THE FATES WERE VERY HARD

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 360, 2 April 1903, Page 3

THE FATES WERE VERY HARD

TWO CONSECUTIVE MISHAPS. A FRIEND WHEN ONE IS WANTED

f ha Cam of Mr. J. STENMAH.

nfying effect on my taut, which need to palpitate , 4 tqeij a frigbjfal manner that it >*».e every symptom of being diseased The small of my back wa* V U «,v * cat *> mad the bones; in that neighbourhood » sore and tender thatTcotrid not he upon teem. I cannot express the despondency of mind which settled upotf »•., Suffice it to say that I became so miserable and fretful that it was as much as I could do to refrain from weeping over my wretched condition of j health." "Were, your sufferings any easier at nighty Mr. Stenman"?" " Not I in the leasts ;That it where the trouble ! came in, because my agonies kept me reetless and fidgety nearly the whole time, When I should hare been getting up I generally dosed off for a while. Then I: dreamt all sorts of foolish dre?.ms, and I was glad when I awoke again, although I was always in a state of perspiration, and full of nervous terrors. Fits of dry retching occurred every morning, thus rendering me weak and jaded for the rest of the day. I got awfully lank and fieshless, probably , through an inability to keep down any food. As I have been used to a i ing life ever easily that 1 am. not naturally of a nervous temperament, but my awful wasting disease £ resulted in a : dreadful nervousness taking hold of my system, my limbs sometimes trembling so much that they were almost power--1 less. -Another thing that I disliked very J? much was'that ray mind wag in Constant dread pf.sojne evil calamity happening to me£' 'For -two solid months I was not able to do a stroke of work. I was just like a ghost, my face being as white aa death, and my cheeks were sunk right in. All that remained of me was ekin and bone, and it was quite a reasonable assumption to make that be-, fore very long I would be in my grave! The symptoms of a diseased heart became,' more pronounced every day. Sometimes the palpitation was so violent that I feared the end was near. Many a time I thought I was tottering on the brink of my last resting place, and that I.would succumb to my ailments if they lasted: another day.. My lips were, white and bloofdless, and my eyes showed herdly any signs of life. To tell the truth, the symptoms of my complaint were almost endless, yet I could not get one of them relieved." "Besides the doctors you have mentioned, did yon make any other searches for relief P"

(By a Reporter.)

Mr, Jacob Stenman, of Primrose Villa, Gore-street, the Bluff, when confronted by our reporter, intimated a desire to publicly substantiate certain faots which had hitherto been regarded with a certain amount at incredulity. " Is it true that you were once a victim to physical troublee?" inquired the newspaper man.

"Perfectly true," responded Mr. Stenman, "and, what is more, my sufferings were obliterated in a most remarkable manner. In order that you may know the whole course of events from start to finish, I may as well inform you that the whole or my sickness arose through a circumstance which might hare had a very tragic ending. Whilst rendering assistance to a man who was being ill-treated by a band of ruffians, I was stabbed in the right breast. A great quantity of blood escaped from the wound, and I suffered the most dreadful agony for weeks. , I was under the dare of an eminent doctor in Melbourne, and, after being (treated by him for iome time, the ugly wound healed up. As soon as I felt a little strength returning, I went back to work, and before many days passed over my head, Another calamity befell me. I was doing something which taxed my strength too much, and the result was that I broke a blood-vessel. Imagine the bitterness of my grief when I found myself again an invalid so soon after my first illness. Fate was, yery; hard against me, there is no doubt. Well, I was under another doctor for several months, and I had to be very careful what I did for fear of opening up my internal wound. The mischief was rectified concerning the breaking '£ the blood-vessel, but my did not end there." 'Surely you did not meet with another accident, Mr. Shenman?" ' No, but J had to combat a worse dfiiotien than a mere accident. The 1 effects of these mishaps were worse than the accidents themselves, for my system ' was ruined through the great loss of ! blood I had sustained, and also by the frightful agony I had suffered. An awful alteration had taken place. From being a tall, powerful man I was now bent up, weak and decrepit. The doctors supplied me with medicines to build up my trength, but they did not fulfil the purr, lose for which they were prescribed.";? " What complaint did you have subequent to your second accident?" "I •ardly know what to call it.unless it nay be described as a state of debility —a complaint which seems to include overy affliction that flesh is heir to. For one thing, my digestive organs got horoughly out of repair.. I commenced o suffer with a dull, suffocating feeling n my chest, as though the breath was icing squeezed out of me. Along with his came a continuance of depressing leadaches which were bad enough in hemselves to bear without any addiional worries. My eyes felt hot and swollen, particularly in the mornings, vhen it was both painful and dazzling :6 -.look out of the window. In the right, side of my body I was tantalised with horribly severe oains, while between my shoulders there was an everlasting succession of pains ike the pricking of a needle. I had no desire to do anything or see anything, and the sound of music annoyed me. I just felt inclined to shut myself up away from everybody, as I felt it a nuisitnee to have to speak. On waking up I always found my tongue moist with a yellow-coloured matter, while the taste in my mouth, to say the least, was extremely disagreeable. So tired and list'ess did I become that I had not enough snergy to walk up stairs; Mf I happened to be in the next apartment to the din-ing-room when meal times arrived, I would not trouble myself to walk to the table. Indeed, I had no personal interest In this little detail of existence, is I. had scarcely any appetite, and usually rejected all the edibles that! *-ere placed for me. If I did not do ao ! •Ny sufferings were always added to by! violent attacks of windy spasms, whiob •nflated mv stomach and produced a tar-'.

" Well,:considering that I consulted; a doctor in every town I visited, I consider that I searched far and wide without meeting with any 'success* 1 and during that time I drank nearly enough medicine to sink a ship. Nevertheless, it was all tb noipurpose. 1 It was a touch and go with me, and I had almost abandoned hope of ever even getting a little relief when I was persuaded to purchase a bottle of Clements Tonic, and after using it : my health showed signs of irn- ] prorement, so I got several bottles more. By the time they were finished my years of suffering were abolished. ] The morning retchings ceased, and my food digested, thus stopping the windy spasms and preventing the heart palpitations. The pains in my head and body wore obliterated, likewise nervousness,, and strength was completely regained, lam grateful to Clements Tonic for curing all my ailments, especially after so many doctors had failed, and what I hare said may be published in any way you like."