THE "UNFORTUNATE" YOUNG MAN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 32, 17 December 1897, Page 29

THE "UNFORTUNATE" YOUNG MAN.

It ia qnite probable that nine-tenths of those whose eyes meet these lines have at some time or other been accosted by that questionable member of society whose only excuse for the intrusion is that "he •wants the price of a meal, and perhaps a bed, too. He says he is " unfortunate," and can't obtain any work. He is generally an impostor, and the deserving cases are so far between as to defy discrimination. The unfortunates are. alas ! not confined to able-bodied beggars, but may be found in all stations and pursuits of life. Who, indeed, may justly be considered more deserving of pity the young athlete who, 12 months ago, when in the zenith of his fame as Victoria's largest scratch crack of the cycle track, came to grief onthegrounds of the Scotch College, Melbourne .' We refer to Dave Kirk, of 471 Elizabeth street North, a popular young fellow with all lovers of the wheel. When training, the tire of his leader broke, and he was thrown {with frightful violence to the ground. The force of the impact was so great that not a limb or member of the unfortunate cyclist's frame escaped serious injury, and he who was but a minute earlier flying round the grounds in full possession of health and vigor, had to be removed to the Melbourne Hospital more dead than alive, and quite unconscious from shock and hemorrhage. All the resourses that that fully-replenished hospital could command were brought into play for tne relief of the patient, but the grave looks of the surgeons in attendance plainly indicated that they entertained but slight hopes of the young man's ultimate recovery. An eminent

member of the profession expressed it as his opinion that Kirk would never again rise from his sick-bed. For seven trying months of pain and Buffering poor Dave lay 'twixt life and death — unable to stir hand or foot, unable even to move, a victim of spinal disease, pleurisy, dysentery, complete paralysis of the body. and last, but by no means least, locomotor ataxia, a terrible complain i which utterly prostrates the human frame and destroys the ptwe ■of the will ; so much so that the common functions of nature are preformed by a power extraneous to the will. An idea of the dreadful injuries sustained by the patient may be gathered from the following details gleaned from Kirk by our representative. His left heel had to be removed, and 32 stitches were inserted in that part of his foot, 18 being placed in his right leg. The kneecap was smashed, and had to be lifted. Altogether, seven surgeons had to do with the sufferer, who was reduced to a very week and comatose state after nine operations had been performed on him. Mortification set in in parts of the lower limbs, and artificial means had to be employed to draw off the urine. The system was washed internally four times every day with water and carbolic acid, the stomach being cleaned out by means of a tube. Injections were also largely employed. This was a most singular case, and one which must have afforded ample play for the physicians' skill and experiment, yet it remained for Dr. Williams' Pink Pills to effect a radical and complete cure.

After seven months of bed-ridden existence in the Melbourne Hospital, Dave Kirk left that institution with faint hopes of ever being able to get about without the aid of crutches, and with all hopes vanished as to his being again able to enter the cycle arena, where prior to his accident, his had been a prominent form. In May last Kirk's friends, being impressed by the numerous and authentic cures effected by Dr. Williams' Pink Pills under all conditions, induced him to give them a trial as a last resource. We will give in his own words his account of the change resulting from their use. He says :—": — " Gradually the sense of numbness began to disapear, and the extremities acquired by degrees their wonted healthy glow and warmth. While under treatment in the hospital the sense of feeling entirely disappeared, so much so that when the surgeons would put a needle into any part of my body I was absolutely insensible to the fact. To be sure of the absence of the sense of touch, the doctors would conceal my vision, and then question me as to the part they were piercing ; but my answers clearly proved to them that I was absolutely bereft of all sensibility ! As a final test to my sense of feeling, I received a shock from a powerlul galvanic battery — a shock so strong that the operator declared it to be half a volt more than had been given to anyone in the institution for 40 years — but I was unable to feel its effect. After a month's trial of Dr. Williams' Pink Pills I was able to throw aside my crutches. But one of the most powerful effects of the pills was the restoration of functional health. Bowel troubles^had been a terrible trial to me ever since the day I met with the accident. Regularity in this direction was perfectly set up, and I am now, after four months' taking of these pills, in the enjoyment of perfect health." It wanted no assurance of this, as those who had seen the subject of this narrative are not slow to express their surprise at the picture of health and almost completely resuscitated power of body and mind presented in the person of David Kirk.

A few days ago Dave gave a practical illustration of bis restored vitality by pluckily capturing a young fellow (who had stolen one of his bicycles) of heavier build than himself, and after vanquishing him in a willing encounter lodged him in the lock-up. An account of the capture appeared in the Age of 23rd September, He (Kirk) is able to trench his large garden, and walks daily two miles to and from his business place.

Extract from the Melbourne Argus : — "Every one has heard of Kirk, the crack racer. About a month ago he met with an accident whilst training, and has been in the Melbourne Hospital ever since. The medical authorities say that he will never ride again, as his spine has been so badly hurt that he will likely be paralysed for life."'

Extract from the Herald :: — '• Dave Kirk, residing at the Coffee Palace. Victoria street, North Melbourne, sustained severe injuries this afternoon through falling from his bicycle while training on the track at the Scotch College ground. The tire of his bicycle burst, and Kirk was thrown violently to the ground. He was removed to the Melbourne Hospital."

The latter extract appeared in the Herald on the afternoon of the accident, October '.), 189(5. The former appeared in the Argvt about a month later, after the physicians and authorities had placed him under treatment, and discovered that his injuries had resulted in paralysis, spinal disease, and locomotor ataxia, and that he was entirely beyond their aid. His case was accordingly, by the physicians who examined him, pronounced incurable, and they told poor Kirk that he would never rise from his bed again.

Dr. Williams Pink Pills have a remarkable efficacy in curing diseases arising from an impoverished condition of the blood or an impairment of the nervous system, such as rheumatism, neuralgia, partial paralysis, St. Vitus' dance, nervous headache, nervous prostration and. the tired feelings therefrom. They are genuine only with the full name, Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People, and are sold in boxes, encircling which is a blue wavning label. The outbide wrapper is of white paper, and is printed in red ink. Our repeated warnings may seem a trifle superfluous in the eyes of the reading public, but they were never more needed than now, and the frequency with which they appear is attributable to our desire to afford our customers every protection. Imitators are in every corner of Australasia, and many vendors are endeavoring to pass off a hurtful substitute, as.it means a larger profit to them. The public would, therefore, do well to avoid them, for they would just as readily dispense impure drugs. Sold by ohemists and storekeepers generally, or the Dr. Williams' Medicine Company, Wellington, N.Z., will forward, on receipt of stamps or post order, one box for 3?., or half-dozen for l.*>s. 9d. The price at which these pills are sold makes a course of treatment comparatively inexpensive as compared with other remedies or medical treatment.