St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-03-06
a6a
As SURGICAL
LOVE-CURE
By N BuckHAM
aN@aIae@1laasa1le

T#H
One dull, gray afternoon Ia Noyem-
Der / was sitting In my office in Ray
mond square, so deeply absorbed In m
article in my Medical Journal that I
did not hear the door of my ONCE
open. nor was I ware of the presence
of a second person until a peculiarly
deep-toned, rich and musical voice
broke upon my ear.
Have / the honor Of addressing Or.
Marston2"
! looked up. and saw before me q
tall and graceful young man, smooth
shaver, and dressed ID the character
istlc clerical garb Of the Church Of
England.
Eyes. / am DR.. Maraton," | said, r..
plying to the young clergyman's Ques-
ton. Can I be- Of any service 70
your"
ION ore condition-possibly, ne
phed the young man. taking the seaG
which / indicated, and fixing his
thoughtful brown eyes pearchlngFg
upon mine. For q moment We sat gaz-
ing intently All each other, and then /
said. somewhat abruptly:
81 beg to know the condition, sir.s
Ut fs this, he replied; that IL /
intrust my case to you, You win prom
ise to keep 1t entirely secret, scientific
ally or otherwise, until after my death,
should that occur before your own.
And, I'M any a you must agree
never to reveal my name In connection
with the affair"
For some moments / sat turning
oyer this peculiar proposition in my
mind, conscious all the while that the
brown eyes were fixed patiently. but
a~nxiously, upon my face. At length
replied;
Il have never as yet been called
upon to undertake a case guarded by
such secrecy as you seem DESTROYS to
throw about your own, and, to be
frank, I dislike to commit myself to
any transaction OF the sort-at least,
until / know something Of the nature
lot the trouble and the reasons for sup-
pressing any mention OF it. This
much, however, / will agree to do. II
you will describe the nature az your
disease, ! will then decide whether 1
ought to accept the d 3 on the con
ditions imposed. Whether / accept or
refuse It, / viii agree to keep the mat
ter i total secret. except 30 far as
your own proposition gives me lib
to speak
A slight snile fitted over the young
clergyman's face. Very we'll" he
said; II accept your word of honor. as
q gentleman should and win proceed
at once to describe the malady which
has, perhaps justly, awakened your
suspicious. TO come at once to the
point, then, know that, impelled by
your w~eIl-deserved reputation as an
anatomist, I have applied to you to
perform a surgical operation for the
cure of love-sickness!'
I started, the suspicion that fitted
through my mind mirroring itself III
consciously in my dilated eyes.
HAh, mol" exclaimed my companion
seriously, reading the tell-tale reYeIa-
Jon Of my face. 4 am not insane. My
IS as clear and logical at this
moment as it ever was in my life, and
.he request which | make, 8 little re-
lection will prove to you, is not only
reasonable, but scientific.
First, however, let me state To you
he circumstances which make me de-
to rid myself Of the passion
which 7 have confessed, thereby an
icipating the question which is sure
rise 70 you lips. You are aware,
II course, that the high church move
nent ia this country, as well as in
England, has resulted Id the formation
Il certain b~rotherhoods Of the clergy.
0ound together by VOWS more or less
approaching In strictness those which
.overn the clergy Of the Church of
= wa not aware of the fact" / re
as the young clergyman paused
or an answer.
1t is.indeed So he continued. "You
vii nof be surprised, then, to know
hat By the VOWS Of the Brotherhood
( Sc Michael, to which / -consecrat
I myself soon after the days OF my
oyitiate. eeiibacy Is as strictly en-
as upon the priesthood or the
hurch Of Rome"
Indeed" I exclaimed. carried away
y some sudden feeling, which / can
OF even now defend. The more
lolss
But here | stopped, the great brown
YES with something like q fash OF
ilympic lightning piercing and en-
haining mine. In another instant
deep. rich voice proceeded:
For ten years I have kept every
ON Of the brotherhood referring to
without d single spiritual
sruggle-wearing these restraints as
atlson wore his chains. But some
ling less than six months ago I met
woman
young clergyman paused, throw
"a head back against the green
aize lit the easy-chair in which he
For d moment i thought he had
linted, and sprang for a cordial; but.
ithont taking his slowly opening
res from the ceiling, he modoned me
ick, and continued, while an indie
sweet and almost transag-
ing smile lit his pale face;
"A woman. said ~ An angel A vi
on of t~ranscendent ioyeliness! she
me into my life as a new star comes
ross the disk OF an astronomers tel
cope. shedding its undiscovered light
eternity for him alone. Q. my ]