Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-09-20
Miily Lance.
OR DR. DENDl : PRESCRIPTION FOR THE CURE
OF HEART DISEASE.

OF HEART DISEASE.
DIR. Dendv was not good-lOoking. He
might even have been called ugly, but
that there is an excellent precept Impress
ed on all well cared for minds in their
nursery stage Of formation. to the effect
that no one may be 50 Extensively described
except it be a certain notorious parsonage
whom it will not be necessary to name.
Let uS say. therefore that DR.. Dendy was
plain.
He was a physician III large practice.
.Joco<e people said Of him that in the
course Of his professional career he had had
occasion to thrust SO many guineas into his
pockets, that eventually the gold coin car
red so much about his person, had got in
to his own circulation, and affected the
color Of his skin. Certainly his complex
ion was deeply tingcd with yellow He
! was very bald, with narrow festoon Of
iron-gray hair at the back of his head.
His small neat, wiry figure was always
clothed in back-his coat being invariably
buttoned tightly across his chest. He was
Of middle age. perhaps little better
which expression, as applied to age, Is gen
orally understood to signify little worse,
or older lie lived in grand, eaunt
murky house in Harley street, seldom set
ting foot in more than two rooms in it,
however-his library and bedroom. He
was the author Of an admired Treatise on
the Pathology Of the Heart, to which work
he was constantly adding annotations and
commentaries, with view to completely
exhausting and settling the subject. When
b.. Hi to m,
it. his book, he was satisfied, would be the
only authority on the heart -physiologi-
cally and pathoIogicaIly considered.
But his time was very much occupied.
He saw patients at his own house almost
before he had swallowed his breakfast
later in the day, he saw other patients at
their own homes; and he was one Of the
physicians to st. Lazarus hospital and
i gave lectures on materia medica, course af-
ter course. to the students of that excellent
institution he was d fellow, or a member,
of all sorts Of scientific societies, and on
certain days III the week he attended the
! boards Of various insurance companies, ex-
amined papers, and passed or rejected lives
proposed for insurance He was hard
working and prosperous. Few men in the
profession. it was said, made so large an
income. Go to what part of the town you
would. YOU seemed 10 be forever encoun-
tering Dir Dendys two-horse carriage rat
tling along at great pace, going to or
from patients and the accompanying gol-
den fees.
When the doctor started IN the morn
ing. he gave his coachman a list Of the
places he was to drive TO. In this list the
coachman had entered now for some
months, q certain house in Calthorpe street
You called it Calthorpe street, Russell
square. if YOU were desirous of consulting
the predictions of its inhabitants; if you
were Needless in that respect you spoke OF
it with perhaps greater accuracy as Cal
thorpe street, Grays Inn Road DIR. Den
dy always appeared TO prefer the first
mentioned designation.
The coachman treated himself to fur
tive smile whenever he read Calthorpe
street in the list The doctor had pa
tent there, Of course But then, as the
coachman noted, his master went there
oftener and stayed there longer than any
where else. OF course the patient light
be in a more deplorable state, might stand
more in need Of protracted visits from 4
Hfcdlcdl diN iStF tHdlI any OlHci VI LII
Dendy's patients; but the coachman was
inclined to think that such was not the
case.
On the first floor of the house III Cal
thorpe street visited by DIR. Dendy- there
lodged one Capt. Lance a retired Indiar
officer. and his only child, Miss Milly
Lance. Capt. Lance was in feeble health
from a distressing asthma, and from other
infirmities of painful nature. He die
, deed very peevish and petulant and hare
to please; exhibited all the selishness anc
want of consideration which long course
of iIl-health is apt to develop In almos
anv one, however great may have been hi,
,, original stock Of equanimity and gooc
nature But Capt. Lance had not begur
; with much excellence of temper; and now
: confirmed invalid, it may be said of hin
E that he had no temper at all, except of The
, very worst sort. He was attended, how
; ever with ceaseless solicitude. an untlr
ing affection, by his daugher Milly, slim
fair girl of eighteen or so, not very remark
able-looking, beyond that she possessed Z
profusion of glossy brown hair, and pal
of large, luminous, dove-like eyes.
No wonder she was pale. She was al
ways by the side or within call Of her IN
valid father. She was hardly ever per
mitted to stir from his sick room. 1t wa'
dull, tiring work. Don't 60, Milly," hi
would say, sharply: Il may want you
here's no knowing She could only es-
cape when he dozed his asthma lulled fol