DR. WOLFE.

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1602, 16 January 1885, Page 5

DR. WOLFE.

I had been spending a few days iv the west of Eugland, and was returning to ; town and hard work again. 1 "travelled by the tfljing Dutchman, ' which train I entered at Bath. As • the. ■Bmoking carriage was inconven- .; iently .■•>.-, crowdtidj I sacrificed tobacco for the sake of room, and took iniy seat in an ordinary compartment, which it Memti I was to hft>e all tb

Just as the train began to move, however, my solitude was broken in upou. The door of the carriage was thrown open, and a man sprang has tily in. Before he closed the door behind him another followed in still greater haste. As tLe carriage passed the guard, who waited on the platform, he gave the breakers of by-laws an injured look, but said nothing. In another miuute we were dashmg along at top speed. Wondering how people could be so unphilosophical as to run time so closely, and risk life or limb for the sake of a minute, I turned to look at my travelling companions. The first comer had thrown himself into a seat opposite me at the end of the compartment furthest from the platform. He was a tall, strong man of about 40, dressed in a dark tweed suit. His face was strikingly handsome, and his remarkably brilliant eyes attracted my notice. second man, who sat in the other corner, was of very different appearance. He was short and stout; his attire was plain black. As neither of my companions made any remark to the other as to their narrow escape of missing the train, I concluded they were unacquainted, and that their simultaneous late arrival was but chance. After travelling some little way in silence, the tall man asked very politely if I objected to smoking, " Not at all," I said ; " light up by all means." "I am ashamed to make such a request, but could you give me a cigar? I came away in such a hurry that I left my case behind me." I handed him a cigar and a match, and then, as the third occupant of the compartment raised no protest, I followed my opposite neighbour's example, contentedly enough. A small civility like this generally breaks the ice which exists between English travellers, so as we smoked we talked on various topics. My new friend was a fluent and polished speaker, and was well up in the questions of the day, many of his remarks concerning which showed originality and shrewdness. I congratulated myself on meeting with so pleasant a companion. The man in black did not join in our conversation, so we took no notice of him for awhile. At last, happening to look once or twice in his direction, I found that although his eyes were half closed, he was watchiug us intently, but furtively. This inspection did not seem to trouble my new friend, but I, who am of a somewhat nt>rvous temperuient, fouud this fixed and inquisitive gaze positively aunoyiug. Thinking that its cause might possibly be our brunch of good manners iv smoking without having asked his permission, I expressed a hope that our cigars were not offensive. "Not iv the least," he said quietly, but with his eyes still turned toward us. My friend in the tweeds leaned over to me. _ '* Please dovi't take any notice of him," he whispered. '* Do you know him, then ?" "Oh, yes j I know him very well \ indeed, in fact, I must apologise for bringing him into a carriage which waa occupied. He is a madman, Xou needn't be in the least alarmed." '• A madman !' : I said, startled by the information so coolly given, " sTes. I am taking the poor fel- j low up to town. Let me introduce myself. lam Dr Wolfe of the Southmead Asylum, Perhaps you have heard my namel" " Of course I had ; and as he spoke j I looked at him with growing interest, j Dr Wolfe and his admirably conducted establishment were all but world-re-nowned. .Now I understood why I had noticed the unusual brilliancy of hiu eyes. 1c was the power of these organs which gave him that extraordinary iniiuence over his charges which he was reported to ezercise. As I looked at ilia strong limbs aud noticed his selfpossessed manner, nervous as I am, 1 felt no uneasiness in travelling with a maniac, so long as the doctor was with. us. Nevertheless, it was unpleasant to be stared at so. " How came it you so nearly missed the train ?" I asked, still in a wbiaper. The doctor smiled, II One of the poor fellow's peculiarities is that until a train is in motion he will not enter it — »even then he will [ only follow me. 1 am obliged to humour him ; but of course you understand that my men wore flbehind nim to muke sure— — ." He gradually raised his voice to its usual pitch. j-No doubt the eminent man knew his own business best, but it struck me it was injudicious to speak so freely of vis patient's idiopyncracies while the poor fellow was within earshot. Can't he hear us ?" I asked, doubtfully. I " STes j but he doesn't understand a word we say. One form of his mania iis that he fancies himself someone else. He would never imagiue we were discussing his case. I dare say at this moment he i& Sir Isaac Newton, Mr Spurgeon, or Henry Irviug." Thus assured, I ventured to glance at the madman, and for a moment our eyes met fairly, In spite of Dr Wolfe's assertion, the expression in the unfortunate being's eyes told me he comprehended every word that was spoken, The strange look he flashed upon me wae full of * maniac's eun*

