Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-10-28

| prove the truth or falschood of my theory.
Will you let me try to mesmerize you for
| five minutes?'
'.Ten! Twenty, if You like" said Pod
| gers desperately, eff you will promise that
after tonight you will leave me alone aud
| in peace"
| To this the confident captain willingly
| agreed. So as soon as the table was cleared
the victim delivered himself up to his ty-
rant, and we all sat around and watched
the proceedings. Podgy sat in his chair,
with stolid look, such as have never
seen except in oxen, and Miles made
| passes at him, and also faces of great
resolution and intensity. For the first ten:
minutes nothing happened, but gradually
| (and not at all to our surprise, for it must
have been weary work. Podgy fell into q
deep slumber
Hes off," whispered the captain de-
| lightedly; "hc's falling into mesmeric
state" and he made more passes to make
him fall deeper and to keep him there
! Don't You overdo it, Miles," observed
the doctor warningly; Il don't like that
rigidity of his limbs.''
what rubbish; that's just as it ought
| to be- said Miles. Now let's try him
with the liquor tests.' He tried him with
| port and sherry and claret and whisky.
and when Miles said, SIS not this port
bitter, old fellow?" poor Podgy said it was,
and on the other hand, at the professors
suggestion, pronounced the dry sherry as
sweet as sirup. All this we had been ac-
customed to; but when the patient held
out his arms at Miles bidding, and kept
them out for a time apparently beyond all
| human endurance, we began to express our
| a1 ipnf and l,o 1ontor I, In,
"You are going too far, Miles," he said.
1.-The pulsations of his heart-and he's not
good subject, mind you, as regards his
heart, there is very likely fatty degenera-
| tion-are getting amiss Take cure, for
you may not be able to awake him again"
STUFF and nonsense! I have only to re-
verse the passes,' said the captain.
| ''Then all have to say in my medical
| capacity" replied the doctor gravely, sis
that you had better do it."
| Just little alarmed perhaps by the doc.
| tors words, the captain began to reverse
| the passes, but he might as well have put
| his thumb unto his nose" like the little
| vulgar boy in the ballad, land spread his
| fingers out" for any effect they had on the
| patient who remained in state of com
| plete Inconsistencies. We screamed at
| him, we threw water on him, we stuck
| pins in his fat legs but save for sterto-
rious breathing Gtself. as the doctor re-
marked, a very bad sign) Podgers-for it
| was noticeable that we called him by his
! nickname no longer-showed no signs of
| life.
"He is in state of what we call com
| plete suspension,'" observed the captain
| in hushed voice.
eyes, and so will the man be who put him
| there if the case comes before a jury"
| murmured the doctor.
do you mean to say he'll never get right
again" stammered the professor.
at looks to me uncommonly like it," an
swered the doctor. "The poor fellow has
| got to 60 his rounds too"
ooh, hang his rounds! I'll take them for
| him." cried the captain; ''that's the least
can do" he added remorsefully, land in
deed upon my life can't bear to see him
| in this-this Internal state Do what you
can for me, DOCTOR" (his saying ''for mel
showed the direction to which his thoughts
were tending), land I do hope that when
come back shall find him himself again"
Then off he went Though the snow and
rain, with thoughts still more dismal than
his surroundings. Miles was, as l have
said, good fellow at bottom, and repented
his folly as well as its consequences; he
| now confessed to himself that, as an anna
teur, he had rushed in where even experts
might have feared to tread and had raised
q devil which he could not lay. If Pod
gers should not get round he might be
tried for manslaughter, or, at the best,
would have to write to the poor fellows
mother to ''breall it'' to her, which would
be delicate job.
He was not good at epistolary CORE
spondence, and even in 'The Complete
Letter Writer it was probable he would
not find q parallel case. Never, even at
Eff, had there been such weather for visit
ing the posts; but the captain hardly
knew that he had become snow man and
was wet through from head to foot. His
| mind until he got back to barracks was
entirely occupied with the inquiry had
the doctor pulled Podgers through?
Fortunately he had. To the great relief
of all our minds, the poor lad began 10
show signs of returning life directly the
captain had left the room. The meeting
between the professor and his patient was
| quite touching.
'You shall never be troubled again by
me, my lad" said Miles effusively as ne.
! shook hands with him. GIVE done with
I1mesmerism forever"
Nevertheless it was most successful
experiment" observed the doctor.
"WeTTAI think it was" admitted the
| captain modestly.
II am sure itswas," said POdgers which
| we all thought very pretty of him.
On the night when, as | have said, Podgy
was dining with Pryce, their conversation
turned, as it often did, upon Miles, whom
| the squire pronounced to be most selfisl.
| opd fa11OXU oC yva11 q charI0-
TAM Podgers, though he had much more
cause than his host to be ill friends with
| the captain, defended him. They spoke OF
the military duties imposed on the detach-
ment by the Rebeccaites.
''If you were ever so i'll, and the weather
ever so bad," said the squire, 'Miles would
! never take the rounds for one of you, and
certainly not for YOU"
,"Oh, think he woulds said Podgy, it
| must be owned from generosity of spirit
| rather than conviction.
"Well, you've got bad cold, and it's
| your turn tomorrow night; I'll bet you
| twenty pounds to one he does not offer to
| go the rounds for you"
sTll takethat bet" said Podgy. and he
i booked it.
| am pretty sure the doctor was in with
him." and assisted the patient with his
symptoms" thatNpight, though he was
much too prudent TO confess to it, and
Podgy kept an honorable silence as re-
| garded his confederate. D
Cadwallader Pryce paid his twenty
pounds like man, but always swore hor-
ribly in Welsh whenever the doctor spoke
of our successful experiment flames
Payn in Independent
Vulcan, the British ironclad, is provided
| with rudder weighing twentstwo tons,
| or cor,otb;po lilo eli fnns haaviar Nh an fha