Year: 1863

Iueu stOOu away W lOOk NJ his nanQl.
work, with eyes glaring like of wild
beast, and his whole trembling with ex.
citement.


Now" he said, with a wild laugh,
"now shall be able to try my grand ex-
pertinent now I shall be able to find
ont whether the heart can 6e extracted
while man is alive, without killing him!
Twice l have failed, but the stars have
told me that third time shall not
fail. Oh, fame, glory, Immortality, l
have you in my graspl What pitifuI
fool, do you turn pale and tremble? II
you do die, you will die glorious mar.
tyr to science; and if you live, you and
will share the glory of this grand dis
cOvery I"


From this ridiculous rhodomontade I
perceived that my pleasant eccentric
travelling companion was raving ma
MAC. What was I to do? 1 could not
move hand or foot, or even speak, and
the madman was arranging on the seat
in front of me collection Of bright steel
instruments, which he took from the ma
hogony box which I have mentioned be-
fore. Was there any hope for me? /
tried to remember how long it was after
we left M, before went asleep, as
thought that if we only got to F.
the maniac would be discovered, and l
should be relieved of the horrible death
which now seemed imminent; but as |
had been doing some time before l went
regularly off to sleep, 1 found that I
could not in the least remember what
time had passed.


After some time spent in preparing
his instruments, my prosecutor began to
pare me, by unbuttoning my waistcoat
and barring my breast. At length ev-
erything seemed to be to his satisfaction,
and he took up sharp, keen bladed
knife. shallnever forget my sensations
when l saw that glittering instrument,
so soon to be dyed with my blood. l
felt cold Shudder run all through my
body, and l longed to close my eyes, but
they seemed to be kept open by sort of
horrible fascination. After trying the
edge of the knife, and preparing o cloth,
and giving one final look to bis instru-
ments, my eccentric friend pressed his
finger close above my heart, and said:


"This is how l am going to manage
it, my friend; 1 am going to cut q circle
in the flesh about the heart, with this
knife; it will not hurt much, as shall
only just cut through the skin, and the
knife is exceedingly sharp. 1 shall then
proceed to dig deeper with this instru.
ment, and finally extract the heart with
this I" ....


The reader may imagine my sensations
during this .blooded recital, for l
am utterly unable to describe them; but
when the sharp steel first pierced my
flesh, and / felt the warm blood flowing
out, all my past life seemed to pass be.
fore my mind in a moment of time only
to make my desire of still living, and
the horror of an ignominious death ten
fold.


Slowly the sharp knife ploughed in
my flesh, making my blood freeze in the
veins, and my eyeballs burn and feel
ready to burst from their sockets; and
new l felt my reason gradually deserting
me; the strain upon my nerves was too
much-they must give way; but con.
sidered that if they did, my only hope
would be gone; for if / moved l should
be choked with the rope around my
neck.


Slowly the sharp kuife, impelled by
the steady hand, continued its deadly
course; and now the circle was nearly
accomplished, when I felt that the speed
of the train was being gradually dimin-
iShed. A ray of hope illumined my
breast. I looked into my companions
eyes to see if he, too, noticed Ut we
were nearing F.; but he was 100 in.
tent on his horrible work.


At length he leaned back and said:


"There, now, only about an inch
more, and I shall commence the. deep
cutting !"


Only about an inch And the sta
tion was yet some way off. Only about
an inch My life hung upon the mereSt
thread. ..


1t was not longthat the experimenter
admired his diabolical work, he soon fell
to it again; but I saw the lights of the
F. Station fash by the window Of
the carriage. Isaw q strange arm seize
my tormenter; l I-heard a loud and ap-
palling cry, like that Of wild beast, and
Il became insensible.


For weeks after this l lay between life
and death in brain fever brought on by
the intense excitement of those twenty
minutes. ....


/ afterward learned that my pleasant
companion had been doctor and q sur.
geon, but that when he was young man
and just married, having performed an
operation upon his wife to remove can.
Ger, Of which she afterwards died, he
went out of mind, and had been ever
since attempting to escape, in order that
he might perform the dreadful expert
ment which so nearly resulted in hor,
rible death.


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