"Do you see that hole in the wall, beyond her head? Well, that hole was
made by Mr. Buffum. She had begged him to kill her so often that he
thought he would put her to the test, and he agreed he would do so. So
he set her up by that wall, and took a heavy stick from the wood-pile,
raised it as high as the room would permit, and then brought it down
with great violence, burying the end of the bludgeon in the plastering.
I suppose he came within three inches of her head, and she never winked.
It was a very interesting experiment, as it illustrated the genuineness
of her desire for death Otherwise the case is much like many others."

"Very interestin'," responded Jim, "very! Didn't you never think of
makin' her so easy and comfortable that she wouldn't want any body to
kill her? I sh'd think that would be an interestin' experiment."

Now the Doctor had one resort, which, among the people of Sevenoaks, was
infallible, whenever he wished to check argumentation on any subject
relating to his profession. Any man who undertook to argue a medical
question with him, or make a suggestion relating to medical treatment,
he was in the habit of flooring at once, by wisely and almost pityingly
shaking his head, and saying: "It's very evident to me, sir, that you've
not received a medical education." So, when Jim suggested, in his
peculiar way, that the woman ought to be treated better, the Doctor saw
the point, and made his usual response.

"Mr. Fenton," said he, "excuse me, sir, but it's very evident that
you've not had a medical education."

"There's where you're weak," Jim responded. "I'm a reg'lar M.D., three
C's, double X, two I's. That's the year I was born, and that's my
perfession. I studied with an Injun, and I know more 'arbs, and roots,