Artaban

“ At last she gave a quick breath of anxiety and dismay, and stood stock-still, quivering in every muscle, before a dark object in the shadow of the last palm-tree.
Artaban dismounted. The dim starlight revealed the form of a man lying across the road. His humble dress and the outline of his haggard face showed that he was probably one of the poor Hebrew exiles who still dwelt in great numbers in the vicinity. ”

“ Is it not so, my father?"
"It is well said, my son," answered the venerable Abgarus. "The enlightened are never idolaters. They lift the veil of the form and go in to the shrine of the reality, and new light and truth are coming to them continually through the old symbols."
"Hear me, then, my father and my friends," said Artaban, very quietly, "while I tell you of the new light and truth that have come to me through the most ancient of all signs. We have searched the secrets of nature together, and studied the healing virtues of water and fire and the plants. ”

“ While he spoke, the darkness of the sky thickened, and shuddering tremors ran through the earth, heaving convulsively like the breast of one who struggles with mighty grief.
The walls of the houses rocked to and fro. Stones were loosened and crashed into the street. Dust clouds filled the air. The soldiers fled in terror, reeling like drunken men. But Artaban and the girl whom he had ransomed crouched helpless beneath the wall of the Praetorium. ”

“ I also am a daughter of the true religion which is taught by the Magi. My father was a merchant of Parthia, but he is dead, and I am seized for his debts to be sold as a slave. Save me from worse than death."
Artaban trembled.
It was the old conflict in his soul, which had come to him in the palm-grove of Babylon and in the cottage at Bethlehem—the conflict between the expectation of faith and the impulse of love. Twice the gift which he had consecrated to the worship of religion had been drawn from his hand to the service of humanity. ”

“ She set food before him, the plain fare of peasants, but willingly offered, and therefore full of refreshment for the soul as well as for the body. Artaban accepted it gratefully; and, as he ate, the child fell into a happy slumber, and murmured sweetly in its dreams, and a great peace filled the quiet room.
But suddenly there came the noise of a wild confusion and uproar in the streets of the village, a shrieking and wailing of women’s voices, a clangor of swords, and a desperate cry: “The soldiers! the soldiers of Herod! They are killing our children.” ”

“ At the edge of the terrace he saw a little cairn of broken bricks, and under them a piece of parchment. He caught it up and read: "We have waited past the midnight, and can delay no longer. We go to find the King. Follow us across the desert." Artaban sat down upon the ground and covered his head in despair.
"How can I cross the desert," said he, "with no food and with a spent horse? I must return to Babylon, sell my sapphire, and buy a train of camels, and provision for the journey. I may never overtake my friends. ”

“ And those who would see wonderful things must often be ready to travel alone. I am too old for this journey, but my heart shall be a companion of thy pilgrimage day and night, and I shall know the end of thy quest. Go in peace.”
Then Abgarus went out of the azure chamber with its silver stars, and Artaban was left in solitude.
He gathered up the jewels and replaced them in his girdle. For a long time he stood and watched the flame that flickered and sank upon the altar. ”

“ Ever since there has been a spell upon the village; something evil hangs over it. They say that the Roman soldiers are coming from Jerusalem to force a new tax from us, and the men have driven the flocks and herds far back among the hills, and hidden themselves to escape it.”
Artaban listened to her gentle, timid speech and the child in her arms looked up in his face and smiled, stretching out its rosy hands to grasp at the winged circle of gold on his breast. ”

“ Artaban re-entered the cottage. He turned his face to the east and prayed:
"God of truth, forgive my sin! I have said the thing that is not, to save the life of a child. And two of my gifts are gone. I have spent for man that which was meant for God. Shall I ever be worthy to see the face of the King?"
But the voice of the woman, weeping for joy in the shadow behind him, said very gently:
"Because thou hast saved the life of my little one, may the Lord bless thee and keep thee ”

“ Weaver had been watching him thoroughly, and he suddenly spoke up, telling him to try sideways, and Artabanus tried it. It was successful. So now Artabanus' feet look well, and he can make pretty good speed, sideways, but he shouldn't try to run. We all tell him so; but he will try it. The truth is that man was not made to run sideways. When Artabanus tries to run sideways he looks like the dickens. As near as I can explain it he looks like a Shanghai rooster trying to polka. ”

