture of the It's
sues under pressure, and closed the open
ing. The woman never knew how near
she had been to death. | made cautious
| inquiries, and learned that her husband
was the only person who had been in the
room since the phial was placed on the
mantel during my last visit.
Before leaving the house | sought an
interview with the husband, carrying the
phial exposed in my hand. looked the
man straight in the eye, and told him that
his wife was very i'll; needed a nurse to
take care of her, and should return with
one in an hour or two who would receive
all the necessary instructions how TO act
from myself personally. The man ae-
quiesced with an uneasy glance at the phial,
and you may be sure | kept my word on
the nurse question.
ANY old practitioner can give you plenty
of similar cases. concludes the doctor.
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