nin«j. I again began to feel nervous and wished that the doctor would look a little closer to his patient. However, I resolved to make the beat of it. I turned my back on the unhapuv man, and tried to think no more about him, but to enjoy to the full the advantage of conversing with the pleasant-spoken and celebrated Dr Wolfe. "You have a great many patients under your care?" " A great many," replied the doctor, with a graceful wave of bis Cigar. "The responsibility is enormous — enormoua." "It must be," I said. " Tour patients are of all ranks in life, I suppose?" " From the very highest. I have now four dukes under my care." " Four dukes ! Ah, foreign ones, j suppose." " Three are foreign. The fourth is the Duke of " (here he whispered a great name to me.) He is commonly supposed to be dead, but the truth is that he has been with me for ten years" Dr Wolfe might be skilful, but he certainly was not discreet. However, it might be he was joking, and that his Duke was but a self-styled one- " What painful histories and irresponsible crimiuals you must have met with in your experience," I observed. "Terrible! terrible! The finest careers, the happiest lives wrecked by the demon of insanity. Our poor friend in the corner," he added in a voice of deep sympathy, " has an awful past. He went to bed one night, as sane, apparently, as you or I. In the morning they found him raving and deluged with blood. He had cut the throat of the wife whom he adored, and strangled his twin babies who were sleeping in the same room." I shuddered at the horrible tale, and with morbid interest, glanced once more at the poor wretch near us. Again I caught that eye, full of diabolical cunning. Mad he might be ; but he was clever enough to deceive even the learned doctor as to his obJiviousnesb to what was passing around him. Heavens I I would not have passed five minutes alone with that homicide for a fortune. I could not help feeling curious as to the state of mind of a creature who had done such a fearful deed. *' Does he feel no remorse ?" I asked. "None — they never io. He's happy as the day is long. Strange, isn't it?" " Very strange, but very merciful. Is his case hopeless ?" "Oh, dear no. I can cure any madman with my treatment ; indeed, lam now perfecting a new system which I mean to try on a large scale. The result will, 1 am sure, be so successful that one day I shall open the doors of my asylum and restore 300 men and women to the outer world. ' I wished him all success, but thought that if self-confidence and appreciation of one's own skid were necessary in order to rise in the profession, Dr Wolfe must be somewhere about the top of the tree, " I suppose all the cruel old treatments are now done away with V I asked. " Utterly exploded. Rational treatment, kindness, indulgence even — that's the only way to succeed. I myself find music one of my most useful agents. 1 have musical-boxes all over the place-; each of my keepers is taught to play the flute or some other instrument* The effect on my patients is simply marvellous." " Saul or David or some one was soothed by music," I said wonderingly, "so I suppose it must be good for a troubled mind." " Simply marvellous j especially when we hit upon the melody suitable to the case. One lady, a victim to religious mania, can only be soothed by 'Yankee Doodle/— the most violent of all my patients weeps liite a child whan his keeper tootles ' Ooine into the garden, Maud.' Strange psychological fact, isn't it ?" " Very," I said, doubtfully, and ( wondering if Dr Wolfe, casting aside professional gravity, were practising on my credulity. He took no notice of my unbelieving accent, but continued puffing his cigar bo serenely that 1 was forced to think he spoke in good faith. Tue poor murderer in the corner still gazed at us intently, I S3arcely liked to put the question to the doctor, in case of the wretch growing restive, I should like to know his favourite melody. "Do you fiud insanity on the increase or on the decline ?' " Most decidedly on the increase, j Even now I am thinking of building a new wing, to accommodate the people who wiJl sooner or later occupy it." " May that need not be due to your great reputation P" I suggested — professional men dearly love a compliment like this. The doctor waved his hand in assumed self-depreciation. "Not altogether," he said. " There are men and i women by the hundred — apparently in full possession of their senses — whom 1 have kuown for years, and marked as some day coming — let us hope for their own Bakes— under my care." " But, Dr. Wolfe, surely you cannot foretell insanity in sane persons ?" "Most undoubtedly I can. That is one of my greatest discoveries j allow me-^-one moment" He laent forward, and for the space of half a minute looked straight intq