“ Artaxerxes was easily persuaded, and, with the assistance of the guards, kills his brother. Artabanus seeing his treachery succeed according to his heart's desire, now boasts before all his sons that the time was come for his advancement to the kingdom, and forthwith comes to Artaxerxes with his sword drawn, and wounds him. The king not being much hurt, bravely defends himself, and kills Artabanus upon the place. ”

“ He made Doc. slew the left foot around to the left, and when the job was done Artabanus had a stylish pair of feet. Instead of being pigeon-toed they pointed in opposite directions, one northeast and one northwest, as you might say, and Artabanus was as pleased as a child with a new toy. He stood and looked at those two feet with pride in his eyes, and then he cracked his heels together, which was a thing he had never been able to do in his life before. He shook hands with Doc. Weaver warmly, said he would settle his bill as soon as he marketed his crop, and then he started home. ”

“ And this speech Artabanus made with tears in his eyes, and with a dejected countenance. Now as soon as Izates heard Artabanus's name, and saw him stand as a supplicant before him, he leaped down from his horse immediately, and said to him, "Take courage, O king! nor be disturbed at thy present calamity, as if it were incurable; for the change of thy sad condition shall be sudden; for thou shalt find me to be more thy friend and thy assistant than thy hopes can promise thee; for I will either re-establish thee in the kingdom of Parthia, or lose my own." ”

“ Because he felt it impossible to maintain the struggle in Armenia and at the same time engage in a war with Rome, Artabanus withdrew from Armenia to defend his homeland. When he had thus attained his objective, Vitellius modified his policy and by means of bribes encouraged disaffection within the Parthian kingdom. He was so successful that Artabanus was compelled to retire to his eastern frontier with only a band of foreign mercenaries. ”

“ You are not a soldier; you did not die in the world above; you are not one of us.'
'The Demon, sir, or Artabanzanus, which he says is his proper name, took me to see the grand review in his artillery wagonette, drawn by twenty-four gigantic negroes, for whom my very heart bled. A friend, a General, too, to whom the Demon had previously introduced me, calling him Astoragus, got into the dickey by some means, and stung me with his finger at the back of my neck out of pure spite. ”

“ Let not this, therefore, be an impediment why I should not communicate to the king what I have to impart." Artabanus asking him, "Who must we tell him that you are? for your words signify you to be no ordinary person," Themistocles answered, "No man, Artabanus, must be informed of this before the king himself." Thus Phanias relates; to which Eratosthenes, in his treatise on Riches, adds, that it was by the means of a woman of Eretria, who was kept by Artabanus, that he obtained this audience and interview with him. ”

“ One is a young knight, and the other the exact counterpart of Parthenissa. At this apparition Artabanes is thrown into the greatest confusion. The lady he has seen presents every outward appearance of his mistress, and yet he believes her dead, and is unable to conceive that if living, she should so far forget her duty to him and the rules of propriety, as to place herself in so suspicions a position. Here the romance comes to an abrupt end, leaving Artabanes in the condition of painful uncertainty in which he has ever since remained. ”

“ And Sittas continued to press forward still more than before, but Artabanes, son of John of the Arsacidae, fell upon him from behind and with a thrust of his spear killed him. Thus Sittas was removed from the world after no notable fashion, in a manner unworthy of his valour and his continual achievements against the enemy, a man who was extremely handsome in appearance and a capable warrior, and a general second to none of his contemporaries. But some say that Sittas did not die at the hand of Artabanes, but that Solomon, a very insignificant man among the Armenians, destroyed him. ”

“ Hence, physicians should at once make it a point to learn and use the name “arsphenamin” in place of salvarsan. At first sight, arsphenamin looks formidable. In reality, it is just as easy to familiarize oneself with the word “arsphenamin” as it was to learn to use the terms “salvarsan,” “arsenobenzol” or any other of the trade names.— (Editorial from The Journal A. M. A., Jan. 19, 1918.)
BEER AND CANCER CURES Did the Brewing Interests Advertise Autolysin? ”

