Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-09-13
CalliStOls Gift.

CalllSt0l'S Cltt.
by HUGH CONWAY.
PART /.
TOLD ny PHILIP BRAND, NJ. D., LONDON.
Yet / was not altogether amused by his
talk. His wild arguments and wilder beliefs
made me fancy there must be a weak spot
somewhere In his brain-even made me fear
lest his end might be madness. The thought
made me sad; for, with the exception of the
eccentricitles which / have mentioned. |
reckoned Cairiston the pleasantest friend |
had ever made, His amiable nature. his
good looks, and perfect breeding had endear-
ed the young man Ia me; so much so That |
resolved, during the remainder of the time
we should spend together, 10 do oil | could
toward talking the nonsense out of him.
My efforts were unayailing. kept a sharp
lookout upon him, and let him fall into no
more mysterious reveries; but the curious
idea that he possessed, or could possess, some
gift above human nature, was too firmly root
ed 10 be displaced. On all other subjects he
argued fairly and was open to reason. On
this one point he was immovable. When |
could get him to notice my attacks at all. his
answer was:
"You doctors, clever as YOU are with the
body, know as little Of psychology as You did
three thousand years ago"
When the time caIne for me 10 fold up nv
easel and return to the drldgery of life, /
parted from CarrisiOn with much regret. One
of those solemn, but often broken. promises
10 join together next year in another sketrh-
Ing tour passed between us. Then | went
back 10 London, and during the subsequent
months, although I saw nothing OF him, I
often thought of my friend Of the autumn.
III.
in the spring of 1865 | went down 10
BournenIOuth 10 see, for the last time, an old
friend who was dying of consumption. Dur
Ing a great part of the journey down | had
Tor a travelling companion n welldressed gen
tlemanly man of about forty years of age.
We were alone in the compartment, and aft
er interchanging some small civilities, such
as the barter of newspapers, slid into con
versatiOn. My fellow traveller seemed 10 be
an intellectual man, and well posted up In
the doings of the day. He talked fiuently
and easily on various topics, and Judging by
his talk must have moved in good society.
Although | fancied his features bore traces
OF hard living and dissipation, he was not
unprepoSscSsing In appearance. The great
est faults In his face were the remarkable
thinncSs of the lips, and his eyes being a
shade closer together than one cares 20 see.
With a casual acquaintance such peculiarities
are OF little moment, but for my part / should
not choose for a friend one who possessed
them without due trial and searching proof.
At this time the English public were much
interested in an important will case which
was then being tried. The reyersion to a
vast sum OF money depended upon the tesla
tors sanity or insanity. Like most other
people we duly discussed the matter. j sup
pose, from some of my remarks, my compan
ion understood that l was a doctor. He ask
ed me a good many technical questions, and
l described several curious cases of mania
which had come under my notice. lie seem
ed greatly interested in the subject
you must sometimes find il hard 10 say
where sanity ends and insanity begins" he
said thoughtfully.
"Yes. The boundary line is in some in
stances hard 10 define. To give in such a
dubious case an opinion which would satisfy
myself / should liant 10 have known the pa
tient at the tir.e he was considered quite
sane"
ITO mark the difference
Exactly. And 10 know the bent of the
character. For instance, there is a friend of
mine. He was perfectly sane when last |
saw him, but for all know he may have
made great progress the other way in the in
~terval."
Then without mentioning names, dates, or
places, | described Carriston's peculiar dis
position TO my intelligent listener. He heard
me with rapt interest.
"You predict he will 90 mad?' he said.
Certainly not. Unless anything unfore-
seen arises he will probably live and die as
sane as onorL2
Why do you fear for him, thenr'
"For thisr reason. / think that any sudden
emotion-violent grief, for instance--any UNI
expected and crushing downright at once
disturb the balance OF his mind. Let his life
run on In an even groove, and all will be well
with him."
My companion was silent for a few mo-
ments.
did you mention your friends name?' he
asked.
1 laughed. Doctors never give names
when they quote cases"
At the next station my companion left the
train. He bade me a polite adieu, and thank
ed me for the pleasure my conversation had
given him. After wondering what station in
life he occupied / dismissed him from my
mind, as one who had crossed my path for a
short time and would probably never cross ii
again.
Although / did not see Charles GARRISON l
received several letters from him during the
course of the year. He had not forgotten
our undertaking to pass my next holiday to-
gether. Early In the autumn, Just as / was
beginning TO long with a passionate longing
for open air and blue skies, a letter came
from Carriston. lie was now, he said, rough
ing II in the Western Highlands. He reIaind-
cd me Of last years promise. Could 1 get
away from work now? Would l join him?
III I did not care 10 visit Scotland, would /
suggest sone other place where he could Join
me? Still, the scenery by which he was now
surrounded was superb and the accommoda-
ton he had secured. IL not luxurious, fairly
comfortable. He thought we could not do
better. A postscript to his letter asked me TO
address him as Cecil Carr, not Charles CarYis-
ton. He had a reason for changing his name
"a foolish reason | should no doubt call it,
When we met he would let me know IT,
This letter at once decided me to accept his
invitation. In a weeks time my arrange
ments for leave of absence were complete,
and 1 was speeding northward in the highest
spirits, and well equipped with everything
necessary for my favoritc holiday pursuit.
looked forward with the greatest pleasure to
again meeting Carriston. l found him at
Calendar waiting for me. The coach did
not follow the route we were obliged to take
In order to reach the somewhat unfrequented
part OF the country in which our tent was
pitched. so my friend had secured the services
of a prfmftivv vrnfcfc sud astrung snaggy
pony to bear us the remainder of the journey.
So soon as our first hearty greetings were
over / proceeded to ascertain how the last
year had treated Carriston. l was both de-
lighted and ~astonished at the great change
for the better which had taken place In his
n no less than Lis appearance. lie
looked far more robust; he seemed happier,
brighter-altogethcr more like ordinary hui