The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-01-18
4 DOCTORS S DOUBLE.

dE was o1e Of our Friday night SYM
posiums at the Cosmos club, and as our
particular clique was mado up Of Mcr-
ton, from the geological survey; Her
ring Of the fish commission, together
with Long, from the agricultural bu-
,reau: De Forrest of the army medical
museum and myself, then serving as
Washington correspondent for New
York paper, it is needless to say that
Che talk had run the entire gamut of
art, literature and science and had for
the moment settled on the belief in dual
personalities.
e'I tell you, gentlemen, said Mer-
ton, with the authoritative air by which
he always attempted to settle questions
under discussion, s'that, while l am
willing to admit that there may be
como things almost impossible to prove
OF disprove scier tifically. yet this talk
about dual personality, subconscious
mind and all such stuff is, vulgarly
speaking, simply rot" And he lay back
in his chair with self satisfied air, as
Enough there was nothing more to be
said on the subject.
Long took up the argument. and the
debate grew rather warm as the pros
and cons were laid down in that ex ca
thedra way which we young men are
apt to affect. Dr.. De Forrest had thus
far taken no part in the discussion. but
had smiled once or twice at our asser-
tions in a way that assured us, who
knew him SO we'll, that he had good
story to tell if we could only draw him
out.
ssCome. doctor" said Long as he or.
dered fresh round of brandies and So
da for the crowd; ''you ought to know
something about this question, for you
soid us last week that you had studied
under Cbarcot when you were in Paris" +"
Da Forrest selected a fresh perfecto
from che box at his side, Lighted it in
his usual careful way and blew few
rings of smoke, which he watched foat
lazily toward the ceiling, before he
spoke. 49,.
sWell, boys, he began, ''as Merton
has just said, there are some things
which we cannot as yet decide By pure
ly physical methods. We cannot weigh
the soul in our most delicate balance,
though the scale sinks if we add but
the fraction of hair. nor can we by
our moss subtle reagents analyze that
vital spark we call life in our labora-
tories. do not care tonight to speak of
the many curious phenomena, which l
witnessed during my studies in Paris,
Tor they might furnish you with clew
to the story which is to follow, but I'll
seli you little incident in real life
which occurred when I was very young
an my New York practice and then
leave the question for you to decide.
"When established myself in New
York, back ii the sixties, fresh from
my studies at Vienna, joined the b.
hemia club That was not its name,
but as none of you is old enough to re-
member the club it will do as we'll as
any other, and shall take the liberty
Of changing the names of the actors in
my story as we'll, for obvious reasons.
"We 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 relaxation
and to compare notes. You see we were
young then, and not authorities in our
several branches, as you all are here" "
And be smiled in his quizzical way as
he looked round our little circle.
t'These we're two sontherners in the
club." he continued, "both M. D. g,
and although greatly alike in their fea-
lures and marvellously so in their dress,
they were totally different in character,
and I suppose it would be hard to find
in any club two men further apart:in
their moraland mental qualities. Whit:
ing had been practicing physician for
. year or more and had already large
clientele. He was splendid fellow,
large Of frame. but straight as an ar
row, with great brown eyes that looked
you squarely in the face when he spoke,
and, with all his physical strength, kind
and gentle az q woman. He was loved
by every one at the club, where we
knew him as the soul of honor and gen.
srous to fault.
s'Davis, on the other hand, though
he was of the same olive hued type and
enough like Whiting in features to be
ais twin brother, had sneering ex-
preston on his face, and when he look
ed at you with his eyes half closed and
that cynical smile on his lips he made
me think Of the .coppsrhead of his own
louisiana swamps. He was heavy
drinker and spent money enough at the
club, but he was never known to do
kind act, and we we're sure that he new
er spent dollar on any one unless he
saw that he would gain some advan-
tage in return.
"Both Of the men had ample means
Of their own, bat Davis had never prac-
3iced, SO far az we know, and where he
got his title of doctor from or where he
aived no one seemed to know. Some
said that he was an expert chemist and
dabbled in alchemy as we'll, but he
made no close friends and seldom spoke
Of his own life.
SIT happened that Davis and Whit
ing had 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 moro appropriate. but this was
long before Stevenson g book was writ