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

and the accomplishment Of my desire What
sought was thing so important to all humanity
that the few paltry human existences l might
have occasion to sacrifice in the attainment of
my goal were as nothing. For success in my
search was ready to give my own life and
saw no reason ~hy the lives of others should be
more precious to me than my own.
The Elixir of Death was the name had given
in my own mind to the object of my search.
And by the Elixir of Death meant poison of
properties hitherto unknown or hitherto uncom-
bined believed that it was possible to dis
cover poison which could be administered to
anybody at any time and from any distance,
with the result of causing instant DEATH Once
in possession of the Elixir of Death, and I was
master of the world The Elixir of Death was
universal talisman to which all things We're
obedient, for death would come at it's call, and
death rules all things If | could once COM
pound the Elixir of Death / had it in my power
to change the destiny of mankind and to mold
all humanity to my will. If an Attilla. Tanner
lane, Genghis Khan, threatened civilization,
with the Elixir of Death l could remove him at
once from the face of the earth. If a Napoleon
arose, absorbing to himself by sheer force of will
and intellect the human energy which should
have been utilized in forwarding human progress,
a single drop of the Elixir OF Death would be
more potent than he. If there should come a
false prophet, leading all mankind astray by
eloquent sophstries, had but to use the Elixir
OF Death. and he ceased to be. If great Grim
lnal should set himself above the law, and thus
with impunity give an immoral example. the
Elixir of Death would go on its way and do its
deadly work, though the mighty malefactor were
as Injured to poison as Mithridates. When / had
once Dissolved the Elixir of Death should have
without let or hindrance or control should
have the power of life and death over the whole
world. If a man in the furthermost corner of
the earth deserved to die, had but to make use
OF the Elixir of Death and the man was dead.
When my search should be successful l should
have more power than any man who ever walked
on the face of the earth. Yet | did not seek
out this secret as means Of personal
aggrandizement; l sought it for the furtherance
of tho cause of humanity l had
fidence in my own wish TO do right And
now, IN my last hour as l look back
over the few months since the Elixir of Death
came into my possession as the result and the
reward of my labor and my crime, / can say
boldly that have never used it for selfish ends
What | have done with the Elixir of Death, in
eXpllcable as 1T may have seemed to the blind
and foolish crowd was done always with the
highest motives; but there is no need now to
enter into futile explanation. What / did is
done, and the future must judge.
The search for the Elixir of Death was long
and toiisome, and abounded in false starts and
sudden endings in blind alleys. Clew after clew
took up with hope and laid down again with a
feeling akin to despair. Soon l gained heart
once more and attacked the problem on another
side. Again and again l was on the brink of
success. when final experiment dropped me
been trying to climb. The tortures of Tantalus
and the fortunes of Sisyphus together were not
as hard to bear as those | endured without COM
plaint-for had hope at bottom. Nay
more, had an unfailing belief that
l should succeed at last. knew
that l should find the Elixir of Death
before death found me. But this certainty as to
the result did not lead me to relax any of my eff
forts for its attainment. l toiled increasingly.
Some days worked so hard that when darkness
no eli fhofa I fho
silent streets all night. under the cold stars with
my mind at its highest tension; often have /
wondered why it did rot break down. Again I
would work sometimes for week together day
and night, never leaving my laboratory for rest
or food, going wholly without rest and almost
without food
In these months of wrestling with the I'M
known my wife was left to herself. TO be mated
to a man with one idea is to carry ball and
chain through life. An ardent enthusiast, with
his gaze fixed on the future is a sorry husband
for any woman, but she may at least have the
JOY of sharing in his popes and of consoling him
in his disappointments. This joy was denied to
my wife From the very nature of the secret I
was seeking, it could not be confided to her I
could not go to her and tell her how
far L had advanced toward my great
discovery The mere thought of poison
panied her; the word never crossed her lips and
she never entered my laboratory or my library.
What she might see there was too painful to ner
in the memories it recalled. And thus it was
that our happiness fell away and we began to
drift apart. That neglected her cruelty l know
now, though did not think of it then Her life
lost its sunshine and her heart failed her. She
never repined, and if she murmured 1 never
heard 1T. She was alone, as / was alone.
One morning fresh misfortune fell upon her.
She was devoted to her brother whose life had
saved from the gallows, and against whom l
never said word to her She believed in him,
and even his moody ways and the unhappiness
marked on his face never shook her confidence
In his innocence. After his acquittal he had
gone back to his old business, and in
the reaction of public sentiment in his
favor he had been prosperous. Lillian left her
small fortune in his hands and at her suggestion
gave him mine to manage for me. was never
a man OF business but ought not to have been
blind to the fact that Wilfred Morgan was not in
a condition to be trusted with the control of
large sums of money. Knowing him and know
ing what | had done, / ought to have kept
watch over him. But had but one thought
the Elixir of Death-and paid no attention to
Wilfred Morgan. Even the chance illusions
that happened to hear in regard to his specu-
lations and designations did not make any i'm
preston on me. He always avoided mel knew
why. And l ascribed his haggard and hang-dog
look to the same cause. So was wholly unpre-
pared for what happened. In spite of his frantic
struggles to extricate himself, Wilfred Morgan
was sucked deeper and deeper into the quick
sands of speculation He lost his own fortune,
his sisters, mine, and then shot himself through
Ln6 neafC.
On the evening of the day that this happened
had made the most important step toward my
discovery. had found the constituent elements
of the Elixir of Death. To combine them in
exactly the best proportions, and to give them
the further property of doing their deadly work
at any distance-these were the things had yet
to do before the Elixir of Death was an assured
success. And these things, knew. would take
many months more of unremtting hard labor
of body and mind The shot that killed Wilfred
Morgan shattered all my plans. To accomplish
my great purpose needed all my time, and an
absolute freedom from material cares was indis-
peEsable. The loss of my little fortune and of
my wife's meant that l should have to support
myself by the practice of my professionalism
law or medicine, as | might choose
Fortunately, just at this moment the editors
of great encyclopedia of medicine, huge IN
tertaking to which all the most eminent special
lists were to contribute asked me to prepare for
them a treatise on toXicology and on medical
jurisprudence, and to superintend the prepare
ton of the host Of minor titles in both these sub
laho xuhi oh Int