The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1913-04-24

sight OF my own position NOW ] asked
myself. on what ground was to mako
my plea for information? To tell this
DR. Addison the whole story would
certainly be ineSpedient. To hint even
at alarm concerning Cameron might
Involve the precipitation OF that iinnn-
cial disaster he had feared and regard
Ing which he had warned me- Indeed.
would not any cfort to obtain the
facts I desired be likely to arouse sus.
p!cion. no matter how dellcately
made?
The more ! ponGcrcd the situation,
sitting there thourhtfully while one
after another the patients who had
preceded me passed into the physl-
clans consultation room, the more beg
carly, It seemed to me, became my
chances Of success. And when. at
length, my turn came TO enter the
presence Of my friends friend, was
about persuaded that ! should very
soon be making an SYNONYMOUS exit
branded as an impertinently meddlng
busyhody.
| have always COHtended that II was
| Or. Addison's severely professional air
which was responsible for my inspi-
ration. for no thought Of such a course
occurred to me. until standing dumbly
hesitant before him. became con.
sclous that he was making mental in
yentory Of me with n view to dag.
nosis.
The penetration OF his gaze i'm
/ pressed ne at once His steel gray
eyes were like pair Of ConyerEing
/ probes; and they were HIS dominant
feature Aside from them his face
was commonplace.
Doctor" / said, and the sound Of
my voice was relief TO the strained
/ tension OF the moment, 81 learned Of
/ you through Mr.. Cameron-Mr Rob
ort Cameron, mutual friend"
hoped 10 SEQ his expression bright
On at the name, but It did not II
there was any change whatever It was
In the reverse direction. After n sec
ond's deliberation he asked
You wish to consult me regarding
Yourself"
on a sudden impulse answered,
Yes" though | had neither ache nor
pain, and, SO far as ! could Judge,
was perfectly normal
Il Gee" lie replied Am right
in assuming that your trouble Is Of
Il nervous character"
Heaven knows shat in spite OF my
fancied normality there had been sur
fcent reason in the past few weeks
for my nerves to 20 awry,, con.
fc3sed that had been under consld.
cradle mental strain
Thereupon, having bado ne be seat.
ed, he began to ply me with questions
with view to sympathetic revelation.
| fear, however, that gave him mea.
ger material upon which TO base n con.
clusion. slept well. my appetite was
excellent. had observed neither a
numbnoss nor a supersensItiyeness in
my finger tips. nor sensation Of full
| ness at the base Of the brain. |
could not recall any twitching of my
. muscles, nor any diminution Of mus
cular power At length. after brief
pause. he inquired:
viii you be good enough {, tell me,
| Mr. Clyde, why you think you require
| professional attention."
And my inability TO answer him. on
| hand, paradoxical as It may seem.
eventually supplied me with an an
swer at once truthful and convincing
Because" ! explained grayely, 81
find that Of late am losing my power
Of mental coordination"
The ardor with which no seized
upon this index Of my supposed NAL
ady was amusing. Instantly he grew
obviously and deeply interested.
have since learned that what is known
as confessional insanity, a rare con-
dition. usually has It's inception in this
wise, without essential emotional dis
turbance." II ! may quote an author
ity. At the time. believe he was
suspicious OF a developing paresls
What he thought, however, or what
he did not, is aside from the story.
know only that his manner changed
abruptly, his object evidently being to
gain my full confidence. Whereupon.
the bars Of reserve lowered between
us. venturod TO revert to our so-callad
mutual friend"