Athothis : a satire on modern medicine / by Thomas C. Minor.

Lying on the bed, in the corner of the room, -was a man, moaning and groaning in intense agony, a nurse striving to comfort him; while, bending over the suf- ferer's bared arm stood a doctor busily engaged in in- troducing a hypodermic syringe. In the center of the apartment, under the crystal gas-lights, stood two other medical men, wisely stroking their beards and watching their professional confrere with apparent interest. Pres- ently, the patient's moans ceased, and a few moments later he fell into a profound doze. Then the three learned doctors retired to an adjoining room, leaving the sick man alone with his servant. " Behold the wonders of modern medicine!" said Paulus Androcydes. " Notice how calmly the patient rests after the introduction of a little morphine under the skin. He is not in pain now. Ah ! the hypodermic is more potent in working wonders than any of the amu- lets of antiquity." " What malady does the patient labor under ? " queried Athothis. " I know not, never having examined him," answered Paulus Androcydes. " Wise man ! " remarked Athothis. " Never express an opinion without an examination and a fee ! Let us approach the couch and investigate this case." Gazing at the recumbent form of the sufferer, Paulus Androcydes witnessed an astonishing spectacle—for he perceived, as distinctly as though looking through plate- glass, the entire inner workings of the human organism. He saw the blood circulating within the arteries and veins. and noticed the rapid and excited pulsations of the heart. He watched the lungs contracting and expanding their thousands of air cells. He observed flashes of white