The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-08-18
DR. AWSUN'S WARD.


.osr chair, and welcomed to his COM
totably furnished consulting room the
.'.oll. dressed young man whose card
bis servant had just handed him.
always glad to see you, George.
think / can guess what your visit
means. You wish to ask me to con.
sont TO your engagement to Laura"
George Abbot felt far more nervous
.hon on the well-remembered occasion
of making his first speech to jury;
and stammered out, "Ye-es, sir. But
%nw did You know? Has Laura"
"Iaura has said nothing to me. But
e is said. you know, that 'lookers-on
COO most of the game and your atten-
tions were such as no honorable man
would offer without serious inten-
tons"
"The you consent" the young man
broke in.
"If. after you have heard the story l
AIN about to relate to you, you still per-
sist in your request for my wards
hand"
Your wardw
ayes, Laura is not my own child.
She is my adopted daughter, and
. lave her as dearly as, twenty-five
wears ago. loved her poor, Inflated
mother. But listen to her fathers
. history.
after passing through Guys. and
. being duly licensed to kill" said the
\ doctor II proceeded to India. having
Obtained a Government appointment
IN the land of cholera and chutnee. l
was there fifteen years and was resi-
dent surgeon at Berri-Berri Barracks,
\ IN the Neilgherry Hills, when first
met Capt. Kerr. He was tall. unde-
nlably handsome man, probably about
n thirty years of age.
"rhe colonel of his regiment was
4 Walter White, whose flag l had been
at Winchester. I was frequent Wis.,
. itor at his bungalow. and one of the
many victims to the charms of his
lovely daughter Even now l recall
her willowy figure, her merry laugh,
her faxen riuglets. and trustful. viO-
LET ewes. But ] needn't enter upon a
4 description of her; her daughter is her
living image.
"Laura-her child bears her name
had many suitOrs, and among them
n was Rupert Kerr. The Captain was
generally looked upon as the lucky
man; and by degrees. most of the
Young lady's admirers withdrew from
the unequal contest.
"Ope day startling rumor passed
round the camp. l heard of it as l
made my morning round. and, though
& pooh-pOohed 1t. it still gained curren-
cy. Men said that Capt. Kerr had
been secretly married. more than
year ago, to a half-caSte woman at
Bombay, and that she had appeared in
camp to claim her rights as his wife.
"After the mess. at which Col. White
and the Captain were both absent, l
was summoned to the COlonel's bunga-
low. went across at once. and found
that poor Laura was i'm high fever
Her father and mother were endeav-
0rng TO calm her, but in vain. and
ever and anon she would shrek: My
Rupert. my Rnpert-no. you're not
mine! Not mine. oh dear and then
would follow a burst of tears. | then
learnt that the sinister rumor was no
enrichment gossip, but the plain. I'M
vanished truth.
"0n returning to my quarters | was
astonished at finding Capt. Kerr
awaiting me. 'IIa! Doctor he eX-
claimed, as he saw me. Il want you to
come over and see my-my-my WIFE
with curiOusly hard intonation of the
last word.
81 resumed my hat, which | had laid
aside, and followed him TO his bunga-
low. On my way | asked, What are
the symptoms?
We'll, she is sleeping. and has been
sleeping since noon, and l can't awak-
en- her. was the answer.
"On couch in the verandar was
stretched an exceedingly fat mulatto
woman, with brown features and
curiously puckered skin. She was
wing on her back and was snoring like
Stent0r.
Il grasped her arm and felt her
pulse. 1t beat fast and irregularly.
The Captain stood at the head of the
sofa and leant over her Almost at
mat instant the woman awoke. and
poured forth such Il voluble string of
The most awful language English and
HihdustanD that even | Shrank back
appalled,.
The Captain motioned me to the
uoOr. She's come around. Doctor. so
there's no necessity for your kind ser
Vices. | will only ask you not to de-
scribe Mrs. Kerr 10 the mess | gave
the required pledge and left him.
For some weeks | attended Mrs.
Kerr in her apparently cataleptic
frances. They came at irregular in
'ervals, and were always marked by
similar symptoms.
MY other patient. Laura White. had
Dy this time recovered. but was hardly
more than the shadow Of her old
sunny self. Naturally. Kerr was cut
ny the regiment. and l. for one, felt
sincerely glad when it was announced
mat he had exchanged into home
regiment and would shortly sail for
England.
MY affection for Laura was only
Irengthened and one day, after pay
,hg my morning visit, l asked her, in
uer tathers presence to become my
wife.
She burst into tears. and when she
uad recovered her composure, she an
sswered; I feel that l am honored by
the affection of good and noble man,
ana though | cannot give you the love
i. ought, | will try to make you good
ana faithful wife,
on the day that our engagement
war published, Kerr's wife died. l
"as present when she passed away In
cataleptic fit, and gave my certificate
" .nat effect. AS is usual in not eli
Saates, she was buried within twenty
Tour hours.
a., forty-eight hours later my brief
Cup OF happiness was dashed to the
s.onhd Cont En' : "a left for Eng
Ssnu and Laura White had fed with
hh,ln' They had been married in Bonn
~ vay and had sailed for England before
= tu4 N0lAnnl ..-...al..l AlnA mort