Within an Inch of His Life by Émile Gaboriau
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page 38 of 725 (05%)
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and tall for his age. A farmer took pity on him, and took him home.
The little wretch was not fit for anything: he could not even keep his master's cows. During his mother's lifetime, his silence, his wild looks, and his savage appearance, had been attributed to his wretched mode of life. But when people began to be interested in him, they found out that his intellect had never been aroused. He was an idiot, and, besides, subject to that terrible nervous affection which at times shakes the whole body and disfigures the face by the violence of uncontrollable convulsions. He was not a deaf-mute; but he could only stammer out with intense difficulty a few disjointed syllables. Sometimes the country people would say to him,-- "Tell us your name, and you shall have a cent." Then it took him five minutes' hard work to utter, amid a thousand painful contortions, the name of his mother. "Co-co-co-lette." Hence came his name Cocoleu. It had been ascertained that he was utterly unable to do anything; and people ceased to interest themselves in his behalf. The consequence was, that he became a vagabond as of old. It was about this time that Dr. Seignebos, on one of his visits, met him one day on the public road. This excellent man had, among other extraordinary notions, the conviction that idiocy is nothing more than a defective state of the brains, which may be remedied by the use of certain well-known substances, such as phosphorus, for instance. He lost no time in seizing |
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