The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-07-25
A Professional
Episode
BY DONALD CHAMBERLIN

came into my consulting room-I an
an oculist-with very sad face ant
surprised me by asking me to taxi
out one of her eyes. My first supposi
tion was that 1t had been injured anC
she dreaded that ii would affect tn,
sight of the other one. but upon study
ing her face for a time | saw indica
tons of an unbalanced mind. So
simply asked her for her reasons.
Il am engaged to a soldier boy now
in Cuba" she said, land he has writ
ten me that Spanish bullet took out
one of his eyes. He says that he vii
never permit me to sacrifice myself
for him. If | have the same disfig
urement he can't talk So"
1t seemed likely that the girl had
brooded over her lovers misfortune
and the danger of losing him till her
mind had become affected. But ! did
not believe that her trouble was per
manent. | tried to persuade her to do
something to divert her mind from her
trouble, but finally, realizing the fulfil
fly of reasoning with one suffering
from mental depression and fearing
that she might do herself bodily in
Jury. said to her:
very well. If by this day week
you still feel as you do come here at
8 o'clock In the afternoon and l will
perform the operation"
was so busy during the next week
that / never once thought Of the girl
till on the afternoon | had appointed
she came in promptly at the hour
named. 1t seemed to me that the
shortest, the easiest and the safest
way to get rid of her would be TO pre-
tend TO do what she asked. So told
her that If l took out her eye she
would have to wear bandage over 1t
till the wound healed. otherwise she
would lose the sight of her other eye
and become totally blind, | would not
move the bandage herself or permit
any one else except me to do so. She
gave the required promise.
I made the same preparations as Ii
! were about to perform a real opera
ton. putting on my rubber apron
making myself look like a butcher
then called In an assistant, to whom
had explained what | proposed TO do.
and, placing the girl in an operating
chair, directed my assistant to apply
an anaesthetic. AS soon as the pa
tient had lost consciousness ! placed
pad over the eye in question and held
1t In position by means of bandages.
To complete the deception | showed
her an eye in spirits. She wished to
pay me for the operation, but | told
her, that being unprofessional, would
not take pay. Moreover. i warned her
to tell no one what had done. for If
she did | would probably be eliminat-
ed from my profession. She promised
to confde only in me and went away.
The girl was to come to see me at
my request once a week since / wish |
ed to keep track of her and. IL she |
recovered her mental balance, confess |
to her that | had not taken out her |
eye. She came once, and / saw that
her condition was very much i'm
proved. Then for three weeks l saw |
nothing of her. One morning a young |
man with a green patch over one eye |
came into my Office and l saw by his |
lowering brow that he had come to
give me piece of his mind, II nothing |
more.
what did you mean," he roared,
"by taking a good eye out Of a wo-
mans head?"
I suspected, of course, that he was
the returned soldier boy lover of the
girl had pretended to operate on. but
contented myself for the present by
asking him what he meant whereupon
he told me that, having returned from
the war in Cuba, his betrothed had
told him that she had persuaded me
TO make things equal between them
by having one eye removed. "And
now" he said, I've come home with
put losing my eye after all, though it
viii never be as good as the other one.
rhe doctors told me they would have
% take it out to save the other one,
put they didn't; they saved 1t. I'm
yoing to begin suit against you for
at once"
what did the surgeons tell you they
would have to take out your eye for
when they didn't do 1t, that you might
Tot be disappointed? How do you
,now but that the girl who loves you !
las come out better than she ex
,ected?"
What do you mean?"
rs her mind affectedT' / asked.
Certainly not"
I was pleased to hear this and ,
told the young man that :
Ter mind had been affected and that | s
lad possibly saved her from running a
Ter eye by pretending to take 1t out t
lie seized my hand joyfulIy and. not /
ontented with this. threw both his
rms about my neck
Where is my patient?" asked.
In the anteroom."
Bring her in here. and | win give {
err surprise. Don't disabuse her
cave it to me"
He went out and brought in the girl.
saw at once that she had recovered Il
err mental balance. and she looked at
he reproachfully. | SAT- her down be- +
pre- a mirror and proceeded leisurely :
} take of the bandage. then removed ;
he pad. s.
To see her face when she saw her il
vo eyes in her head lighted up with