The Valentine Democrat. [volume] (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898, 1897-05-20

the best of it.
$50 saying, he got up and took his
leave, to go and make love-curse him.!
to his fiancee.
NO one knows what days and nights
/ spent, although / worked until my
body was aching; my brain would not
let me sleep. l roamed up and down
my room, planning impossible methods
of revenge. only to see the futility of
it all. The times are not suited for
melodrama, and if 1 could only watch
and watch and-wait.
ION morning / crawled down to the
Office feeling utterly done up and list
lessly examined my correspondence.
Among it / noted one from an old
friend who was %practicing as a physi-
clan in Paris. Tossing the rest of the
letters to the managing clerk, / began
to read my friends long letter. Sud-
denly a paragraph in it seemed to
stand before my eyes as if written in
fire. 1t ran thus:
"'You will, l know, be keenly inter
ested in a marvellous discovery that,
DR.. Luys. of this city, has just made.
He is our great authority on brain dis
asses and also dabbles in hypnotism
and other kindred subjects.
"'He has established beyond any
doubt that it is possible to remove the
delusions of IN insane person-pre-
viously hypnotized-by means Of a thin
magnetized steel band worn around
the patients forehead for about a
week. This is sufficiently marvellous,
but is nothing to the fact that if a sane
man or oma wears the band pre-
viously used by the lunatic the delu-
SiOns of the latter pass in their entire
ty to the wearer, who becomes an echo
in every action of his predecessor
cat last! At last! Crushing the paper
in my hand, 1 revelled in the exquisite
revenge the letter revealed to me. My
brain, preternaturally excited, in a
few moments planned the whole
scheme. Violently ringing my bell, 1
Informed the clerk who came hurrying
in that / had to go to Paris at once on
urgent business. l told him to ask Sir
Edward to meet me at the Office in four
days time to finish the settlement, and
l started at once for London en- route
for Paris.
Fatigue was gone. Once more alert
and active, l felt as if treading on air.
On the journey I~rehearsed and rehears-
ed the scheme l had planned out until
l thought it perfect. l at once, on ar
rival, fastened to my friends house
and pretended that 1 had not received
his letter. After breakfast he took
me to DR.. Luys' clinic, and there / saw
that the powers he laid claim to were
indeed his. Selecting the neediest-look-
ing of his assistants | gently touched
him and drew him aside. In my best
French I told him that if he came to
my hotel hat evening with the band
Just removed from the lunatic who had
been relieved before my eyes, l would
give him $500 francs, or f10O. At first
he would not listen. but at last he did,
and l went back to my hotel, content.
That evening | left Paris with my re
venge' carefully packed in a small box.
On arrival at my house l slept for
twelve hours, a thing 1 had not done
for weeks, and awoke ready to carry
my scheme through.
Il see you shudder, doctor, but 1 felt
calm as fate itself.
1.-The following morning l was closet
ed with Berkley for some time, porting
over deeds of title and old, musty docu-
ments. l purposely delayed, in order
to fatigue him. Presently 1 saw the
teIl-tale contraction of his face, and 1
knew he was mine. Leaning across the
table, | said:
81 had intended, Sir Edward, half
running myself in giving you a we'd
ding present; but 1 have altered my
mind-I will cure your neuralgia in
stead
"'What!" said he, eagerly; I'd give
anything if you could; it's the only
cross l have to bear
"'Well, I'll cure you on one condi-
ton
Name it'll do anything
THAT you give me your solemn
Wolu vi uOuOI uoI " ulSSiOSC W ohy
one the method Of cure
"'AIl right; only cure me-
"'Well, I'll tell you, first, why you
have had to promise. You must know
that this office-that is, myself-is the
repository of half the secrets Of the
town. This is because everyone thinks
l nm a model for solid common sense:
Now, if you blurted out that 1 had adj
vised you to use a half-spiritualistic,
half-quack:sh remedy, why, my repu-
tation as an embodiment of practical
sense would be gone. | used myself
to suffer from headaches. and do now,
for that matter, and had tried every
remedy that the doctors could suggest.
At last l was persuaded to try a spiri-
tualist, to whom l went at night. He
gave me a thin band to wear whenever
l had a headache, and he said it would
relieve it if due to overwork, or cure it
if due to neuralgia. 1t was to be worn
for eight days constantly, and, to en-
able you to do it, | suggest that we
both take a weeks holiday and go to
some small fishing village and try b