The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-07

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guish it in the dim distance l knew that the
end was at hand. knew that Lillian would die
| eleven or twelve days after had ceased to give
the arsenic; and / knew that her death
while her body would be consigned
to the waves. And so it came to pass. In a
month all was over; the news came of the safe
arrival out of the Deutschland, one passenger,
the wife of an eminent American scientist hav
| ing died on the voyage from the effects of sea.
| sickness In few weeks the proof of her death
had been given to the life insurance company,
and had received the 600 needed for my
search after the Elixir of Death
1t is impossible to describe the buoyant joy
felt the first time entered my laboratory after
had received the money, and / knew that
could thereafter devote my time wholly to the
cause OF science without any vulgar thought OF
money making. ! had the fierce delight the
Arctic explorer might feel could he Stand in
| sight of the open Polar Sea- For /, too, was in
sight of my goal, although the locked ice of pow
| erty had kept me from going forward. had
| combined the ingredients of the Elixir of Death,
and all that remained to do was to devise the
| method OF administration. at any time and atany
distance, and In spite of any precautions againstit
| When compared with what had accomplished,
what remained to be achieved was the veriest
| trlte. came to my work fresh and with
| new burst of enthusiasm, and after month of
hard labor discovered the principle. and within
| another month had perfected the application
OF It. Like all really great discoveries it had the
| w. %
| hint from the Indian who sends hurtling through
the air, straight to the heart of the victim, the
poisoned arrow, the point of which he has stepped
| In the venom of the serpent's sting, bent my
utmost endeavorS to the utilization of natural
! forces, and in time / taught them to do my
| bidding. Within three months after l had
| seen my wife sail away from my sight to meet
| watery grave | stood alone in my laboratory
| at midnight with tiny vial in my hand contain
ing the Elixir of Death. had discovered the
| poison which could cause the death of any one,
at any time, at any distance, despite any and all
precautions The Elixir of Death was mine at
last. and the whole world was in my power!
With the accomplishment of my desire lost
my object in life. l had attained to the utmost
of my wish, There was nothing further for me
to do. To use the power l possessed was not
part of my plan. 1t was the possession of the
power which had sought, and not its use. The
wanton exercise of might was always repugnant
to me, and | was tender-hearted enough
never to kill insect except to effect
a. purpose. While | was seeking the
Elixir of Death it seemed to me that the occa-
sions for its righteous would be numberless;
but when had found the Elixir of Death con-
sldered the few apparent occasions which
reluctantly presented themselves and they were
inadequate No GenghiS Khan or Tamerlane
threatened civilization; no Napoleon was master
OF mankind; no False Prophet had arisen to lead
humanity astray Soon / saw that it might be
century before there would be need for the
Elixir of Death-and in a century where should
wish to live to live as long as that
II were not alive when the occasion arose
for the use of the Elixir of Death who would
there be to administer it, That was
thought knew no man to whom
| could trust my secret / knew no man
in whose hands would willingly place the aw-
full power and the mighty temptation of the
Elixir OF Death. knew no man strong enough
to withstand that temptation and wise enough
to WELD the power solely for the benefit of all man
kind. knew no man who would have self restraint
enough not to make use of the Elixir of Death
for the furtherance of his own self-interest The
longer considered this question, the less felt
disposed to let the great secret pass from my own
keeping. In time began to doubt even my own
worth1ness to have and to hold the Elixir of
Death saw that even in my own hand the
proper exercise of the mighty power / possessed
depended wholly on my own fallible judgments
and | feared that day might come when my
will should be weaker and when / myself might
yield to the temptation and use the Elixir Of
Death for some paltry purpose of my own.
Then awaked to the solemn fact that if there
was no one to whom l could intrust the Elixir
of Death after had ceased to live, and il there
was even doubt whether l myself were
altogether to be trusted to use only at the right
moment, then alas, the discovery had been
futile, and al hope of its benefting the world
was vain. Slowly awakened to the absolute
uselessness of the Elixir of Death That it was
mighty engine of good to mankind I knew but
there was no man fit to be trusted with It's
keeping
When this chilling truth was borne in upon
me, had moment of profound discourage
ment. And at this moment my thoughts went
back to the wife, whose life l had taken
in the search for what was worthless. now |
had It. l saw the mouInful and appealing glance
of her large eyes as we stood side by side in the
cabin OF the steamship just before she went
away to her lonely death in desolate mid ocean.
Life had no longer anything to offer me but
the bitterness of ashes everything sank from
under me at once One night as l sat in the
laboratory. with my eyes fixed on the little vial
which held the product of my thankless toll,
saw Lillian enter the room, smiling sadly. She
stood before me for minute, and then withdrew
as mysterously as she had come, reckoning to
me as she disappeared.
Then l made solemn vow, which have
performed to the best of my ability. Lillian
had died by my hand from the sudden stop
page of the habit of arsenic eating. l must
die the same death. This was my resolve
l began arseniceating at once, and as l was
stronger than she had been, and as l had
nothing now to fear, increased the doses more
frequently than had dared to do with /
felt the burning pangs for four days ever. II
night, as l increased the daily dose. j 81
than half the time l have reached the o. ne
amount she took before | sent her away to die
She died alone on the 18th day of November
and on the 18th of November, to-day, 1
shall die the same death, and in the
same loneliness. She was buried at sea, bnt it
may be days before am missed and they break
in here to find my body Twelve days ago
took my daily allowance of four grains of arsenic
and since then have not touched it / ought
to die tonight. My strength is greater than
hers, and my constitution is stronger, and
fight harder against the suddenly released power
of the accumulated poison. 1t may be that it
will not kill me day, but I shall die tonight
for all that. If the arsenic does not do its work
in season, have here little vial of the Elixir
of Death, and it shall be of service to mankind
for once at least. BRANDER MATTHEW'S
Fuller details of the arsenic-eaters may be
found in most books about the Tyrol. The
writer desires to acknowledge also the use here
of few fragments from slighter sketch writ
ten twelve years ago and published under pseu
donym.-B. NJ
A Revised German Bible.
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