The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1910-11-09
An Experiment
By r. PEMBERTON SLADE
Copyright, 1910. by American Press
Association.

III Association. II
When ! was surgeon on board the
Anemania. making trips between
Bremen and Philadelphia. as was
taking my constitutional one after
noon on the upper deck a lady sitting
in a steamer chair accosted me.
II believe you are the ships medical
man." she said.
III you Will kindly sit by me will
tell you Of an operation am thinking
Of having performed"
I dropped in the vacant chair be-
side her, and she began
my eyes are a natural freak" she
said. You will perceive that my
right eye is black and my left is steel
color. l, being a woman. am very SEN
sitive to my personal appearance Now.
wish to talk with you of the feast
bility Of making my eyes the same
color"
THAT is impossible" said decid-
eddy.
"Why7"
"Why-why. because it Is impos-
sible."
II have thought much Of the mat
ter and have conceived a plan by
which think it can be done.''
"You? Do you know anything about
surgery Of the eyer
''Not professionally"
'Then why do you aspire to sug-
gest a process that an educated oc-
ulist would not even considerT'
Because l believe it Is possible
Thinking the woman might be in
sane. 1 looked her in both eyes-for
the eye is a telltale on insanity-6ut
could see no indications as to what
suspected.
VERY WELL" I said what is your
processr' -
Il propose to tattoo my gray eye
with India ink
Twas at first disposed to smile at the
idea, but it soon occurred to me that
II the India ink could be placed be-
meath the surface of the cornea. as
It may be tattooed under the skin
Nonsense! Does not the pupil contract
and dilate? When much contracted it
would leave a ring Of the original col
or.
my dear young lady," said, your
scheme Is preposterous."
Nevertheless shall try it."
"And lose your eye"
"That is my only fear. But l have
decided to take the risk"
Finding it impossible to dissuade her
or induce her even to wait till she
reached port, where she could be
Knocked out Of her crazy idea by an
oculist, In order to save her from the
probable consequences Of her expert
ment I said:
'The cornea Of the eye is not sensi-
tive. Indeed, it is really a casing to
the eye, something like an onion.
Now, would suggest, since you will
not listen to reason, that tattoo some
harmless fluid Of the proper color on
the eye as near as possible to the pu
Pill. True, 1t will soon be absorbed.
but It will be a test to guide us as to
whether It viii be safe to repeat the
operation with q durable filing"
"How long will this experimental
Several days perhaps, possibly
longer"
'The very thing! Will you perform
the operation"
mot unless you refuse to promise
that you will not do it yourself"
II certainly shall do it myself unless
you consent to do it for me-"
"WeI, then, whenever you are ready
come to my Office"
The lady did not come to me till the
day before we were due in port. It
about which there was not the slight
est necessity for haste. and made a
strenuous attempt to persuade her to
defer the operation till after she had
landed. But she resolutely persisted
in her intention to perform it herself
before glass If declined, and. know
ing that this, especially on a rolling
ship. might result In the loss Of the
eye, l finally gave in.
Taking a lot Of needles, I tied them
into a bundle, dipped them into a
harmless vegetable preparation and
tapped the eye with their points ever
so lightly. This l kept up till the
surface to be covered was 50 nearly
Of the hue of the other eye that the
difference could not be easily detected.
The next day when the lady went
ashore she was profuse in her thanks
and volunteered to advise me Of the
success Of the experiment. told her
l should be interested to hear it.
though, to tell the truth, l never ex-
pected to hear from her again. regard
ing her one Of those many cranks who
appear to be perfectly sane, but in
whose makeup some screw is loose.
A couple Of weeks later received a
letter, the handwriting Of which was
not familiar to me. Indeed, it bore
evidence of having been disguised. 1t
read:
Ny Dear Doctor am happy to report
to you that the experiment was admfra-
bly, successful. The tattoo lasted about
ten days, which was all that was required.
Tho customs officers had a description OF
me. their attention having been especially
directed to my one gray and one black
eye. They were watching very carefully
when l descended the gangplank and
spotted me for everything except the eyes
Thanks to you l got $4,000 worth of dia-
monds through duty free. Your fee by
express.