Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1906-01-06 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

NORTHERN WEEKLY GAZETTE.  "Not to-night," he replied; "there is no time. The hcur is late. Good-itiiflit to you all." " will walk with you, said I; "we take the same road." " Very glad of your company," he returned, and we left the inn together. " l'oor Weber!' said Schulbach. paid his last visit to the Elster." "Is he 80 ill as that?" said I. "Surely you can do him some good. Schulbech? You have pulled reany a man through a severe illness. " Never through such an illness as his." "What is his malady?" "It has no name; it is unknown to the faculty. And yet, I assure you, Weber is a dying man. Were he to have daily interoourse with his fellowcreaturce—not live alone as he does—have a wife, acquaintances and servants, even now—exhausted as he is, he might live." "'l'i'en why in the name of all that is sensible does he not act like .ather poonle—have acquaint. a.nces and servants, even if he Objects to a wife?" " Eeeeaue his life would mean their death. You heard what our friends at the aster said this evening—that his presence had a peculiar effect upon them. They grew laaguid, drowsy, weak. They did not imagine it; .they experienced all they mid. Weber was drawing from them their vitality, themby renewing his owa. Xs they grew weaker he ! grew stronger. If August Weber is to live his life must be sustained by -the life essence of his fellow creatures, and for them it means rapid decline and premature death." Good heavens, man. You don't mean to say that lie is a vampire?" I exclaimed. " our superstitious friends would say that be was something of that sort, or shall we talk scientifically and calr him a positively electrified body?" "And he is dying, you say?" I continued. I was deeply interested. I quite believed what Schulbach said, that Weber's malady was unknown to the faculty. "Weber is dying, his vital essence is quickly evaporating. He knows that the prolongation of his life means the premature death of others. That unfortunate man has been tried for murder."  "I fear he has  "Murder !" I exclaimed. "It is net known by anyone else in this town, I and I should not like it to be repeated. Indeed, I am acting u.nprofeSsionally to speak of my patient at all; however, you are a. sensible fellow, and not a, great talker, therefore, I have no fear that you will make poor Weber's misfortune public gossip." "You may trust me," I said. "Well, it was at Dresden, about two years ago, that AuguLt Weber was arrested on the suspicion of having murdered his wife—poisoned her. Her death was most mysterious, and differed in no way from that of his first wife, some years before. ' Others connected in various ways with him had died under suspicious circumstances. " No trace of poison could be discovered in the body of his wife, yet to all outward appearance it was by poison she had died. She had gradually wasted, but at death she had swollen and become very much discoloured. The swelling was not water dropsy, which is the final stage in phthisis, also in di.seas.w of the heart. No, the outer skin of the entire body was distended with a foul gas, and the disoolouration was immediate decomposition. "The trial was a very interesting one to us medical practitioners, and our number was large at its hearing. It was eventually proved in evidence that Weber had unconsciously extracted the vitality from his wife, and thereby caused her death, as he had caused that of her predecessor. "To begin with his mother had died at his birth ; his nurse had died within two years; one attendant after the other had given up the situation owing to decline of health; a.t school, in class and dormitory, the boys in proximity to him had languished and grown seriously ill; later his valet had died; some other servants in close attendance upon him had died. All had had the same appearance that his wife had—swollen and discoloured.  ---";-Many who had known Weber from childhood came forward to give evince that he had alwaya