Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-08-28

LSlCb SNOW US bnal umafTlBu women VINO
are mothers, and feel the degradation Of
such a position acutely, are peculiarly
liable to be attacked by the mysterious
malady. Esquirol was, / believe, the first
to notice this fact, and the correctness Of
his view has subsequently been confirmed
by many others.
Such being the case, 1t is small wonder
that Philippe, waking yesterday morning
TO receive the intelligence that her marriage
with Sir Mervyn Ferrand had been a farce,
should have been thrown into a state ex-
tremely susceptible to the attack of the dis
ease. Her careless exposure of herself to
the wintry air, when last night she sought
me and claimed my aid, most probably
hastened the attack Of the foe. Mrs. Wilson
had noticed her strange manner. l myself
have remarked upon her rapid changes from
calmness to excitabiHty. 1t was clear to
me that even when she visited me last night
the mischief had begun to develop itself. I
blamed my blindness bitterly. ! ought to
have seen what was wrong. Considering
her agitated state, / ought to have been
warned, and have taken precautions; but |
had attributed those htfui changes, the
meaning Of which was now only too plain
to me, to the natural agitation experienced
by a passionate yet pure-minded woman,
who found herself betrayed and brought to
shame. Oh, had l but guessed the real
cause, or rather the way ia which her grief
had affected her, all the dark work Of that
night might have been left undonel
Although in many ways it added to the
difficulties and dangers which surrounded
us, the discovery of the truth was an UNI
speakable relief to me. No right-minded
man could now call the poor girl guilty of
crime. The mans blood was indeed on her
hands; yet she had shed it, not knowing
what she did. Her frenzy must then have
been at its height. The idea of his coming
that night must in some way have occurred
to her. The desire to see him must have
driven her to go and meet him. Her wrongs
perhaps the dread she now felt of him-may
have induced her to arm herself; perhaps
she carried the weapon for self-protection.
Any way, she was mad when she started;
she was mad when she drew the trigger;
she was mad when she broke from my grasp;
she was mad now as she sat by my fire, cycling
me with morose, suspicious glances. She
was mad-and innocentl
Her manner toward me troubled me but
little. 1t is a well-known popularity OF the
disease that the patient turns with hatred
from those who were the nearest and dearest
to her. Fits of sullen, stubborn silence, al
ternating with fierce outbursts Of vitupera-
ton, are the most common characteristics
of the mania. Hideous, startling as it is to
see the change wrought in the sufferer, the
malady is by no means of such an alarming
nature as it seems. In fact the majority of
cases are treated with perfect success.
But all this is professional talk. Again I
say that the discovery OF Philippa's state of
mind was an immense relief to me. Ny
conscience was cleared of a weight which
was pressing upon it. l felt braced up to
use every effort, and thoroughly justified in
following whatever course 1 thought best.
Moreover, a new relationship was now es-
tablished between Philippe and myself. For
awhile every feeling save one must be ban.
shed. We were now doctor and patient.
After much persuasion / induced her to
let me feel her pulse. As / expected, Hound
it up nearly to one hundred and twenty.
This did not alarm me much, as in the course
of my practice l had seen several Of these
cases. The preliminary treatment was sim
pie as A B G; at all cost sleep must be OBJ
tanned.
Fortunately, / had a we'll stocked medi-
cine chest. In a few minutes l had pre-
pared the strongest dose Of opium which 1
dared to administer. In such a case as the
present | knew that no driblets would avail;
SO l measured out no less than sixty drops of
laudanum. Sleep the girl must have. That
poor seething, boiling brain must by artificial
means be forced to rest for hours. After
that rest l should be able to say what chance
there was of saving life and reason.
But preparing a dose of medicine and
making a patient like this to take it, are two
different things, l tried every art, every
persuasion. implored and commanded. l
threatened and insisted. Philippa was OBJ
durate. Poor SOUL she knew l meant to
poison her. On my part, l knew that unless
she swallowed that narcotic tonight her
case was all but hopeless.
Irested for awhile; then 1 sent for luke
warm water. After some resistance she suf-
fered me to battle her t|hrobbing temples.
The refreshing GOODNESS which followed the
operation was SO grateful to her that she let
me repeat the action again and again. A
soft and more contented look settled on her
beautiful face.
seized the moment. Once more l pressed
the potion upon her. This time successfully.
My heart trembled with joy as I saw her
swallow the drug. Now she might be saved!
still continued the comforting LAYING of
her temples, and waited until the drug took
its due effect. By and by that moment came.
The large dark eyes closed, the weary head
sank heavily on my shoulder, and 1 knew
that Philippa had entered upon a term of
merciful oblivion.
1 waited until her sleep was sound as the
sleep Of death; then 1 summoned my man.
1 had already told him that my sister was
very i'll. Between US we bore her to her
room and laid her on her bed. l loosened
her dress, cut the wet boots from her cold
feet, did all l could to promote warmth and
such comfort as was possible under the cir
cumstances. Then l left her, sleeping that
heavy sleep which l prayed might last I'M
broken for hours, and hours, and hours.
.... CHAPTER v. f~fI Hii..s