The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-01-10

&
5 A SECOND OPINION. H


"But-but-you are not absolutely
satisfed?" 1 suggested.
"Well-no! Not absolutely. Yet 1t
can be nothing else-it can be nothing
else. Look here, my dear sir. you
would have no objection. I suppose to
calling in a second opinion?"
"Of course not, doctor Who is the
best man?"
"F." he said, naming an eminent
specialist, has the highest reputation
in these cases"
"Very well. Will you appoint with
DR.. f. to meet you here in consulta-
tion?"
Yes. Stay. though. Before | Go
that it may be wiser to wait another
"a hours. Let the same treatment be
continued until I come tomorrow, and
If there is then no improvement in our
patient we will call in +. How will
that do?"
II have every confidence in you, doc
tor, 1 place myself unreservedly in
your hands"
"All right. Then let it he as l have
suggested.
About o'clock on the same after
| noon I was not little surprised to
receive another visit from Dr. n.
"Ah," he said, after we had eX-
changed greetings, you didn't expect
me again today? | spoke this morn
| ing, you know, about "a second opinion.
| Wen. I have taken second opinion;
net however, another mans, but my
own. And the result has been to
throw flood of light upon Mrs. Ms
mysterious malady."
/ stared at him in some hewilder-
ment. not understanding exactly what
| he meant.
MY dear sir" he replied, answering
my look. 81 do not wonder at your
feeling surprised. / am surprised my
self. The real truth about Mrs. y. s
mplaint-embodied in my second
| opinion, as | like to call it--has dawn
ed upon me, quite suddenly, this af-
ternoon. And it explains everything.
May just run up and see my patient -
| "Of course" | said.
| And | conducted him upstairs to my
| Wife's room. 1t was not very long be-
| fore he came down again. In the
meantime / had been thinking over his
strange words, and even stranger man
ner, and wondering what it all meant.
| Before / had arrived al any sort OF
| conclusion-eXcept that his sudden dis
| covery about my Wife's complaint
| might possibly have clated and eXcit-
ed him into his present state-'he walk
| ed in upon me. | noticed his face par
ticularly. 1t was now calm, keen, con-
Vinced. The puzzled expression which
/ had observed on previous occasions
had completely vanished.
| We'll, my dear sir" he said, in a
brisk well-satisfied tone. my second
opinion was correct. We have probed
the mischief"
| You have?"
| Beyond a shadow Of uncertainty. or
a possibility Of doubt Mrs. y. is suf-
| fering from -" Ut was a Greek
word, ending in "itis.D A rare and
new complaint, only just discovered
And he entered into explanatory de-
| tails, which, in this case also. and for
similar reasons. / shall abstain from
describing to you"
lis it dangerous?" ! extlaimed.
"Oh no. And 1t is wonderfully sus-
ceptibe of treatment. Indeed, | will
promise you that after Mrs. X. has
taken q few doses Of the specific which
/ shall prescribe for her, you will no.
tice an extraordinary change for the
better in her condition. Would you
oblige me with pen and paper?"
| He rapidly wrote of prescription,
There" he said, handing it to me.
"Send out and have this made up at
once. 1t is to be taken every two
hours until I come tomorrow. And,
unless am much mistaken" he added,
as he went out, there will be no
occasion, after all, to call in Or. F."
He proved to be quite right. A few
doses of this new medicine did effect a
marvellous Improvement in my wife,
and by the time DR.. N. came on the
following morning she was quite an
othor woman.
We'll, doctor" j said TO him, delight
edly, when he looked in on me after
his interview with my wife. You
were rot at fault, you see; you have
found Mrs y. wonderfully better
have you not?"
"Yes, yes; wonderfully 50. Her
physical condition has undergone a
really marvellous change. l notice
however-and it does sometimes hap
pen in ladies suffering from this NAL
ady-a slight tendency to cerebral de-
rangement. She is now under a Curl
Gus hallucination concerning herself"
"Hallucination! l have noticed moth
ing of that sore. She seems to me to
be more herself than she has been for
weeks"
Yes? Well, these little jmaginatiOns
are only fitful and momentary and
easily escape notice. But, just now,
she said something about my hayiag
paid her second visit Yesterday af-
ternoon, and having changed her med
icine, and a few more things of that
sort. passing fancy, of course.
said nothing to undeceive her, as"
ITO undeceive her?" l interposed
with eyes wide open. "To-to-urde.
caive her? About what, doctor?"
why, about my second visit and mJ
change of medicine" he said. in som.
surprise at my question. 81 mean,
didn't tell her that l had never beer
a second time yesterday, and had never
changed her medicine at all"
stared at him now with undisguised
| astonishment.
"My-my dear doctor" I calculated
you are jesting, of course. YOU"
Testing. No, indeed. Where does
the jest come imp he inquired, with
lift of his eyebrows.
-you-deny-having come
again yesterday afternoon and having
changed my wife's medicine?"
Certainly, because l did nothing OF
the sort"
"Rut-but-you did come" I cried
and you did change her medicine, anC
you told me that the real truth about
her Illness had just dawned on you
and that she was suffering from"
| happened to remember that word
ending in tits" and / repeated 1t e
him correctly as he had told il to me