A JOURNEY TO NATURE 



man of our era. It s what somebody has called 

 eliminating the corporal superfluities.&quot; 



&quot; Then I am liable to die at any moment, 

 Doctor ? &quot; 



&quot; Why, of course. But you needn t preen 

 yourself. It s a very common privilege in Wall 

 Street. You prefer it, don t you ? I ve seen 

 a good deal of dying, and I must say that as a 

 rule most of the attempts are tiresome bites at a 

 cherry.&quot; 



&quot;Doctor,&quot; I said, &quot;you will pardon me, I 

 don t quite take your view of it. I prefer to 

 linger and suffer a little. I sent for you because 

 you are a doctor and not a philosopher. What 

 can you do for me ? &quot; 



&quot; Nothing, except to give the undertaker a 

 clean bill of voluntary felo de se. There s only 

 one thing will save you.&quot; 



&quot;Ah, what is it?&quot; 



&quot;A miracle.&quot; 



&quot; Good heavens, Doctor ! &quot; 



&quot; Yes, sir. Perhaps you have heard the 

 dynamic asses of this world say that a man can 

 not lift himself by his own waistband. I suppose 

 it s true. When you can do that, you will live 

 to be seventy-five, if that s any comfort to you.&quot; 



&quot; You are brutally frank. I suppose I must 

 submit to my doom, but I didn t send for you to 

 sentence me.&quot; 



&quot; Sentence you ? Confound it, you sent for 

 me to make a monkey of me. What would you 

 think of a man who ate cyanide of mercury every 



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