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Harris, W. S. (William Shuler), 1865-

"A twentieth century allegory"

Wisdom's injury or death, that he might have cause for rejoicing.
Now Mr. Treacherous, since his defeat, was so heavily weighed down
with envy and a desire for revenge that he could not sleep soundly,
and was wont to walk about the house in a somnambulistic manner.
One night, under the influence of one of these strange spells, he went
from the house and walked over the path that led to the ditch.
To his great dismay and double disgrace he waked not until his body
struck the bottom of the ditch. He was bruised and some of his bones
were broken. Thus he lay there in agony and cried all night long for
help.
Ere the morning broke he wished a thousand times that he had not dug
the ditch so deep, or rather, had not dug it at all.
A band of searchers found him and, lifting him from his disgrace, they
hurried him to this hospital, for he was not minded to humble himself
still more by going to another place where Mr. Wisdom and his kind
found relief in time of trouble.
It is likely that Mr. Treacherous will never be able to walk again as
perfectly as he did before, for it is the reputation of surgeons and
physicians of this hospital, in dealing with cases of such extreme
folly, that they so manipulate an operation as to render the patient
incapable of complete recovery.


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