The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-11-26

yyhere for the writer. l left for more con-
| genital quarters TO read the weird stofy
which my strange acquaintance onered
for my perusal Save few paragraphs
| so badly written that they could not De
deciphered. the following contains the
story which has for a year borne upon
my mind
A Selfish Man.
81 have ever been a selfish man, living Tor
NV own pleasure, and caring little for
the joys or sorrows Of others. never stop
ming at any act, no matter how hearuess
| or cruel TO attain my own ends. Jhoush
| morose I'm disposition 1 studied the ways
| OF men and cultivated the winning man
| ner that comes from kind impulses an"
an earnest desire TO please.
mo man OF my acquaintance could 80
quickly make friends or attract sIoup
| around him. be IT In drawing room y,
public corridor. / was all things to all
men, and only had one purpose In view ~
| TO gain knowledge, money and power ioi
! myself; and often have j sacrlhceu hiil
! who had sacrificed most for me IN orueI
| to complete cherished plan. Ihousn "O1
/ a murderer before the law, no mofoeiei
ever had a blacker heart than NINE anu
men have died, broken in fortune ana
! spirit on account of my Vaccinations
/ 81 married young and lived TO see my
| wife who bore me five children, ole OF
! neglect and a broken heart anu heI
offspring grow up and pine ana ole without
| the sympathy and care OF father > loVe'
| II had one paramount, ali-absoFpihs
| idea. and every thought and feeling rove
| and ambition. and every human PASSION
| was suhorGirated to 1t.
"From my earliest school days j had
pencil ant for chemistry and natural phil-
osophy, and before / was grown had
mastered ihe theories Of the greatest
savants OF the day. and having inherited
large fortune devoted ii to research
not only among the discoveries OF the
civilized world, but pursued the occult
sciences and magic Of the orient and the
Indus. until those subtle influences with
which the masters of the Black Art seem
10 toy with the very secrets or HE
and death were as familiar 10 me as the
simplest truths In natural philosophy; ana
what was at first but a harmless trick
ling stream became torrent which bore
me on to a relentless fate.
The Mystery of Life.
81 entered with the greatest diligence
into search for the hidden mysteries OF
life. believing only in science as the ar
bitter between the living and the dead ana
spurning all faith in an overruiing proVlu-
cree.
IL studied exploded theories and found
a false lead. This was the power which
led me by insensible steps 10 my after lie
Of misery, longer than the allotted time or
man.
"The evil genius which ] followed for
pleasure in youth rose up as black hallu-
cination when l grew older, and when L
realized In the search for the philosophers
stone. and the elixir of life as a scientific
triumph, that my own youth and health
were slipping away, l became terrified
and bent all the force and Strength
of my learning to prolong my own exist
enee. believing that the secret of life was
almost within my grasp.
The bouyancy OF youth was being sur
planted by the uncertainties Of old age.
For many years l had been anticipating
and dreaming of old age, decay, and death;
but only as the enemy OF man, the cause
Of which was a secret 70 science whose
discovery would bring great glory and re-
nown to my name.
But when 1 found that ] too was des-
tined TO become feeble, and commenced to
apply its results to my own case, the
picture of the cold and silent grave haunt
ed my vision. and L could almost feel the
chilling waters of death come over me.
The Cause of Death.
"The cause OF decay and death l had
long since discovered to be the action
Of the atmosphere upon the human skin;
one result being the shrivelng and drying
of it up to a mere crust: this process OF
shriveling and drying interfering with a
free circulation Of the blood and debility
and the infrmities of old age follow as a
natural result.
'The atmospheric air inhaled into the
lungs imparts life and vitalizes the blood
by converting the venOus into arterial
blood, but acting externally for period OF
forty fifty sixty, seventy, or eighty years
IL devitaliZes the skin. the solid parts Of
the body becoming involved the devital-
ization Of tho skin and body take place,
all the creatures life and strength falls
under the infirmities Of old age and ultim-
atey he dies.
THE atmospheric air imparts life to all
vegetables and animals. but it possesses
the double property OF vitalizing and dewitt
aliZing them at the same time.
"Alhanimals must have air internally TO
grow and live; externally it robs them OF
existence. When L undertook to protect
my body, and prolong my life, | first
naturally turned to the study of protection
from actual contact.
"First one texture and another was tried
but If they were efficacious the grotesque
appearance 1 presented made people cali
me crazy, and the delights of a Iimitless
life which / had pictured could not be
enjoyed under the ridicue of the feeble
creatures whose span of life was but
four score years and ten.
"Oh! that i had died then before the
secret which has been my curse for more
than a century was accidentally discov-
cred.
I'm my search for material for a cover
ing that would protect my skin from the
devitializing air contact, / tried the skins
Of many animals, wasting precious years
in the search of them in foreign lands.
and each day feeling more maddened by
the failure.
FINALLY / made a glove like cover
from the skins Of a hairless animal
which l found among the cactii of
the high plateaux Of Mexico having
remarkable likeness to the human
skin, and which, for better name, called
the Furless. This extraordinary covering
l wore with little Inconvenience and with
rare detection even by the NEST obser-
want
My own skin commenced to take on a
peculiar texture shortly afterwards for
which could not account; but a closer
examination Of the Furless skin, exposed
secretion which, when applied to my arm
ana breast, turned my skin a whittier hue.
and gave 1t the texture OF the animals
hide, which my experiments had shown
was provided with valvular spinicles i'm
pervious to air, yet conveying away the
| impurities or the blood
Il Analysed the secretion and by a simple
process found in law OF nature what
all my secrets of science failed to furnish
The devltalizing effect Of the air on my