“‘Well,’ says Mr. Miller, ‘I don’t know but I am a monomaniac; and I want you to examine me, and see if I am, and, if so, cure me. Can you tell me when a man is a monomaniac?’
“The doctor blushed, and said he thought he could.
“Mr. Miller wished to know how.
“‘Why,’ said the doctor, ‘a monomaniac is rational on all subjects but one; and when you touch that particular subject he will become raving.’
“‘Well,’ says Mr. Miller, ‘I insist upon it that you see whether I am in reality a monomaniac; and if I am, you shall prescribe for and cure me. You shall, therefore, sit down with me two hours, while I present the subject of the advent to you, and, if I am a monomaniac, by that time you will discover it.’
“The doctor was somewhat disconcerted; but Mr. Miller insisted, and told him, as it was to present the state of his mind, he might charge for his time as in regular practice.
“The doctor finally consented; and, at Mr. Miller’s request, opened the Bible and read from the 8th of Daniel. As he read along, Mr. Miller inquired what the ram denoted, with the other symbols presented. The doctor had read Newton, and applied them to Persia, Greece, and Rome, as Mr. Miller did.
“Mr. Miller then inquired how long the vision of those empires was to be.
“‘2300 days.’
“‘What!’ said Mr. Miller, ‘could those great empires cover only 2300 literal days?’