th. During this process, the
miserable victim, losing all his customary bravado and savage insolence,
begged hard to be killed at once, rather than undergo the torments which
he dreaded. But the Doctor only laughed, and drew from his pocket a case
of surgical instruments; he then produced a small phial, which he held
close to his victim's eyes, and bade him examine it narrowly.

'You see,' said he, 'this little phial?--it contains a slow poison of
peculiar and fearful power. You shall judge of its effects yourself
presently. I will infuse it into your blood, and it will cause you
greater agony than melted lead poured upon your heart.'

'For God's sake, Doctor,' cried the wretch,--'spare me _that_! I have
heard you tell of it before. Will nothing move you? Show me mercy, and I
will reveal to you many valuable and astounding secrets, known only to
me. I will tell you where, within twenty miles of Boston, I have buried
over twenty thousand dollars in gold and silver; I will myself lead you
to the spot and you shall have it all--all! I will furnish you with a
list of fashionable drinking houses in the city, where is sold liquor
impregnated with a slow but deadly poison, which in two years will bring
on a lingering disease, generally thought to be consumption; this
disease always terminates in death, and the whole matter is arranged by
physicians, who thus get a constant and extensive practice. I will take
you to rooms where persons, under the name of 'secret societies,'
privately meet to indulge in the most unnatural and beastly
licentiousness. I will prove to you, by ocular demonstration, that in
_certain cities_ of the Union, not a letter passes through the post
offices, that is not broken open and read, and then re-sealed by a
peculiar process--by which means much private information is gained by
the police, and the most tremendous secrets often leak out, to the
astonishment of the parties concerned. I will communicate to you a
method by which the most virtuous and chaste woman can be made wild with
desire, and easily overcome. I will show you how to make a man drop dead
in the street, without touching him, or using knife or pistol--and not a
mark will be found on his person. I will--'

'That'll do,' said the Doctor, dryly--'the matters you have mentioned
are mostly no secrets to me; and if your object was to gain time and
dissuade me from my purpose, you have signally failed. Villain! your
long career of crime is now