Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-07-13

wishing to make the atrempu-aJ Iasu,
tonight, shall be able to produce the
proof of my theory
"'That would indeed be high tri-
umph of human SKILL heard second
voice reply; but consider, dear doctor,
if that man there were to expire under
our hands-what them
'Impossible!' was the quick reply.
1T is bound to succeed, and even if it
did not, lie will die a glorious death in
the interests Of science; while, if we
were to let him go, he would sooner OF
later fall into the hands of the hangman.
81 could not even see the two men,
yet their conversation was doubtless
about me; and, hearing it, shuddered
from head to foot. They were propos-
ing some dangerous operation on me,
not for my benefit, but In the interests
of medical science.
cat any rate, thought, they won't
undertake such thing without my
sanction; and what, after all, was their
intention? 1t must be something terri
BILE, for they had already mentioned the
possibility of my succumbing. I should
soon know the fearful truth, for, after a
short pause, they continued: ~
"sIt has long been acknowledged that
the true source of life lies in the blood.
What wish to prove, dear Langner, is
this. Nobody need die from pure loss
of blood, and yet such cases occur only
too often, while we must all the time be
In possession of means to renew this
highly important sap of life and thus
avoid fatal result. We read of few,
but only few, cases of a man who for
some reason or other has lost so much
blood that his death appeared inevita-
BILE if some other noble hearted man
had not offered his own blood In order
to let it flow from his veins into the
veins of the dying man. AS you are
aware, this proceeding has always had
the desired effect. / consider it, how
ever, a great mistake to deprive fel-
low being of necessary blood, for the
one thereby only gains life and strength
at the cost Of another, who offers him.
self for an always dangerous sacrifice
"'Yes, l do not think that right,
either replied DR.. Langner. And,
moreover, how seldom Is a man found
at the critical moment ready to submit
himself at once to such dangerous loss
of blood
&C That is very natural; no one lightly
undertakes such thing, continued the
other. so much greater will be our
triumph if the operation succeeds. ]
hope to show you, dear colleague, that
although we are thinking of taking that
mans blood, even to the last drop, in
a few hours we shall set him on his feet
again.
"'Just SO! l do not see why we
should not succeed. At any rate, in the
interest Of science, we should prove in a
practical manner the correctness of our
theory y.
"'And this proof, dear friend, we will
undertake without delay. Let me just
repeat my instructions, for we cannot
go to work too carefully to preserve the
life Of this man. l will open a vein in
his thigh and measure exactly the guam
tity of blood which flows out, at the
same time watching the beating of the
heart. Under ordinary circumstances
nothing could possibly save him, but
just before the extinction of the last
spark Of life we will insert the warm
blood Of a living rabbit into his veins,
as we have already arranged. If my
theory IS right, the pulsation of the
heart will then gradually increase in
strength and rapidity. At the same
time it is important to protect his limbs
from cold and stiffness, which will nat
ura1ly take place with tho loss of arterial
blood
1.-The conversation of the two doctors
overwhelmed me with deadly terror. l
could scarcely believe l was really
awake and not the victim Of some cruel
nightmare.
THE fact remained, however, that
lay helpless ON the dissecting table, that
a threatening skeleton stood in the COR
ner of the room, and, above all, that
terrible conversation which l had to
listen to in silence filled me with fear
such as ! had never before experienced.
Involuntarily the thought forced itself
upon me that I was at the mercy Of two
infatuated doctors, to whose mad theory
l should here fall the victim.
81 said to myself that no doctor with
Sod mind would propose such a
frightfui and murderous experiment
upon living man.
1.-The two doctors now approached the
dissecting table and looked calmly into
my face; then, smiling, took off their
coats and tucked up their sleeves. l
struggled to get free, as only a desper-
ate man under such extraordinary cir
cunistances could have struggled. In
vain. Their long acquired experience
knew how to render me completely help
less, and to their satisfaction I could
not even make a sound.
CDR. Engler now turned to side table,
and saw him open chest Of surgical
instruments and take out lancet, with
which he returned to me. He at once
removed the covering from my right
thigh, and although lay bound to the
table in such way that could not see
my limbs l was able to watch the doc
tor, busted with his preparations.
Directly after removing the cloth
felt prick in the side of my leg, and at
once felt the warm blood rush forth and
trickle down my leg. The conviction
that he had opened the principal vein
in the thigh would have suffced to shake
the strongest nerves.
"'There is no danger said DR.. Eng
Ter, looking into my staring, protruding
eyes with terrible calmness. You will
not die, my good man. 1 have only
opened an artery in your thigh, and you
will experience all the sensations Of
bleeding to death. You will get weaker
and weaker, and finally, perhaps, lose
all consciousness, but we shall not let
you die. No, no! You must live and
astonish the scientific world through my
great discovery!
Il naturally could say nothing in re.
ply, and no words can adequately ex.
press what felt at that moment. ]
could in one breath have wept, Inn
plored, cursed and raved.
meanwhile felt my hfe's blood flow
ing and could hear it drop into vessel
standing under the end of the table.
Every moment the doctor laid his hand