Year: 1874

In town in western New York, a
poor man went to his grave by Il di-
sease of the brain, concerning which
the medical authorities of the town
differed. widely and acrimoniously.-
In fact, two particular physicians,
who had long been professional rivals.
so radically disagreed as to the exact
character of the case that, when he
whose treatment prevailed could not
save the patient, the other did not
hesitate to aliege that the sick man
had been DESTROYED by ignorant mis-
management. When q respectable
practitioner casts such m imputation
upon a member Of his own profession
al school, he should be pretty conf
dent of his ability to prove it,and the
accuser in the present instance was
not unaware Of his imperative obllga
ton to substantiate his accusation. -
But how was that to be done? He
had firmly maintained that the di-
seaSe in question was caused bya tu-
NOR, and that the removal of the
same by an operation would save the
patients life. His rival insisted that
there was no tumor, and consequently
hlH rotpetform the operation. Now,
how was it to be practically demon
strated that the tumor did exist ii
the patient was in his grave? There
was but one way Of doing that, and
the doctor adopted it.


On Christmas eve, near midnight,
when bright lights shone from homes
tar and at hand, and the snow lay
cris2ly on the ground, the profession
al disputant whose truth and standing
were at stake, as he considered, in
the matter, took a confidential stu
dent Of his with him in a sleigh to
the graveyard, where had been placed
the -hapless subject Of dispute. and
rapidly and silently disinterred the
poor body and placed it in the We
h;cle. Then the whip was given to
the horse, and away started the
sleigh back on the snowy road to the
surgery.


But scarcely had the desecraters Of
mans las. resting place got under
headway with their ghastly prize,

when the muflled beat of a horses
hoofs somewhere in the darkness be-
hind them told them that they had
been watched and were being pur-
sued. Sharper fell the whip, anu the
spirited young animal in the sleigh
went like The wind, vet still the pur-
suing hoof-beats sounded through the
keen air, showing that the pursuer
was well mounted.


Turning from the main road into q
by way or short cut, leading through
a swampy piece Of woods, the fugitives
managed to gain enough distance TO
stop the sleigh moment just at the
edge Of plank bridge, over frozen
stream, aud stretch rope across the
dark and narrow road. This done
they were oft again for the surgery
close at hand, with the gallop Of the
pursuer coming sharp again to their
ears. Pausing' again beyond the
bridge to hear presently the collision
of the coming horsemen with the
unseen rope, crash, cry of wrath,
the two men carried the body to the
house and triumphantly deposited it
on the dissecting table.


Then, thinking of nothing but his
own discredited diagnosis Of the di-
sease, and the glory it would he to
prove it true, the daring practitioner
set to work with his instruments
Carefully shaving one side of the
head and cutting through the scalp
over the spot where the principal
pain had been, he bored with his
trephine through the skull until a
circular button or bone, about as large
as copper cent, was removed, and
behold there was indeed q tumor =
Blu. the strangest part of the curious
drama was vet to come, and may be
best described in the doctors own
words: "With no small degree OF
self satisfaction, ! threw down my in
struments and was going down stairs,
when 1 heard a faint sigh. AS !
kneeled by the dead mans eide, and,
candle in hand, gazed anyiously into
the pallid features, he teebly gasped
aud raised his eyelids. Heavens.
Could it be a reality? Eagerly the
slender thread of life was seized upon,
and hour by hour, day by day, week
by week it was strengthened into a
cable of perfect health"


In other words, the supposed dead
man. whose disintermcnt had occur
rod but q fey hours after burial had