“ I had next to deal with that portion of the drug which had already been absorbed and was exercising its poisonous effects. Taking my hypodermic case from my bag, I prepared in the syringe a full dose of atropine sulphate, which I injected forthwith into the unconscious man's arm. And that was all that I could do, so far as remedies were concerned, until the coffee arrived.
I cleaned and put away the syringe, washed the tube, and then, returning to the bedside, endeavored to rouse the patient from his profound lethargy. But great care was necessary. ”

“ In angina pectoris this drug has a beneficial action; it relieves the pain and distress in many cases, even when amyl nitrite and nitroglycerin have failed entirely. In pseudo-angina, frequently observed in hysterical women, its action is all that can be desired.
Patients who suffer from irritable, weak, or palpitating heart, needing at times a pain reliever, can take Antikamnia tablets, without untoward after-effects, knowing that the heart is being fortified. In delirium tremens, they relieve when there are great restlessness, insomnia, the general lowering of the nerve power. ”

“ The watery solution is not precipitated by metallic salts. On warming with dilute mineral acids, antiarin splits up into a resin and sugar. Concentrated sulphuric acid gives with antiarin a yellow-brown solution, hydrochloric and nitric acids strike no distinctive colours.
§ 549. Effects.—Antiarin is essentially a muscular and a heart poison. When given in a sufficient dose, it kills a frog in from half an hour to an hour. Its most marked effect is on the cardiac muscle, the heart beats more and more slowly, and at last stops, the ventricle being firmly contracted. ”

“ Antiarin is obtained in crystals, by first treating the inspissated milky juice with petroleum ether to remove fatty and other matters, and then dissolving the active principle out with absolute alcohol. The alcoholic extract is taken up with water, precipitated with lead acetate, filtered, and from the filtrate antiarin obtained by freeing the solution from lead, and then evaporating. ”

“ Although pilocarpine quickens the pulse of man, it slows, according to Langley, [542] the heart of the warm-blooded animals, and that of the frog. With regard to the frog, Dr. S. Ringer’s researches are confirmatory. With large doses the heart stops in diastole. If to the heart thus slowed, or even when recently stopped, a minute quantity of atropine be applied, it begins to beat again. There is also a most complete antagonism between atropine and pilocarpine in other respects, atropine stopping the excessive perspiration, and relieving the headache and pain about the pubes, &c. ”

“ The libel alleges that the drugs are in the possession and custody of the Wholesale Drug Exchange, a body corporate, at a numbered place in the city of Washington.
The drugs, it is alleged, are intended to be used for the cure and mitigation and prevention of diseases of man. They are described as follows: 'Twenty packages, more or less, of said drug, labeled and branded as follows, 'Antikamnia Tablets, contain 305 grains of acetphenetidin, U.S. P. per ounce guaranteed by the Antikamnia Chemical Company, under the food and drugs act, June 30, 1906, U.S. Serial Number 10. ”

“ ATROPINAE SULPHAS—SULPHATE OF ATROPHINE
An alkaloid obtained from belladonna. As it occurs in commerce, it is always accompanied by small proportion of hyoscyamine extracted along with it, from which it cannot readily be separated.
Derivation.—Atropine is obtained from a strong tincture of the root.
Properties.—A white crystalline powder, very soluble in water and alcohol.
Dose.—Horses, 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 grs.; cattle, 1 to 2 grs.; sheep and pigs, 1⁄20 to 1⁄12 gr.; dogs, 1⁄150 to 1⁄50 gr. The doses should be considerably reduced when used with morphine. ”

“ The Council adopted both reports of the committee and declared “Arsenoven S. S.” and “Solution of Arsenic and Mercury” (“Arseno-Meth-Hyd”) inadmissible to New and Non­official Remedies. The committee’s reports on these two products impel the Council again to call attention to the undesirable and dangerous abuses to which “Intravenous Therapy” lends itself. There is a distinct field for the intravenous administration of drugs in those cases in which immediate drug action is necessary, or when the medicament is likely to be changed if absorbed through the ordinary channels. ”