Page:The Death-Doctor.djvu/10

vi it came as a great shock to me when I read the manuscript after his death and, to my horror, discovered what I should never have thought possible, yet, alas! only too plainly, how a clever, unscrupulous, and yet, in a way, plucky man of my own profession, possessed of deep knowledge and learning, can hoodwink, deceive and plunder the world in general, not even excluding his most intimate friends and acquaintances.

He having left it entirely at my discretion, I propose, with the assistance of my friend. Mr. William Le Queux, to publish a jew episodes of his varied and venturesome career because, he says in his MSS.: "I leave no one behind me, and therefore there is no reason why some of the fools in the world should not be shown how blind and credulous they may be, especially if one fully comprehends the power of flattery—a great power."

At the risk of condemnation by the whole medical profession and perhaps by the public at large, I have selected a few of the many striking and astounding incidents he records—the majority being entirely unsuited to the public eye—and wherever possible I quote his own words.

"Let my career serve as a warning to others," he urges, and mainly for that reason I have ventured to publish this remarkable record.