my eyes. I was too much surprised to apeak. Then, resuming his former easy attitude, he asked, with an air of commiseration-- " Auy of your family iuaane ?"' As I stated betore, I am a nervous man. The perspiration formed on my forehead. My heart beat rapidly. " No, none at all," I stammered. Tet even as I spoke it flashed across my mind that I had contributed yearly a sum towards the maintenance of a distant relative, one whom I had never seen, but who had been in an asylum for many years. " You are quite sure ?" asked the doctor, with a puzzled air. ] trembled in every limb as I confessed to having a third or fourth cousin who was mad. "Ha! I was sure of it," said the doctor, in a compassionate but triumphant voice. " There it is — another proof of the infallibility of my predictions. You must always go a loug way up the pedigree to find a source. Now, if you will trace back " " Grood heavens !" I cried, " you can't mean to tell me that I shall ever go mad, Dr. Wolfe ?" " Certainly you will, unless you happen to die first," he answered cheerfully. " I never met with a case I could diagnose more satisfactorily. But what then? Come to me; you v-ill be kindly treated, and most likely will be happier than you are now. Meanwhile, let me take down your name and address ; and, if you can give me another cigar, I shall be much obliged." I sank back unnerved and speechless. My eyes were riveted on the speaker's face as fixedly as I have seen a felon's eyes riveted on the face of the j udge who has j ust drawn on the black cap. Words will not describe the state of my mind. I believe there is no man living who in some crisis, some misfortune, some deep grief or mental depression, has not aeked himself the question, " Am I losing my wits ?" or " May I not lose them ?" Who, then, can wonder I at my horror and despair when I heard the greatest authority in England — the man against whose fiat there could be no appeal — declare that I was destined to go out of my mind ? I seemed to be in a ghastly dream, and as I lay quivering aud gasping with friglit, I saw, or faucied I saw, a twinkle of fiendish exultation in the eyes of the silent lunatic at the other end of the carriage. The bland doctor — the bearer of the bowstring — took no notice of my natural agitation. He simply held out his baud for the expected cigar. I positively hatßd him. I tried to frame a prayer that when the awful hour which he too surely predicted did come, my particular mania might be homicidal, and that the nearest and convenient throat to cut might bo that of Dr. Wolfe. At last I faltered out — " But you may be mistaken ; the wisest are liable to err." " J never make a, mistake j certainly I could not mistake such clearlydefined symptoms as yours. Why, my dear sir, I can look into the eyes ot a child in the cradle and say — ' If that child lives, and I live long enough, I shall see it put under restraint.' That is why I must enlarge my asylum — so many cases which 1 marked down in early infancy are now getting due." This was perfectly awful ! gazed helplessly at the glib speaker. I felt like one in a mesmeric trance. " And let me tell you" continued Dr Wolte, dropping his voice to a confidential whisper, but gradually speaking louder as he proceeded, " it is not only so far as regards human beings that I have the power of detecting the sleeping symptoms. In the brute creation — uay, even in inanimate objects, I can find them, and foretell what must happen. My journey to town to-day is partly to inform the president of the Board of Trade that I have detected undoubted symptoms of approaching insanity in the huge steam roller used m Bata to crush the stones into the roads — symptoms of the worst and j most dangerous type. The consequenceß will be frightful when the machine's mania is fully developed . I ask you, sir, did you ever picture a steam roller in a frenzy — the destruction of life aud property when such a ponderous mass of metal becomes uncontrollable and exercises its stupid strength to the detriment of respectable citizens ? Who is to check it ? They may send for me, but what can Ido ? What padded room will be strong enough to restrain its mad and unreasoning rage ? No sir, not a moment must be lost. Immediate steps must be taken, and it will be my duty to urge Mr Chamberlain to issue an order for destruction before its fury renders it too late." As he finished this extraordinary statement, I heard something very much like a chuckle proceeding from the outer corner of the carriage. I turned and once more encountered the eyes of the supposed lunatic. In a second I knew the whole truth. Fool that I was to have been bamboozled by an artful madman, let alone frightened out of my senses by his ridiculous assertions. Even the feeling of relief i experienced did not compensate for the annoyance of having been so tricked. The conditions of two travellers were absolutely reversed. The glib, self-styled doctor waß the patient j the poor creature whoae bauds were

said to be red with the blood of his amiable wife and twin babies was either Dr Wolfe himself or some one iv his omploy. " Now that the scales had fallen from my eyes, it was curious how different the man in the corner looked, and I cursed my stupidity in misreading his knowing glances. The expression of relief which crossed my face doubtless showed my late tormentor that he had committed himself. He relapsed into silence and pretended to sleep ; though no doubt his fertile but erratic brain was busy hatching some other preposterous scheme, in order *o facilitate the escape which I felt sure he was trying to effect. I said nothing, but awaited the upshot with some anxiety. Lookiug at his powerful frame, it seemed doubtful if the united strength of myself and the man in the corner would suffice to overpower him if he turned restive. I knew we must be getting very near Swindon. The impostor must also have known, as he begau to fidget about. Presently he whispered — "In case the poor fellow grows troublesome, I may rely upon you ?" "Undoubtedly," 1 replied. Just then the shrill whistle sounded. "Do you happen to have a key about you?" ho asked. "I should like to lock the door this side." " The door is locked," I said, leaning my arm on the window sill. At the same time, I noticed that the man in black had edged up two seats nearer to us. As the train steamed slowly along the wide platform, an elderly man, with a face full of anxiety, peered into our carriage ; then, laying his hand upon the door handle, he ran side by side with us until we came to a halt. " Swindon ! Swindon !" shouted the porter. The tall man began to show signs of great agitation. He glanced from door to door, twisted his fingers nervously, then, turning his eyes to me beseechingly, tried to stammer out a few words. Suddenly he made a dash for the door. I stood up ready to render what assistance I could. My aid was not wanted. The man in black barred the way fearlessly, and grasped the other by the arm. The man who had his hand on the door handle was the real Dr Wolfe, whose name this clever lunatic had assumed. I was glad to see when tbe train stopped that the doctor had plenty of help at hand, and my assistance was not required to secure him who had given me cause to hate him, for at least ten minutes, but whom I now freely forgave with all my heart, as he was marched off under the strong arm of the man in black.