Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-01-03
\ TRUE STORY IN REAL LIFE.
Is LIFE WORTH LIVING?


as a profession, still had more or less
practice among personal friends, sufi-
cient to keep up my interest in it.
One day l received visit from an old
friend, the Captain of coasting steam
er. He seemed much worried, and at
times made his visit anything but pleas
ant. At last l said to him, Captain,
YOU seem troubled about something, can
l aid you in any way?"
"NoT' he replied shortly, "at lesat
don't think you can, and l have pretty
good reasons for thinking So"
l felt hurt for a moment, and rather
angrily replied, Il don't have to-"
''Of course You don't" he responded,
''but it is an internal shame, and it
makes me mad all through, when think
of the way | have been bled by lot of
frauds, that call themselves doctors"
Then he continued rapidly, ''you know
that boy of mine?" l nodded.
s.WeIl, he has been serious tax upon
me for years, not that l begrudge him
anything that he has cost me, but do
curse, every time / think of the hun
dreds of dollars, earned in the hardest
manner, disappearing into the pockets
of men who promised much, only to do
the worst kind of damage in the end"
"Now, have the cheerful prospect
of having an undertaker's bill to pay,
besides losing my boy. But" he added,
savagely, 81 have spent the last dollar
that l ever will for medicine, and, as he
has to die, the quicker the better"
"You have no right to talk in that
way, Captain" said / severely. "AS
long as your boy lives, it is your duty
to do everything in your power to aid
him."
"And haven't II" was his response;
''what is the use of your talking; you
know just as much about curing him
as the rest of them; although" he add
ed, 81 believe you have conscience;
the rest that l have had dealings with,
don't pan out so well in that respect.
81 tell you," he continued, "that boy is
doomed; he will go just like his mother
did, and the doctors can write down in
their book of failures, 'one more death
from consumption; disease we know
nothing about"
He relapsed into moody silence. At
last said, sis your boy very low, Cap
tain?"
"He can just crawl around" was his
response" and what makes the matter
worse for me, is the pitiful way in which
he asks me to try and do something for
him. However, he will be here after
awhile, and l want yOu as friend of
mine, to tell me to the best of your
knowledge, how long you think he is
going to last, so that | can make my
calculations"
While he was talking, l saw the boy
approaching, and just as he stepped in
to my Office painting and gasping, from
his exertion in walking, l said to my
self, ''the grip of death is too firmly
fastened on you to be ever shaken off. y
After greeting him, at his fathers re-
quest, examined him and found him
in the condition that l shall describe.
He had evidently inherited consumption
from his mother; bronchial tubes much
thickened, so much so as to make the
operation of breathing extremely diff
cult and painful. Chest cavity much
contracted; ausculation and percussion
showed extensive tuburculous deposits,
and cavities, especially in the left lobe
of the lungs; body much emaciated and
bloodless. In fact, unless Ito my mind)
some miraculous intervention occurred
to stay the progress of the disease, the
patient could not survive but few
weeks. talked as cheerfully as could
to him, but he was too much depressed
to pay much attention to anything but
his suffering
had had been thinking rapidly, and
as he spoke L had made up my mind to
a procedure, as regards the boy, that
determined to follow out. In answer
to his question, / said, Captain, unless
something is done for that boy, you will
bury him within a month"
swell, what can be done?" he said,
excitedly "Do you want to try your
hand in experiments? Do you want
some of my money too? Are you going to
sicken him to death with rotten cod liv-
er oil, blister his skin with plasters,
drug him and rush him into his coffin?"
"Hold on, Captain" replied; 81 don't
want your money, but l am going to
try an experiment with your permission.
1t is matter of duty, and in his condi-
ton, can do no harm, if it does no good" :"
'How much is it going to cost?' he
asked. 81 don't KNOW" was the reply
"Whatever it is," he rejoined, ''will
come out of your pocket, not mine"
"Don't bother yourself about that" said
coldly. When the boy returned, he
seemed more exhausted than when he
first entered my Office, and as his father
handed him chair, he said to his son,
del, the doctor here thinks he can do
you some good. What do you say? do
you want him to try?
shall never forget the look on the
boys face, and his words, and the head
ing of this article came forcibly into my
mind: "Is Life Worth Living?" Evi-
IDENTIFY it was to him, as it is to all man
kind, when tortured with pain, with the
clammy hand of death encircling their
throats, they struggle in his relentless
grasp, and cry out in an agony of terror,
''for Gods sake, save me-" l put him
on nutritious diet, eggs and milk head
ing the list, and provided him with a
preparation of medicine, that had ney-
er used before, or ever expected to. 1t
was sheer experiment on my part, as
recklessly attempted as anything could
be. The reSult-immediate improve
ment in breathing and general strength
of body; better color, improved spirits,
increased appetite, and an increase in
bodily weight that was astonishing.
At the commencement of the treat
ment he weighed 92 pounds. In two
months with constant progress to health,
his weight had increased to 100 pounds
In three months he accepted situation
as an errand boy, indulged in running
boyish games of all kinds, a well boy if
ever there was one. Ask him now if
Life is worth living?" "What was this
wonderful preparations" do you ask. AS