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

insane asylums; these progenitors of future generations of demented ones. Yet, no wonder the young man was deceived, for the ghostly apparition just faded was the exact image of his deceased mother." " Why say deceased, since the living can also be made to materialize and dematerialize ?" said Athothis. " Do you desire to punish this medium and the next demon who enters ?" " Show me more of this magic," answered Paulus An- drocydes, eagerly. " Let me be the agent for punishing these wicked beings." " So be it," quoth Athothis. " For in order to con- vince you of my superior powers in magic, you shall pass through the body of this medium and demon, and, stand- ing again at my side, see before you your own shadow. This is an experiment of ancient Egypt, but is best prac- ticed in the full glare of the sun." " Agreed !" exclaimed Paulus Androcydes, delighted to be made the subject of more experimentation. Yet, hardly had he uttered this word than, standing in the center of the circle, appeared his own form, moving about as in life. At the same instant the medium fell to the floor attacked with epilepsy. The circle broke up in confusion. The gas was turned on, and Medea, the wife of Professor Diabolus, knelt on the floor beside her now reallv suffering- husband. Athothis laughed at the dismay caused by this experi- ment, and quietly remarked: " Observe how the fallen angels have flown before my magic in terror. We are masters of the situation. But, see! your materialized shadow still moves about the apartment, and in order to punish the demon who is personating you, I must once more exert my power. Hawtlior, Mulika, 3Iah, Ra!"