Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-02-16
A STRANGE STORY.
BY g. w. s. ANGELL.

BY @. w. s. ANGEL.
1t was one of our Friday night sym
posiums at the Cosmos Club, and as
our particular clique was made up Of
Merton, from the Geological Survey;
Herring, of the Fish Commission, to-
gether with Long, from the Agricultur-
al Bureau; De Forrest, Of the Army
Medical Museum, and myself, then
serving as Washington correspondent
for New York paper, 1t Is needless
to say that the talk had run the entire
gamut of art, literature and science,
and had for the moment settled on
the belief In dual personalities.
II tell you, gentlemen" said Merton,
with the authoritative air by which
he always attempted to settle ques-
tions under discussion, that while l
AM willing to admit that there may
bes some things almost impossible to
prove or disprove scientifically, yet
this talk about dual personality. sub
conscious mind and all such stuff Is,
vulgarly speaking simply rot" And
he lay back in his chair with a self
satisfied air, as though there was
nothing more to be said on the sub
ject.
Long took up the argument, and the
debate grew rather warm as the pros
and cons were laid down in that ex-
cathedra way which we young men
are apt to affect. DIR. De Forrest had
thus far taken no part in the discus
sion, but had smiled once or twice at
our assertions in way that assured
US, who knew him SO well, that he
had a good story to tell II we could
only draw him out.
"Come, Doctor" said Long, as he
ordered a fresh round Of brandies and
soda for the crowd, 'you ought to
know something about this question,
for you told us last week that you
had studied under Charcot when you
were in Paris"
De Forrest selected fresh perfecto
from the box at his side, lighted it in
his usual careful way and blew few
rings of smoke, which he watched
float lazily toward the ceiling, before
he spoke.
"Well, boys" he began, "as Merton
has just said, there are some things
which we cannot as yet decide by
purely physical methods. We cannot
weight the soul in our most delicate
balance, though the scale sinks If we
add but the Fraction of a hair, nor can we
by our most subtle reagents analyze
that vital spark we call life in our lab
oratories. / do not care tonight to
speak Of the many curious phenomena
which l witnessed during my studies
in Paris, for they might furnish you
with a clew to the story which Is to
follow; but I'll tell you little incident
In real life which occurred when l was
very young In my New York practice,
and then leave the question for you to
decide.
"When l established myself in New
aork, back in the sixties, fresh from
my studies at Vienna, 1 Joined the
Bohemia Club. That was not its
name, but as none of you are old
enough to remember the club 1t will
do as well as any other. and l shall
take the liberty of changing the names
of the actors In my story as well, for
obvious reasons.
I'VE were rather jolly crowd at the
Bohemia, for we worked hard at our
different lines all day and then met
at the club in the evenings for relaxa-
tion and to compare notes. You see
we were young then, and not authori-
ties in our several branches, rs you
all are here" and he smiled in his
quizzical way as he looked round our
little circle.
''There were two Southerners in the
club" he continued, both NJ. DIS, and
although greatly alike in their features
and marvelously SO In their dress,
they were totally different in char
acter, and suppose 1t would be hard
to find in any club two men further
apart in their mora and mental
qualities. Whiting had been practis-
ing physician for year or more and
had already large clientele. He was
a splendid fellow, large of frame but
straight as an arrow, with great brown
eyes that looked you squarely In the
face when he spoke, and, with all his
physical strength, kind and gentle as
woman. He was loved by every one
at the club, where we knew him as the
soul of honor and generous to fault.
Davis, on the other hand, though
he was of the same olive hued type
and enough like Whiting in features
to be his twin brother, had a sneering
expression on his lace, and when he
looked at you with his eyes half closed
and that cynical smile on his lips he
made me think of the copperhead of
his own Louisiana swamps. He was
a heavy drinker, and spent money
enough at the club, but he was never
known to do a kind act, and we were
sure he never spent dollar on any
one else unless he saw that he would
gain some advantage in return.
Both of the men had ample means
of their own, but Davis had never
practiced, SO far as we knew, and
where he got his title Of doctor from
or where he lived no one seemed to
know. Some said that he was an ex-
pert chemist and dabbled in alchemy
as well, but he made no close friends,
and seldom spoke Of his own life.
"It happened mat Davis and Whit
ing hod never met at the club, as each
came but seldom, but we often chaffed
one about the other, and from their
facial resemblance dubbed them the
two Dromios. Jekyll and Hyde would
have been more appropriate, but this
was long before Stevenson's book was
written.
"whiting always resented any chance
allusion to his double, although good
natured at the rest of our chaff, and