The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-03-15
A BIT OF FICTION

HIS man, WIN some KNOWLEDGE OF SCI
ence and a great reader, was constantly
tormented by the vision of the SpecteI
with the Scythe Only too ready TO give
credence to any new theory, he was con-
stantly pursued by the idea of personal
danger. was haunted by the fear of con-
tIgion and lived in terror Of the microge.
My friend, Prudent, enjoyed the best of
health-but the poor man was very sick
health-but the poor man was very sick.
The study OF some enormous volumes had
made him acquainted with the inaumera-
bic germs Of the air, unhealthy and pois-
onous; toadstools mistaken for mush-
rooms. fostering sea weeds, the sources
OF all our diseases. lie kney their his
tory. their special breeding places, the
evil they worked. as well as their names;
and those of their families.
As d result Of filling his head with all
the minute details OF this nature, of stud
ying corpuscles. poisons. NEGOTIATIONS. cul-
lures in soup. of losing himself nj the
contemplation of germs, bacteria, vi
brioneS, spirals, rods and the like. Pru-
dent Capon came finally to believe the
earth the sky over it, the water under
it. and indeed. all things and all beings
in and upon them invaded, poisoned and
surcharsed with an army Of microbes.
The life of this trembler became a YER
itatlc anguish His head filled with these
morbid ideas CLEANED from various books,
he saw flying about him in fantastic
whirlpool millions and billions Of microbes
short. spiral. dot-like, in rods, wads,
groups.
They surrounded and impregnated him.
He heard their noise. felt them pursue
him, swarm about him, dive into the pores
OF his skin. steal into his eyes and ears
and nose, invade in droves his lungs, his
bowels, his liver, his spleen. his brain,
hide behind ana about each organ-oh,
this terrible nibhtmare
Fortunately Prudent. who knew the en-
envy knew also how to defend himself.
Oh. Pasteur, Oh. Jener, oh, Roux, How
often he blessed wour names and chanted
your praises, If he had had his own way
he would have erected a statue to corro-
sive sUblimate and have caDonized car
boIic acid.
our wise friend caused to be luilt for
himself alone far from the poisoned city
air. a beautiful house For a long time
ne studied the plans. considering which
way it should front; patiently he had cal
culated the proper number of cubic feet
Of air for each chamber.
In its whitewashed rooms. behind his
double windoys that prevented murder
Gus drafts. Prudent Capon could as if
in an invulnerable fortress. defy and jeer
at the deadly bacilli The water he drank
was filtered and boiled. his food was care
fully sterilized and weighed and was
taken in exact doses. Although he had
& weakness Cor rare beefsteaks and fried
potatoes. these two danger spots of con
tagion were scrupulously avoided
Prudent had almost determined 20 erect
q vast steam stcriizer capable of 80 de-
rrecs. Cent in which he would each week
disinfect all of his clothing. His furni-
ture his dishes and even his pockctbook
would go there once month. VINO could
ten whether a crisp banknote or coin,
even at lis brightest. might not have been
handled by a consumptive or befouled by
diphtheretic? His poor old servant.
Jeanette. was nearly driven crazy by all
this
What an odd sight when Prudent Capon
put his knives. his razors and even his
gold watch and chain in the fame that
kills the evil micrococue, the strcpto-
cocque. etc. almost crematng them while
Cremating the microbes upon them.
Prudent Capon never ventured out. lie
dreaded the evcr-active parasite in the
dust of the street. while the ground was
fairly alive with millions of nameless
germs I'm the omnibus and the trolley
one rubbed with persons suffering with
the theater. at church. in restaurants. in
the cafes and in the public halls one in
hales an air surcharged with poisons. sits
upon chairs that others have contaEinat-
ed. used glasses that others have sotled
with their lips, turns the pages Of books
already turned and tainted by consump-
uves' fingers.
For the same reasons MY poor friend T.
closed his door to visitors and never
wrote letter for fear of receiving a reply
that misht Introduce into his house some
foul germ
Is it necessary to say that he had
neither dog. cat nor parrot? The terrible 4
stories he had read in his daily paper
(carfully boratcd and sterilized in al
vance Of animals tcemiuS with germs
and microbes positively gave him AN at
tack of jaundice. and the accounts OF
deaths from malignant carbuncle result .
ing from the bites of flies that had fed .
upon poisoned or decomposed meats
caused a SILVER of fright at the mere .
sight or sound of one.
Besides Prudent Capon passed the
greater part if his life in his bath room or
his dressing room. Carbolic acid was his
faVorite perfume Twenty times day h
sponged himself of. gars,ed his throat
to dslodge pneumonia germs He calcu-
lated that at each antiseptiC nasal douche
he took he killed not less than trty thou
sand bacteria oh, these phantom mi
crobcs. these accursed germs
Capon. thus washed and disinfected and
Amounted antiseptically. ought 10 have
lived TO be a contenarian. But no; one
day last summer he committed, tor the
first and last time in his life. grave
imprudencc. The sun shone brightly. the
air was pure and birds We're Singing in
the trees. Margot. the young aad pretty
farmers daughter. happened t. pass uu-
pushed the shutter part way
open, thus Drawing. perhaps. the measles
or malaria and leaned ont TO -ollow mo-
ment longer the vision of trim ankle.
oh. woman. we have always sinned
through you
4 slate detached from tho roof-a slate
large and heavy all cha eed with mi
crobes without doubt-fell suddenly upon
the sseptic head OF my friend. Re fell
Ike bullock. his skull fractured. They
supposed that he was deaf
With thousand cares they carried him
to his bed and ran TO find me-the doctor.
NV noor friend SAID L softly after