"Dyer, I'm almost gone. I am in the shadow of death. I am standing upon
the very brink. I cannot see clearly, I cannot speak coherently, the
film of death obstructs my sight. I know what this means. It is the end,
but all is well with me. I have no fear. I have said and done things
that would have been better left unsaid and undone, but I have never
willfully wronged a man in my life. I have no concern for myself. I am
concerned only for those I leave behind. I never saved money, and I die
as poor as when I was born. We do not know what there is in the future
now shut out from our view by a very thin veil. It seems to me there is
a hand somewhere that will lead us safely across, but I cannot tell. No
one can tell."
This interesting speech, made scarcely a day before he closed his eyes
in death, was typical of his whole generous, trustful, philosophical
point of view.
"If there be green fields and placid waters beyond the river that he so
calmly crossed," so ran an editorial in the local county paper edited by
one of his most ardent admirers, "reserved for those who believe in and
practice upon the principle of 'Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you,' then this Samaritan of the medical profession is safe from
all harm. If there be no consciousness, but only a mingling of that
which was gentleness and tenderness here with the earth and the waters,
then the greenness of the one and the sparkling limpidity of the other
are richer for that he lived, and wrought, and returned unto them so
trustingly again."
_Culhane, the Solid Man_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account