"I am not surprised to hear you say that," replied the doctor; "nor should I be offended even now if you were to entertain a belief that I might, after all, be mistaken."
"No, no; you would not be so positive upon the subject, I well know, if there was the slightest possibility of an error."
"Indeed I should not."
"Let us have the sequel, then."
"It is this. I was most anxious to effect an immediate resuscitation, if it were possible, of the hanged man. A little manipulation soon convinced me that the neck was not broken, which left me at once every thing to hope for. The hangman was more prudent than I was, and before I commenced my experiments, he said,—
"'Doctor, have you duly considered what you mean to do with this fellow, in case you should be successful in restoring him to life?'
"'Not I,' said I.
"'Well,' he said, 'you can do as you like; but I consider that it is really worth thinking of.'
"I was headstrong on the matter, and could think of nothing but the success or the non-success, in a physiological point of view, of my plan for restoring the dead to life; so I set about my experiments without any delay, and with a completeness and a vigour that promised the most completely successful results, if success could at all be an ingredient in what sober judgment would doubtless have denominated a mad-headed and wild scheme.
"For more than half an hour I tried in vain, by the assistance of the hangman, who acted under my directions. Not the least symptom of vitality presented itself; and he had a smile upon his countenance, as he said in a bantering tone,—