The Republican journal., 1899-09-21
The Viyisector's Door Unlocked.

The following is an extract from the
story, now famous, by Elizabeth Stuart
Phelps, in the August Atlantic Monthly,
entitled ''Loveliness: A Story" The pet
dog, called LONELINESS" Of the five year
old daughter of college professor has
been stolen from her, and the little girl is
slowly dying of grief. The scene of the
following is the lecture hall adjoining the
vivisectional laboratory of a medical col
lege:
The room filled; the demonstrator APP
peared suddenly, in his fresh white blouse;
the students began to grow quiet Some
one had already locked the door leading
from the laboratory to the hall way The
lily in the window looked and seemed, in
the low June wind, to turn it's face away.
Gentlemen" began the operator, eve
have before us to-day a demonstration of
unusual beauty and interest. 1t is our in
tention to study'-here he infinitely de-
scrbed the nature of the operation.
"There will be also some collateral dem
onstrations of more than ordinary value.
The material has been carefully selected.
1t is young and healthy" observed the
surgeon in parenthesis. We have not put
the subject under the usual anaesthesia,'
he motoned to his assistant, who at this
point went into the laboratory, because
of the Importance of some preliminary
experiments which were instituted yester-
day, and to the perfection of which con-
seriousness is conditional. Gentlemen, you
see before you =
The assistant entered through the labo
ratory door al this moment, bearing some
thing which he held straight out before
him. The students, on TERED and curving
bencA es, looked down from their amphi-
theatre, lightly, as they had been trained
to look.
at is needless to say proceeded the
lecturer "that the subject will be merci-
fully disposed of as soon as the demon
stration is completed. And we shall oper-
ate with the greatest tenderness, as we
always do Gentlemen, | am reminded
of a story
The demonstration INDUCED in little
persihage at this point, raising laugh
among the class; he smiled himself; he
gestured with the scalpel, which he had
selected while he was talking; he made
three OF four sinister cuts with it in the
air, preparatory cuts, an awful rehears-
| al. lie held the instrument suspended,
thoughtfully,
| THE first incision'' he began. "Fol-
| low me closely, now. You see-Gentle
men? Gentlemen. Really, | cannot pro
coed in such disturbanee-Wha is that
| noise?" With the suspended scalpel in
| his hand, the demonstration turned i'm
| patiently.
'Its row in the corridor" said one
of the students ''We hope you won't
delay for that, doctor It's nothing Of
any consequence. Please 60 ahead"
But the locked door Of the laboratory
shook violently, and ratified in unseen
| hands Voices FLASHED from the outside.
The disturbance increased.
"Open Open the door, Heavy blows
fell upon the panels.
I'm the name OF humanity, in the name
of mercy, open this door,
cit must be some of those fanatics, =
said the operator, laying down his instru-
ment. "Where is the janitor? Call him
to put a stop to this
He took up the instrument with an i'm
petuous motion; then laid it irritably
down again. The attention of his audi
ence was now concentrated upon the labo-
ratory door, for the confusion had re
doubl At the same time feet were
heard approaching the students entrance
| to the lecture room. One of the young
men took it upon himself to lock that
door, also, which is not the custom of the
place; but he found no key, and two or
three of his classmates joined him in
standing against the door, which they
barrcaded. Their blood was up,-they
knew not why; the fighting animal in
them leaped at the mysterious intrusion.
There was every prospect Of scene un-
precedented in the history of the lecture
room.
The expected did not happen. 1t APP
peared that some unsuccessful effort was
made to force this door, but it was not
prolonged; then the footsteps retreated
down the stairs, and the demand at the
laboratory entrance set il again. : this
time in d new voice;
cit is an officer of the court. There is
a search warrant for stolen property. open
in the name of the Law. open this d0o,
IL tie name Of the CONFERENCE.-THE
Now the door sank open, was burst
open, OF was unlocked in the excite
ment no one knew which or how,-and
the professor and the lawyer, the officer
and the search warrant, fell in,
The professor pushed ahead, ard strobe
to the operating table.
There lay the tiny creature, SO daintily
reared, so passionately beloved; he who
had been sheltered in tie heart Of luxury,
| IKE lne lltlle daughter OF the mouse her
self; he who used never to know a pana
that love or luxury could prevent or cure
he who had been the soul of tenderness,
and had known only the soul of tender
ness. There, stretched, bound, gagged,
gasping, doomed to a doom which the
readers of this page would forbid this pen
to describe, lay the silver Yorkshire; kiss
ing his vivisector's hand.
In the past few months LONELINESS had
known to the uttermost the matchless
misery of the lost dog (for he had been
sold and restolen more than oncel: he had
known the miseries of cold, of hunger, of
neglect, of homeessness, and other tor
ments of which it is as well not to think
the sufferings which ignorance imposes
upon animals. He was about to endure
the worst torture OF them all,-that re-
served by wisdom and power for the
dumb the undefended, and the small
The officer seized the scalpel which the
demonstration had laid aside, and slasha I'd
through the straps that bound the victim
down. When the gag was rem owed, and
the little creature, shorn, sunken, chang
ed, almost unrecognizable, looked up into
his masters face, those cruel walls rang
to such a cry of more than human an
| uuiSh and erStacV as they had never heard