MAG 68: The Tale of a Field Hospital

Statement of Joseph Russo regarding a book allegedly authored by Sir Frederick Treves.
==Statement==
Joseph Russo is a massive fanboy of the Magnus Institute, including thoroughly reading the leaked cases from 1999. He is a self-proclaimed artist and believes the Illuminati exists.
He went to the dump near Wood Green and had a look through the items that were good enough to sell. He was shown a wicker basket full of books which were of interest for an art project. In the pile, he saw The Tale of a Field Hospital by Sir Frederick Treves, containing accounts of a field hospital during the second Boer War. Joseph thought it may be a first edition due to its age, although the pages looked like they were printed at different times, leading him to believe it was a draft copy.
Joseph had read the book before and noticed some inconsistencies. Chapter 13 is about men who dig graves for people who died in the hospital. However, in Joseph's version, Private Amherst is the only man who has a sense of decorum. Sweat does not touch his jacket and flies cloud around him. The narrator notes that he has the same name as Jeffery Amherst, 18th-century baronet, who gave small-pox infested blankets to Native Americans during the French and Indian Wars. The next day, Private Amherst dies of Typhoid suddenly after saluting the narrator, Frederick Treves.
Joseph remarks that this was not in the printed version.
In Chapter 19: The Story of the Restless Man, a wounded man keeps giving up his bed for others, until he is ordered to stay in his bed. In this original version, Private Amherst, who the narrator notes as having been buried two months before, is brought in with a broken thigh. The morning after being placed in a bed, he is found on the floor. He says "You see, doctor, I am such a restless man." The next morning the same thing happens, but this time in his bed is a man who had been shot through the chest. The man dies unexpectedly, due to his wound turning septic. The next morning another man is in Amherst's bed and this man dies as well. The narrator could not understand how Private Amherst kept getting out of the bed. Eventually, his wound becomes lethally gangrenous. When the narrator implored Amherst to remain dead this time, Amherst's final words were "But you see, Doctor, I am such a restless man."
In the final chapter, Chapter 30: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, the narrator describes Private Amherst staggering back towards the hospital in a state of disarray, black with flies. He claims to have come from the concentration camps and he wanted to share what the Boers experienced. He talks of the diseases there before dying on the spot. The man who came to bury him also dies.
Joseph handed the book over to the care of the Magnus Institute, somewhat disappointed that he did not have a more direct paranormal encounter. Before leaving, he warns to be careful handling the book as the pages are sharp. 
== Post-Statement ==
Joseph died two days after giving his statement, caused by blood poisoning from a wound in his hand. The medical records explain that the putrefaction was faster than should have been possible. Jonathan suspects that this copy of The Tale of a Field Hospital is a Leitner tome.
He confirms that the book was published in 1900. Tim found the text online and confirmed that the copies of the chapters Joseph wrote did not match the published version, with each mentioned chapter drastically different than the published version, and the concentration camps never mentioned.
John wonders if the Amherst in the book is related to John Amherst, could it be the same man or a descendant? He wonders if Amherst is related to Jane Prentiss with their connection to insects and that they both make him feel unclean, like the diseases that mark them.
== Supplemental ==
John is exploring the tunnels but has managed to get lost. He changed his route to avoid some spiders and comes across what appears to be the gas main for the institute. He can hear someone approaching and is startled by Sasha as he does not recognise her at first, she seems far too tall for a moment. She claims to have come back for her coat when she saw the open hatch to the tunnels. She dislikes being down there and finds it difficult to focus, but helps John find his way back out.
== Continuity ==
*John Amherst previously appeared in MAG 36 and MAG 55.
* The actions above attributed to Sasha James are actually Not-Sasha, who replaced Sasha in MAG 39. 
* Related Entity: The Corruption
Category:Leitner
Category:The Magnus Archives Episodes