, doctor," was the prompt reply; "I must be bled. I
have headache and giddiness half the time, and must have some blood
taken."--"Very well," said Dr. S. "It shall be as you desire. Here, my
son, bring me a bowl."

An older student assisted, while I, glad of the privilege, kept aloof,
and at a distance. The general's brawny arm was mauled a long time; and
even then not much blood was obtained. At last the attempt was given up,
and the man returned home, though not, as might have been expected, very
well satisfied.

When he was gone, I inquired of Dr. S., as modestly as I could, what
serious difficulties he had to encounter in his attack on Gen. Upham's
arm. "Why was it," said I, "that you could get no more blood?" "For the
plainest reason in the world," he answered; "his veins were all
ossified."

I was quite satisfied at the time, with this answer; for I knew so well
the habits of Gen. U. that I stood ready to believe almost any thing in
regard to him, especially when it came from a highly respectable source.
Yet I have often suspected since that time, that there was a serious
mistake made. Ossified or bony arteries, even at this great distance
from the heart, in such a man, ought not to excite surprise; but these
would hardly be met with in attempting to open a vein, since the
arteries are much more deeply imbedded in the flesh than the veins are.
And as for ossified veins themselves, especially in the arm, they are
seldom if ever heard of.

You may wonder why I did not satisfy my curiosity at the time, by making
diligent inquiry at the proper source of information; and I almost
wonder too. But, in the first place, my curiosity did not rise so high
on any occasion whatever, as it has since done. For, though I was
hungering and thirsting for knowledge thirty years ago, my solicitude to
know has so increased with increasing years that my present curiosity
will admit of no comparison with the former. Secondly, I was exceedingly
diffident. Thirdly, my mind was just then fully occupied with other
things. And lastly, whenever I was in the company of Dr. S., both while
I remained in the office and subsequently, it was only for a very short
time, perhaps a single half hour, at best; and we had always so many
other things to talk about, that Gen. U. and his _ossified veins_ never
entered our minds.

However, it was not many years afterward that I heard of the old
general's death. Of the manner of his exit except that it